---
title: "Blue Moon's New Products and New Channels Fail; Escaping Supermarket Channels Is a False Proposition?"
description: "Blue Moon's sales channel gamble ultimately failed. After breaking with Carrefour, RT-Mart, and other supermarkets over two years ago, Blue Moon is restarting its return to hypermarkets. The company has been recruiting staff for multiple Carrefour stores in Beijing. The initial split was due to excessive fees in supermarket channels eating into most profits, and now the industry leader may have little choice but to return. The shift from supermarkets to self-built 'Moon House' stores, which struggled, and then back again, shows the difficulties detergent companies face in channel exploration."
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2017-05-17"
language: "en"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/KZaKGWjQj4UrCQbtF_9g3w"
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# Blue Moon's New Products and New Channels Fail; Escaping Supermarket Channels Is a False Proposition?

> Blue Moon's sales channel gamble ultimately failed. After breaking with Carrefour, RT-Mart, and other supermarkets over two years ago, Blue Moon is restarting its return to hypermarkets. The company has been recruiting staff for multiple Carrefour stores in Beijing. The initial split was due to excessive fees in supermarket channels eating into most profits, and now the industry leader may have little choice but to return. The shift from supermarkets to self-built 'Moon House' stores, which struggled, and then back again, shows the difficulties detergent companies face in channel exploration.

Blue Moon's sales channel gamble ultimately failed. After breaking with Carrefour, RT-Mart, and other supermarkets over two years ago, Blue Moon is restarting its return to hypermarkets. A reporter learned that Blue Moon has been recruiting staff for multiple Carrefour stores in Beijing.
Initially, the cooperation broke down because various fees in supermarket channels were too high, eating into most of the profits. Now, as the industry leader, Blue Moon may have many reasons for returning. From supermarkets to self-built 'Moon House' stores, which developed poorly, and then back again, Blue Moon seems to have gone in circles, but this reflects the many difficulties detergent companies face in channel exploration.
Restarting Supermarket Channels
Just over two years ago, Blue Moon had a serious channel crisis with Carrefour, and now it is actively preparing to return to Carrefour. A staff member responsible for Blue Moon sales told reporters that to promote its main laundry detergent product 'Machine Wash Supreme', Blue Moon is widely recruiting sales specialists and stock handlers in major supermarket channels.
Blue Moon has restarted the ground promotion model commonly used in the detergent industry in supermarket channels. In the supermarket channels widely considered to be deeply problematic, large stores charge brand owners entry fees, display fees, points, DM (direct mail advertising), and promotional fees, which together can account for 30%-35% of the selling price of laundry detergent. High operating costs are considered a hindrance to the development of detergent brands.
As a leading detergent brand, Blue Moon did not have strong bargaining power in negotiations with Carrefour, RT-Mart, and others. After the conflict with supermarkets, Blue Moon products were quickly subjected to promotions and delisting, replaced by competitors such as Liby and Green Umbrella.
After reducing the sales proportion in chain supermarkets, Blue Moon attempted to turn the tide by building 'Moon House' community stores. However, after a period of exploration, Blue Moon's self-built channel did not develop smoothly. Currently, there are only four Moon House community stores in Beijing, and apart from the relocated Wangjing store, the other three are in non-core areas such as Shunyi, Miyun, and Changping districts. Blue Moon has not released a detailed strategic plan for the future of Moon House in recent years.
The Blue Moon staff member said that three months ago, Blue Moon had already started actions to return to supermarkets, with the Carrefour Ciyunsi and Shuangjing stores being the first to recruit stock handlers. The recruitment is mainly for promotional staff, not only for Carrefour but also for Wumart, Meilianmei, Jingkelong, and other supermarkets. After taking up their posts, the staff will mainly promote Blue Moon's 'Machine Wash Supreme' product.
Compared with similar products, 'Machine Wash Supreme', sold only in sets, is relatively more expensive. On Tmall's flagship store, the 'Machine Wash Supreme' set is currently priced at 99 yuan, while Liby's laundry detergent set of 6 bags plus 1 bottle for family use is priced at 49.9 yuan.
