---
title: "“Incomprehensible” Business Being Reshaped by Post-90s Distributors"
description: "A post-70s distributor admitted, “I can't understand today's business,” reflecting a sense of awe at changing times. Increasingly, post-90s and even post-95s distributors are bringing digital thinking, internet perspectives, and youthful intuition to reshape the traditional FMCG distribution industry, leveraging data-driven decisions, proactive channel expansion, innovative team management, and a focus on creating hit products."
author: "张雨薇"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2025-05-24"
categories: "Dealer Operations"
language: "en"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/R0XKkdD-qMwSJ7GBHjLRmA"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E7%9C%8B%E4%B8%8D%E6%87%82-%E7%9A%84%E7%94%9F%E6%84%8F-%E6%AD%A3%E5%9C%A8%E8%A2%AB90%E5%90%8E%E7%BB%8F%E9%94%80%E5%95%86%E9%87%8D%E5%A1%91-d4cb3c57.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/incomprehensible-business-being-reshaped-by-post-90s-distributors-d4cb3c57/"
citation: "张雨薇. ““Incomprehensible” Business Being Reshaped by Post-90s Distributors.” New Distribution, 2025-05-24. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/incomprehensible-business-being-reshaped-by-post-90s-distributors-d4cb3c57/"
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---

# “Incomprehensible” Business Being Reshaped by Post-90s Distributors

> A post-70s distributor admitted, “I can't understand today's business,” reflecting a sense of awe at changing times. Increasingly, post-90s and even post-95s distributors are bringing digital thinking, internet perspectives, and youthful intuition to reshape the traditional FMCG distribution industry, leveraging data-driven decisions, proactive channel expansion, innovative team management, and a focus on creating hit products.

**“I can't understand today's business.”** A post-70s distributor boss said this softly during a conversation. He said it without complaint or denial, but with a simple awe of the changing times.

In recent years, at industry conferences, more and more young faces have come to the forefront to share their ideas and experiences; at manufacturers' distributor conferences, it's increasingly common for young people to represent and share practical methods.

These post-90s and even post-95s distributors are entering this relatively traditional industry in their own unique ways, with digital thinking, internet perspectives, and the intuition of the younger generation.

Is this industry being reconstructed by young people? What exactly are they doing right?

**Business decisions are no longer “feels right”**
**but “data says it works”**

**“If I had relied on sales emotions instead of data back then, I might have cut this product long ago.”** Post-95s distributor Mr. Li recalled that adjustment with lingering fear.

It happened in early 2023. A brand Mr. Li represents launched a large-pack juice. Once on the market, the response was lukewarm—sales were mediocre, and terminal feedback was vague. Following traditional thinking, such a product would typically be reduced or discontinued to cut losses. But he didn't rush to decide; instead, he carefully reviewed the backend data.

The results surprised him: **Although overall sales were not ideal, the sell-through in community stores was significantly better than in supermarkets, and the repurchase rate was steadily increasing.**

He quickly seized the opportunity, decisively adjusted his strategy: shifting channel focus to community terminals, fine-tuning the price band, and accelerating the promotion pace. Three weeks later, the product's monthly shipment volume grew 180% year-on-year, successfully transforming from a “trial product” to a “stable mid-tier product” in the brand's portfolio.

More importantly, Mr. Li standardized every step of this trial process—from product selection judgment, channel distribution, to adjustment and review—into a reusable SOP process for team replication and promotion, improving overall product selection efficiency.

**“After taking over my father's business, the first thing I did was introduce an inventory management system, allowing salespeople to place orders via mobile phones, with all inbound and outbound data synchronized in real time.”** Mr. Li told us that his daily work now relies heavily on various data charts in the system backend.

In the past, distributors made decisions based more on “experience” and “feel”—if a product looked promising or a brand sold well last year, they would decide to stock and distribute it.

But today, **more and more post-90s distributors are moving away from “shooting from the hip” judgments.** They are accustomed to letting data speak—from sell-through curves, channel structures, inventory levels, to SKU efficiency evaluations, every link is validated with charts and decisions are made with reports.

In our research, we found that many young distributors have “data dashboards” in their offices—some on walls, some embedded on computer desktops. Visualized data is becoming their “second pair of eyes” in management.

**From product selection to distribution, from pricing to promotions, this generation of young distributors tends to rely on “visible data” rather than “gut feeling.”**

Compared to traditional empiricism, this data-based approach may not necessarily be smarter, but it is more stable and replicable, especially helping them quickly test and reduce detours in a fast-paced, frequently changing market.

**New channels are no longer “wait and see”**
**but “actively seize”**

In channel strategies, I've encountered two typical post-90s distributor cases. Their paths differ, but both show a very distinct “omnichannel” mindset.

The first is Mr. Lu, a distributor in East China. When he entered the industry in 2013, the landscape was already solidified: top distributors held major clients, brand resources were scarce, and there was little room for newcomers.

Facing this dilemma, Mr. Lu turned his attention to a new chain channel that local incumbents regarded as a “marginal market.” He decisively connected, offering flexible pricing and fast distribution services. Within a few years, he rose from a district-level small supplier to a core strategic partner, tripling his business volume. With the chain's endorsement and experience, he then replicated his product selection and operational methods to more terminals.

The second case is Mr. Hu, a post-90s second-generation distributor. After taking over, he was once trapped in the growth bottleneck of traditional second-tier distribution.

