This creates improved accountability, while sacrificing the flexibility to add or remove components. So, you're likely going to be tied closely to your manufacturing partners for a much longer term. The wholesale model is more of a scavenger, constantly searching for better deals and excess inventories. The prices are better, but the relationships are more tenuous. These loose relationships can cause headaches if there are customer problems down the road.
Banana Republic is obviously retail.
In each case, customers know exactly what they're getting into. Lately, some companies have begun promising a mix of the two, through a 'virtual' supply chain. The idea is that they will provide you access to their single, large supplier network, and you pick and choose what products you want to sell. This idea works in theory, but disintegrates once customer problems arise. Virtual supply chains are virtually accountable.