Southeast Shoe Distributor (SSD) is a closely-owned business that was founded 10 years ago by Stewart Green and Paul Williams. SSD is a distributor that purchases and sells men's, women's, and children's shoes to retail shoe stores located in small to midsize communities. The company's basic strategy is to obtain a broad selection of designer-label and name-brand merchandise at low prices and resell the merchandise to small, one-location, retail stores that have difficulty obtaining reasonable quantities of designer and name-brand merchandise. The company is able to keep the cost of merchandise low by (1) selectively purchasing large blocks of production overruns, overorders, mid- and late-season deliveries, and previous season's stock from manufacturers and other retailers at significant discounts, (2) sourcing in-season name-brand and branded designer merchandise directly from factories in Brazil, Italy, and Spain, and (3) negotiating favorable prices with manufacturers by ordering merchandise during off-peak production periods and taking delivery at one central warehouse.…