Wow...You would think that the new business owners would at least "grandfather in" any existing customer base of the former owner.
I don't know how important their products are to your business. But are there any competitors of theirs that you could take your business to? If not, what about talking with those higher up in the business?
I've run into a few suppliers who told us the same thing - that they would only ship to a storefront. I guess suppliers sometimes feel torn between appeasing their brick and mortar accounts (who feel threatened by the price wars that can occur between them and internet businesses) and making their products available through internet-only businesses. I think when a supplier takes the time to establish good MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) pricing policies this helps to keep this from happening.
Maybe this is why this particular supplier has chosen to only ship to storefronts. If they are critical to your business, perhaps try getting to the bottom of why they've chosen to do this. If any of the above reasons come into the conversation, then maybe offer and agree to follow whatever MAP pricing policies they want in order to help "keep the peace" between their brick and mortar stores and their internet retailers.
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