It wasn't until he encountered the “lightning warehouse” model that he decided to start with water and beverages as a pilot. After positive data feedback, he quickly expanded cooperation, continuously added categories, and built a light supply chain adaptable to multiple categories and terminals. His previously stagnant trading business was structurally reshaped, doubling in volume.

Although the paths of these two distributors differ, the logic behind them is the same: **they are not satisfied with just guarding one channel, but prefer to use a “multi-point” approach to actively capture various market increments.**

Compared to the previous generation, who were accustomed to deeply cultivating traditional channels and often were wary or resistant to new channels and formats, feeling they were too old to accept them, **today's post-90s distributors are clearly more willing to “make a big move,” betting on multiple channels simultaneously, running business wherever opportunities arise.**

This **shift from single to multiple, from passive to active** channel strategy is precisely the commonality among post-90s distributors: they are not content with just running one line well, but use an omnichannel posture to capture more market increments.

**Team management shifts from “managing people” to “developing people”**

While most distributors are still troubled by “difficulty in recruiting and retaining talent,” some post-90s distributors have surprisingly stable teams.

Mr. Fang is a representative figure. In his company, over 90% of employees are “veterans” with more than five years of service. He admits that **the secret lies not in emotions, but in mechanisms.**

In his view, **employees are the company's “assets” and should be managed through scientific incentives and growth paths.**

Therefore, he took the lead in implementing a **composite compensation system** in his company, incorporating sales volume, gross profit, net profit, and KPI process indicators into assessments, with different weights in different seasons, so that incentives run throughout the year, balancing short-term and long-term goals.

In addition, he designed a **bet-style incentive mechanism**: employees can set their own goals, and upon completion, they receive high rewards; if not, they “reset to zero.” This “entrepreneurial” approach not only stimulates employee drive but also gradually shifts the team from a “worker mentality” to a “partner mindset.”

In talent development, Mr. Fang emphasizes **internal promotion**, with many key employees growing from warehouse, driver, and administrative roles. The internal development mechanism not only reduces trial-and-error costs but also enhances team belonging and promotion expectations. **When employees can see a future and have room to grow**, they naturally stay and grow with the company.

In the eyes of this batch of young distributors, **teams are no longer maintained by supervision, shouting, or personal favors, but are “nurtured” through systems and a sense of growth.** They view human resources as accumulable capital, not disposable tools.

“Good products can only be popular for a while, but a good team can ensure stability for a lifetime.” For the rising new generation of distributors, organizational capability may determine the upper and lower limits of business more than product selection.

**From “selling bestsellers” to “creating hits”**

In product selection strategies, the older generation of distributors often prefers a “safe” approach: first-tier big brands as the foundation, second- and third-tier high-margin products to supplement profits, with the overall portfolio emphasizing sales stability and risk control.

In contrast, post-90s distributors have a more proactive and aggressive product logic—**they not only want to sell bestsellers but also hope to create “hit products.”**

**This batch of young distributors grew up in the era of e-commerce platforms, with a natural sensitivity to “traffic” and “word-of-mouth.”** They are no longer satisfied with “passively receiving goods” but view product selection as part of their competitiveness, actively seeking “dark horse products” that have potential but haven't yet taken off offline.

Take Mr. Liu, a beverage distributor in Guangdong, for example. At the end of 2024, he came across a newly launched juice product. Impressed by its price band, taste, and user feedback on social platforms, he proactively contacted the brand to cooperate.

He not only coordinated warehouse resources across multiple regions but also paid out-of-pocket for cross-regional logistics during the pre-Spring Festival tight period to ensure smooth distribution in supermarket systems. Within a week of launch, the product entered bestseller lists in multiple regions. The brand subsequently added resource support, driving rapid volume growth and making his region a model market.

Similar cases are not uncommon. This “jointly create a hit” model is becoming the mainstream approach for more and more young distributors.

They use e-commerce data, social media buzz, community research, and other dimensions to gain insights into market trends, dare to test in small batches, quickly adjust channel investments based on data feedback, and achieve refined replication.

Rather than “selecting products,” they are “betting on trends,” but in this gamble, their hand is stronger insight and execution.

For them, business is not just about selling well, but also about “making a splash.” And “hit products” are the bridge connecting brand power, user mindshare, and channel efficiency, and are an important weapon for the new generation of distributors to break through against the trend.

**Final Thoughts**

The rise of post-90s distributors is not simply a “new generation replacing the old.” They are noticed not just because they are young, but because they are more willing to actively adapt to market changes, dare to break old frameworks, and embrace new opportunities with a more open attitude.

But this does not mean that post-60s and post-70s distributors are outdated.

In fact, we see many older-generation distributors actively transforming and seeking breakthroughs. Their experience and networks remain important assets to the industry and a foundation for the younger generation to learn from and leverage.

What truly hinders development is never age, but the mindset that clings to old models and resists new changes.

The market environment is changing, and the rules are changing. Only those who can continuously adjust, adapt to changes, and dare to try new methods will have the opportunity to find their place in the new competition.

The rise of the post-90s is not a denial of tradition, but more like intergenerational cooperation and inheritance, injecting fresh blood into the industry and jointly driving the entire industry forward.


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## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: 张雨薇
- Published: 2025-05-24
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/incomprehensible-business-being-reshaped-by-post-90s-distributors-d4cb3c57/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/R0XKkdD-qMwSJ7GBHjLRmA

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