A retailer that just joined Bridge asked me this question: "Should I be adding brands like Bulova to my Bridge Store, or only listing Smart Brands like Waterford?"
Bridge's answer: Add all the brands that you sell to your Bridge Store regardless of if they are a partner with Bridge (aka Smart Brand). Reason: listing all your brands is good for Google and sales. If you don’t list all your brands, Google won’t know that you sell these brands and therefore Google won't send you customers when people search for these brands.
A common mistake that retailers make is to only list brands for which they show product online. A retailer's website should list all brands, regardless of if that brand's items exist for purchase online.
When a retailer lists a brand but doesn't list specific items, it can simply show the brand's logo, some about brand text, and text such as:
"Call our store at: XXX-XXX-XXXX to place an order for brand X."