Done all the time.
Manufacturer builds to a price point for the retailer.
Marine industry is not immune.
Neighbour was in the tool repair business. There were different Bosch hammer drills... he knew by glancing at it which box store I bought it from, and those ones were not repairable... All our tools are like this for a couple decades now.
The mass of "model numbers" for an apparently identical product also differentiates the warranties, and also prevents us from comparison price shopping/matching, as they are "not the same unit"...
If the unit model in your store of choice cannot be found elsewhere, you may reasonably suspect it has been specifically built for that retailer.
RB
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