During the Epidemic, Every Manufacturer Should Send a "Letter of Comfort" to Their Distributors!

-01- I am a distributor, and right now I am panicking. At this moment, I am on the balcony of my 20th-floor home. The road outside is empty, except for the occasional speeding car, leaving only the towering concrete jungle. This scene reminds me of a movie I once watched, I Am Legend. I think the only difference between Will Smith and me is that he had a dog, while I have over 2 million yuan worth of goods. Yes, you read that correctly—over 2 million, all sleeping in my warehouse, their shelf life slowly draining as the epidemic worsens. At the end of 2019, while Australian bushfires raged, I sympathized with the koalas while stocking up for the New Year. The money was borrowed from the bank. A while ago, my wife did a fortune-telling on WeChat and said I would definitely get rich this year. In our city, there are three must-haves for New Year gifts: gift boxes, dairy products, and cigarettes and alcohol. These are the hard currency for visiting relatives. Ordering, paying, receiving—everything was heading in the right direction. This year, I specially prepared some new products, and the terminal store owners were very happy. While smoking, they said to me, "Brother, this Spring Festival, I'll definitely help you sell well." The smoke rings wrapped around spittle, drawing a graceful arc in the winter sunset, and their eyes sparkled. That was the light of hope. Offline stores, suppressed by e-commerce all year, could finally show off and make a killing during the Spring Festival. The terminal displays were done, and the in-store arrangements were all in place, just waiting for the first day of the New Year to open and welcome customers, with good news pouring in. After my last visit to terminal customers, I returned to my warm home with my wife and child. After a year of hard work, I could finally rest for a few days. The Australian bushfires had been extinguished by rain, and the tense US-Iran situation had been resolved. As the Year of the Rat approached, the whole planet returned to calm. But who could have imagined that for China, this was the calm before the storm.

-02- On New Year's Eve, Wuhan was locked down. A pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus was spreading rapidly in Wuhan, but at that time, I was still like the bystanders, lounging on the sofa, cracking sunflower seeds, scrolling through my phone, and praying for our Wuhan compatriots. The midnight bell rang on time, accompanied by "Unforgettable Tonight." I fell asleep on the sofa and had a dream that all my gift boxes were sold out. On the first day of the New Year, I woke up early, full of expectation. I picked up my phone and saw a dozen missed calls, all from terminal customers. I thought, "They want to restock this early?" So I called back. The call connected, but I heard an anxious voice: "Brother, something's happened." I said calmly, "Don't worry, I have plenty of stock. If it's not enough, I'll replenish today." But the other side said, "Replenish my ass! Haven't you seen the news? Our city has activated the Level 1 public health emergency response." After hanging up, I opened my phone and saw that before the Wuhan lockdown, news said hundreds of thousands of people had left Wuhan, heading to all parts of the country. My city is less than a thousand kilometers from Hubei. Everything follows the laws of development, and our city also had confirmed cases. The government activated the Level 1 response, requiring citizens to stay home and not go out. Major shopping malls also reacted, adjusting opening hours or even closing. The epidemic raged, and everyone was panicked. After a brief shopping spree at supermarkets, major terminal stores fell silent. My carefully arranged gift box displays were ignored, while rice, flour, oil, fruits, and vegetables in supermarkets became hot commodities. On the third day of the New Year, the situation seemed more severe. The children's school announced a delayed start, and the government issued a notice extending the holiday. The child and my wife cheered, but I couldn't be happy. During this special period, visiting relatives and friends is a crime. Watching the roadblocks set up in various villages on Douyin, I thought of my millions of goods. At this moment, they are lying in stores and warehouses, sleeping.

-03- I made a few calls. Zhang Ergou, a dairy distributor, was trapped in his village. Besides smoking and drinking tea every day, he was lamenting over his low-temperature dairy products. Old Zhang, who does snacks, was playing mahjong at home. Because of tight year-end funds, he had basically not stocked up, and he became the biggest winner. But more distributors, like me and Zhang Ergou, are not only facing the threat of the virus but also suffering from the torment of inventory. In the evening, I chatted on WeChat with Old Li, a grain and oil distributor. Old Li said that even the SARS outbreak wasn't this bad; at least people could go out. Although offline losses were heavy, it wasn't a total loss. Old Li said that rice, flour, oil, and grains are fine—they are essential goods during special times—but it's tough for those of you in snacks, alcohol, and beverages. Indeed, on the empty streets, these once-hot FMCG products have become the first to be forgotten. On the fifth day of the New Year, the national epidemic seemed to erupt, with confirmed cases growing rapidly. People were panicked. Most customers had closed their doors. The larger ones were still holding on, but their focus shifted to rice, flour, oil, and vegetables. In their words, they were serving the people with their lives. At home, I calculated: besides the goods distributed and the stock in the warehouse, I had about a few hundred boxes of gift boxes and a few hundred boxes of dairy drinks. At the time, to get more promotional activities, I had requested goods from December 2019. Distributors should know that cross-year goods are the hardest to handle. Even if the production date is December 31, 2019, and January 1, 2020, is just one day apart, they are hard to sell. Although the dairy products are at room temperature and have a shelf life of 6 months, the epidemic's end is unknown, and when people can travel is uncertain. For my dairy products, every day is a "death" countdown. At first, I thought of the manufacturers. I called a few to ask if there were any policies. The people in charge all said that health is the most important thing now, and we'll talk about other things when we get back to work. Then they hurriedly hung up.

-04- I must start to save myself. On the sixth day of the New Year, I took the opportunity of taking out the trash to visit the property management office. I discussed with the duty manager about placing my gift boxes in the community for discounted sales. The duty manager was quite nice. After hearing my tragic story, he immediately contacted friends at several property companies, and I could place my gift boxes in the communities they manage for sale. This way, maybe I could clear some of my inventory. Then I called the terminal customers who hadn't closed, telling them they could sell the gift boxes at a discount, and they could set the price as long as they sold some. Then I called several terminal store owners who owed me money, telling them they must pay me back, even if it meant we couldn't be friends anymore. I knew that to survive, I had to protect my cash flow. The remaining gift boxes could only wait for manufacturer help, but under the current situation, manufacturers are also struggling, and it's hard to say if they can help and how much. If all else fails, after the epidemic, I'll break the gift boxes and sell them individually. With the gift boxes solved, the remaining issue is dairy drinks. Beverages are easier, with a one-year shelf life, but dairy products are not. Although the shelf life is 6 months, after 3 months, they are hard to sell. So I decided to donate a batch to frontline medical workers. Rather than letting them rot in my hands, it's better to do some public good. For the rest, I reached a cooperation with my classmate who runs a restaurant. When his restaurant opens, I will launch a promotion at the terminal stores around it: buy my milk and get a coupon for my classmate's restaurant. This way, it can help move my products and attract customers for him. When school starts, I will set up a stall at the school gate to promote my products. After all, students have purchasing power. I just don't know if my friends in the school special channel will beat me up.

-05- As a distributor, these are all the methods I can think of. I believe that at this moment, many distributor friends are facing the same difficulties as me. What I want to say is, instead of waiting for rescue, it's better to take the initiative and stop losses in time. As spring warms and flowers bloom, the virus will dissipate. Vitality will reappear across China. At this moment, distributors must unite to face the crisis, and we also hope manufacturers can help distributors solve part of the inventory. If you ask me if I'm afraid, of course I am. I'm not just afraid of the raging virus; I'm more afraid that I can't hold on, because behind me are my family, my brothers, and my partners. More importantly, I love this distributor business. Once the tip is adopted, a payment of 400-2000 yuan will be made.