Scan the QR code in the image to register No successful enterprises, only those of the era. No great brands, only those of the era. Over 40 years of reform and opening up in China, great waves have created countless brilliant corporate brands. But every well-known brand was born out of the trends of its time. China's vast market, significant consumer differences, and varying consumption stages across regions mean that the complex market environment dictates that most Chinese brands are driven by a dual IP + channel model rather than a single IP model. In a sense, channels often play a greater role in building brands. Roughly speaking, China's retail channels have undergone three major transformations and iterations. Each channel shift has given rise to many corporate brands with channel-specific genes that match the era. In 1999, the rise of supermarkets and hypermarkets gave birth to numerous supermarket brands such as Master Kong, Uni-President, Sanquan, Synear, and Arawana within a decade, some of which still dominate the market today. In 2010, the rise of platform e-commerce represented by Taobao created numerous internet brands, primarily Taobao brands, that entered the national spotlight within a few years, such as Yumfang, Zhong Xue Gao, Three Squirrels, and Wang Baobao, which are now household names. In 2017, community group buying emerged. After three years of dramatic changes and野蛮 growth, this same-city community e-commerce model, hailed as the flag bearer of the third retail revolution, has been validated. Turmoil creates heroes; eras build brands. With the rise and relative independence of community channels, the era of group brands is set to make waves and will inevitably become a highlight in the long river of business evolution. -01- What is a Group Brand? What is a group brand? As the name suggests, it is a brand for community channels. Similar to the formation of Taobao brands, which rely on the Taobao Mall and develop alongside it, mutually dependent and mutually reinforcing, group brands will also develop with the growth of community group buying, advancing hand in hand and prospering together. Community e-commerce combines e-commerce, retail, and social interaction, covering fresh produce, standard products, and services. It is called the third generation of e-commerce and the flag bearer of the commercial revolution. It is the core of new retail, a supply-side reform of existing commodity circulation, an optimization and innovation of consumer experience, a new path for brand business growth, a new channel for brand communication, a new scenario for fan aggregation, and a new tool for implementing BC integration. The essence of consumption upgrading is the improvement of life quality and consumption experience, the optimization and iteration of lifestyles, and the redistribution of time and money. 2021 is called the first year of the group brand era. Because the community business model has been validated through its germination in 2017, development in 2018, iteration in 2019, and explosion in 2020, the future is promising. Whether group brands can develop depends on how long the community flag can be held, how big it can become, and how many people participate. The community business model has evolved from the 1.0 native model to the 2.0 elite operation model and now to the 3.0 internet capital model, with 80% of leading domestic internet companies already entering the competition. Following the typical trajectory of internet companies, community business will undoubtedly remain a top strategic priority for participating companies for a considerable period. Internet capital companies' strategies are divided into the first half and the second half. Currently, the first half of the three-pronged approach for internet-genre community platforms is nearing its end. Barring unexpected events, by the end of March, leading community platforms will cover over 90% of China's city and county markets, indicating the rise of community as an independent channel. In the past three years, despite the野蛮 growth of community group buying, leading brand companies have not formally participated, with most watching from the sidelines. At the beginning of 2021, at the third Nanjing Community Industry Conference, a large number of leading FMCG brands made a collective appearance, signaling the arrival of a new era! -02- How to Define a Group Brand Whether group brands can be recognized will depend on how they are defined, whether a single channel can support them, and what scale constitutes a group brand. A group brand is a brand with channel-specific genes. It can be a new brand or an old brand, a sub-brand under a main brand or an old brand that embraces new life, a private label or an empowered brand. If a brand's marketing focus and sales support exceed 50% in the new community channel, it is a group brand; if not, it is not. Where users are, where business is, there the group brand attribute lies. Whether a single channel can support a brand or a company's development depends on the size of the track and the company's share. The trillion-yuan community e-commerce track is beyond doubt, with Meituan Select alone approaching the 100-billion-yuan mark. A big track brings big dividends; a big river has big fish. The community channel can support multiple brands without issue. Whether a company can develop in the community channel depends on its operational capabilities and resource