New Products and New Channels Fail
In September 2015, while challenging channel issues with Carrefour and other supermarkets, Blue Moon launched 'Machine Wash Supreme' laundry detergent. This product was a major breakthrough in Blue Moon's product upgrade. Blue Moon's board chairman Pan Dong said at the time that moving from ordinary laundry detergent with 15%-20% active ingredient content to a 'concentrated+' detergent with over 45% active ingredient content required overcoming technical difficulties, using different raw materials and different formulation technologies from ordinary products. In the process of moving from ordinary to concentrated laundry detergent, it was also necessary to provide consumers with packaging that could accurately measure the dosage.
But this product, which boasted concentration, light weight, and ease of use, and was claimed to last 232 days per box, equivalent to 22 jin of national standard laundry detergent, failed to open the market. After withdrawing from supermarkets, Blue Moon tried to compensate for channel losses through product innovation, but its self-built channel was unsuccessful, and this new product, launched nearly two years ago, has not yet gained widespread market attention. As a local enterprise that first captured the detergent market with laundry detergent products, 'concentrated laundry detergent' should have been a key focus for Blue Moon to attract consumers in the coming period.
According to Blue Moon's previous statements, Moon House had been established in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Currently, Blue Moon has few self-built stores, mostly located in remote urban areas. Blue Moon's channel reform has basically failed. Regarding the location of Moon House stores, Xia Tian, a daily chemical industry expert and partner of Saine Capital, said that Moon House community stores are bundled with the online WeChat platform 'Moon House'. The online Moon House is essentially not much different from WeChat business. 'The audience for WeChat business sales models is not in first- and second-tier cities, but concentrated in third- and fourth-tier cities, where consumers prefer to buy products through WeChat business platforms. The laundry services provided by Moon House are more aligned with the needs of first-tier city consumers, which also requires that Moon House locations should not be too remote, nor should they be separated from the core urban areas.'
To fill the channel gap, Blue Moon successively tried new models such as O2O, direct sales, and WeChat business, becoming the first in the detergent industry, which is heavily dependent on traditional channels, to try new approaches. Regarding future channel plans, a Blue Moon spokesperson told Beijing Business Today reporters that Blue Moon will continue to emphasize omnichannel development, constantly try to optimize allocation, and serve consumers through more diversified channels.
This breakthrough move was recognized by industry peers at the time. Zhuang Qichuan, chairman of local daily chemical brand Nice Group, said, 'Blue Moon's actions are a beneficial exploration of the industry's future development direction and path.'
Escaping Supermarkets Is a False Proposition
Blue Moon's channel reform received praise within the industry, but the failures during exploration also sparked much thought. The core question is: since supermarket channels can no longer provide long-term external momentum for brands, in the face of this inescapable 'vicious circle', besides continuous product innovation to attract consumers, has channel reform become a 'false proposition'?
Regarding channel transformation, daily chemical industry observer Zhao Xianghui believes that traditional channels serve as the 'storefront' for product display in the detergent industry. Given the current economic development status of the industry, most companies still rely heavily on traditional KA stores, and this channel cannot be escaped in the short term.
Zhao Xianghui said that e-commerce remains the key focus for future channel development. 'E-commerce has transformed from a platform for brand display to a key sales channel. E-commerce logistics is continuously advancing from first-tier cities to second- and third-tier cities, and even to fourth-tier cities and townships, making it easier for products to penetrate lower-tier markets.' In addition to e-commerce, WeChat business has in recent years moved away from the chaos of its early development and entered a more orderly track, which is also a trend companies can seize.
Yao Wenhua, director of the Retailer-Supplier Mediation Committee of the China General Chamber of Commerce and president of the Beijing Supermarket Supply Enterprise Association, said that external policy changes will provide guidance for future corporate development. Some supermarkets' irregular charges are already out of control, and arbitrary charges push up prices and even pose safety hazards. 'Arbitrary charges make legitimate businesses unable to afford entry fees and supermarket fines, so they plan to escape supermarkets, which gives non-regular manufacturers and counterfeit goods the opportunity to enter supermarkets in large numbers.'
In Yao Wenhua's view, in the future, relevant government departments and industry associations should jointly conduct a comprehensive investigation into the chaos of arbitrary charges, deductions, and fines in supermarkets, and adopt high-pressure supervision. The Beijing Supermarket Supply Enterprise Association will also fully cooperate. This will bring some thoughts and reflections for Blue Moon and other detergent brands in their cooperation with supermarket channels.
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