Sir; So Loyd Grossman was horrified that a buyer in a multiple would be only interested in price and volume? (The Grocer, April 6). The cost of everything and the value of nothing, in other words. Welcome to the real or unreal world of the majority of multiple buyers ­ or should it be multiple bankers? Who do you blame for this? The suppliers, of course, who over the years have sent in order takers instead of negotiators, losing the high ground to the multiples to the stage where today, instead of the three values of: 1. Quality of presentation, 2. Quality of contents 3. Price The three values are now: 1. Price 2. Price 3. Price Coupled with that, of course, we have the listing allowances, promotional allowances, above and below the line activity, in store brochures, retros, etc, etc, etc, all of which have been given by weak sales people who in most cases did not have the ability to negotiate in the first place or knew it was the only way to get their products on the shelves. The art of selling the quality, via the features and benefits, is lost, perhaps, forever. Coupled with that, as soon as the multiples achieve a success with a line it is then into their own label, again at the supplier's expense. Then the floodgates open through the abuse of the original product, by producing at a price instead of a quality and cutting corners. The results are pushed on to the consumer at a price based upon profit, not the satisfaction of the consumer. Often the original supplier is dumped to get further reductions in price at the expense of quality. Name and address supplied {{LETTERS }}