factors. One company's failure does not mean the industry's failure; this is the logic of the individual versus the whole, the difference between tactics and strategy. No matter how small an individual is, it has its own brand attributes. Whether it is a group brand is related to the brand's marketing focus and sales support. Sales volume determines a brand's influence and industry channel position, not label attributes. -03- How Are Group Brands Different from Taobao Brands and Livestream Brands? Group brands, Taobao brands, and livestream brands are all channel-specific brands, relying on their own tracks/channels and developing with the growth of their carriers, subject to changes in their tracks. The biggest difference among the three comes from the different business models of the three tracks and the different user segments they serve. Taobao brands develop with the Taobao Mall, representing the typical result of second-generation platform e-commerce. Their strong categories are durable goods and slow-moving consumer goods, serving all users across the entire domain, relying on express delivery for fulfillment, with relatively weak stickiness, and belonging to search-based e-commerce. Their tone, product selection, specifications, pricing, and hierarchy bear strong channel imprints. Livestream e-commerce is currently an optimization and supplement to second-generation e-commerce, more of an evolution and replacement of second-generation e-commerce tools. Its business model is still closely tied to traditional platform e-commerce. Whether livestream brands can stand independently remains to be seen. Group brands are the result of the rapid development of the community track. Community e-commerce, as the most advanced productive force in same-city retail, is the third revolution in China's retail business. With the magic of its business model—pre-sale, self-pickup, next-day delivery, unified procurement and distribution, trust and convenience—it has reconstructed and optimized commodity circulation and consumer experience, attracting 80% of leading domestic internet companies and many well-known enterprises to compete, proving its timeliness, development potential, and plasticity. Community e-commerce integrates fresh produce, standard products, and services, surpassing the second-generation platform e-commerce's solutions for fresh produce and services. Its proximity and high frequency to community users provide unlimited imagination for the development of group brands. -04- Opportunities for Group Brands What opportunities do group brands offer to companies, platforms, and consumers? The opportunities for companies are self-evident, whether large or small, old or new brands. Group brands represent incremental growth, structural growth, and strategy. The birth of a group brand is bound to be transformative for a company. Without the participation of mainstream brand manufacturers, no retail business model can achieve significant scale. Group brands are the mainstream brands of the community business model, the infrastructure of the community track, the arsenal for industry development, coexisting and thriving with community platforms. Community is a highly competitive track. There are two paths to differentiation: brand differentiation and product differentiation. Product differentiation is relative; brand differentiation is what truly sets apart. Community private group brands will be a core barrier for platforms in building strategic competitiveness. Under any business model, consumer demands are quality at low prices, convenience, and safety. Group brands are a guarantee of quality and credibility, a reflection of a company's and product's competitiveness in community channels and even same-city retail, a social currency for channels and users, a synthesis of modern consumer psychology and cultural value orientation across user segments, a prominent manifestation of market development in the era, and a high unity of social material and spiritual forms. The more group brands develop, the more consumers benefit and support them, creating a virtuous cycle.

How to build a group brand?

What should group brand products look like?

Where does the power of group brand differentiation lie?

Are group brands strategic big single products?

Should group brands follow a category route or a hit product route?

How should group brand communication and shaping be done?

Practical methods and methodologies are not elaborated here; they will be discussed in a separate article. Community is the sufficient condition for the birth of group brands; companies are the necessary condition for their development. From birth to development, group brands still have a long way to go and much to do. But with the rapid expansion of the community ecosystem, the reconstruction and rise of same-city retail, the increasing favor of venture capital, and the influx of more funds and resources, we have reason to believe that the potential of group brands is unlimited and their future is bright! Brand manufacturers embrace, independent channels rise, 90% coverage of city and county markets, the power of role models emerges, and the trillion-yuan track breaks through ahead of schedule—the group brand era has begun! Keep up with change, be an enterprise of the era, build group brands, and embrace the group era! Author: Li Baolin, Community Veteran

Advocate of Group Brand New Retail / Initiator of the Group Brand Club