---
id: "contrarian-suppliers-are-the-buyers"
type: "contrarian-insight"
source_timestamps: ["§ The Buyer-Seller Role Inversion Requires a New Playbook"]
tags: ["contrarian", "power-dynamics", "b2b"]
related: ["concept-buyer-seller-role-inversion"]
challenges: "The deeply ingrained retail industry mindset that retailers are always the buyers and suppliers must always cater to their demands."
speakers: ["Remko Van Hoek", "Stephanie Thomas", "Rodney Thomas"]
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2025/09/the-importance-of-trust-and-transparency-in-retail-media-networks"
source_title: "The Importance of Trust and Transparency in Retail Media Networks"
sources: ["attention"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-attention"
originDay: 4
articleStem: "hbr-foci-71-retail-media-networks-trust"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/09/the-importance-of-trust-and-transparency-in-retail-media-networks"
sourceTitle: "The Importance of Trust and Transparency in Retail Media Networks"
---
# Contrarian: In retail media, the supplier is the buyer

**Contrarian insight.** Traditional retail models position the retailer as the all-powerful buyer dictating terms to suppliers. The RMN model inverts this (see [[concept-buyer-seller-role-inversion]]): the retailer is now *selling* a service — advertising — to the supplier. Retailers who fail to adopt a 'customer service' mindset toward their suppliers will fail in the media space.

**What it challenges.** The deeply ingrained retail-industry mindset that retailers are always the buyers and suppliers must always cater to their demands. This reframing is the conceptual key to the entire [[framework-five-pillars-of-rmn-success]].