“I can’t understand today’s business.” A distributor born in the 1970s said this softly during a conversation. He spoke without complaint or denial, only with a simple awe of the changing times.
In recent years, more young faces have stepped onto the stage at industry conferences to share their ideas and experiences. At manufacturers’ distributor conferences, it’s increasingly common for young people to represent their peers and share practical methods.
These post-90s and even post-95s distributors are entering this relatively traditional industry with digital thinking, an internet perspective, 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 go”
“If I had judged by sales emotions instead of data, 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. The product’s market response was lukewarm—sales were mediocre, and terminal feedback was vague. Following traditional thinking, such a product would usually be reduced or discontinued. But he didn’t rush to decide; instead, he carefully reviewed backend data.
The results surprised him: Although overall sales were unsatisfactory, community convenience stores showed significantly better sell-through than supermarkets, and the repurchase rate was steadily rising.
He quickly seized the opportunity, decisively adjusted his strategy: shifted channel focus to community terminals, fine-tuned the price band, and accelerated promotion frequency. Three weeks later, the product’s monthly shipment volume grew 180% year-on-year, successfully transforming from a “trial product” into a “stable mid-tier product” for the brand.
More importantly, Mr. Li standardized every step of this trial—from product selection and channel distribution to adjustment and review—into a reusable SOP process for team replication, improving overall product selection efficiency.
“After taking over my father’s business, the first thing I did was introduce an inventory management system, requiring 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 “shoot-from-the-hip” judgments. They are accustomed to letting data speak—from sell-through curves, channel structure, and 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 prefers to rely on “visible data” rather than “gut feeling.”
Compared to traditional empiricism, this data-based approach may not 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 strategy, 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 fixed: leading distributors held major clients, brand resources were scarce, and little space was left 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 operations methodology to more terminals.
The second case is Mr. Hu, a second-generation post-90s distributor. After taking over, he was once stuck in the growth bottleneck of traditional second-tier distribution.
Until he encountered the “lightning warehouse” model, 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 achieved structural reshaping, doubling its volume.
Although the paths of these two distributors differ, the logic behind them is the same: they are not satisfied with guarding a single channel but prefer to actively capture market increments through a “multi-point” approach.
Compared to the previous generation, who tended to focus on traditional channels and were often hesitant or resistant to new channels and formats, believing 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 common trait of post-90s distributors: they are not content with running one line well but use an omnichannel posture to capture more market increments.
Team management: from “managing people” to “developing people”
While most distributors are still troubled by “difficulty in recruiting and retaining,” 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 corporate “assets” that should be managed through scientific incentives and growth paths.
Therefore, he took the lead in implementing a composite compensation system, incorporating sales volume, gross profit, net profit, and KPI process indicators into assessments, with different weights in different seasons, ensuring incentives run throughout the year, balancing short-term and long-term goals.
Additionally, 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 motivates employees 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, or administrative roles. The internal development mechanism reduces trial-and-error costs and enhances team belonging and promotion expectations. When employees see a future and have room to grow, they naturally stay and grow with the company.
In the eyes of this young generation of 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; 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 blockbusters”
In product selection strategy, the older generation of distributors often prefers a “safe” approach: first-tier big brands provide the foundation, second- and third-tier high-margin products supplement profits, with the overall portfolio emphasizing sales stability and risk control.
In contrast, post-90s distributors’ product logic is more proactive and aggressive—they not only want to sell bestsellers but also hope to create “blockbusters.”
This young generation 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” with potential that haven’t yet taken off offline.
Take Mr. Liu, a beverage distributor in Guangdong, for example. In late 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 rush to ensure smooth distribution in supermarket systems. Within a week of shelf placement, the product entered bestseller lists in multiple regions. The brand subsequently added resource support, accelerating the product’s volume growth and turning his region into a model market.
Similar cases are not uncommon. This “jointly create a hit” model is becoming the mainstream approach for 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 cards are stronger insight and execution.
For them, business is not just about selling well but also about “making a splash.” And “blockbusters” are the bridge linking brand power, consumer mindshare, and channel efficiency—and a key 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 attract attention 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 an open attitude.
But this does not mean that distributors born in the 60s and 70s are outdated.
In fact, we see many older distributors actively transforming and seeking breakthroughs. Their experience and networks remain valuable 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, and dare to try new methods will find their place in the new competition.
From August 19-21, the 7th China FMCG Conference, themed “New Demand, New Supply,” will be held in Shanghai, alongside the 5th China FMCG Distributor Conference.
“New Distribution” has surveyed nearly 500 distributors and will release the “2025 China FMCG Distributor Business Condition Survey Report” at the conference, to see who is growing and who is being eliminated among distributors this year. Where is the focus of operations? Where are the business opportunities?
Also, the in-depth case collection “Top Ten Growth Case Models for FMCG Distributors” will be released, restoring real cases and providing structural thinking to help distributors find direction from chaos.
In addition, we will hold the “Regional B2b Platform & Key Brand Cooperation Seminar.” It brings together 40+ regional B2b platform owners to discuss incremental opportunities in the sinking market covering 200,000 small stores; releases and interprets the “Regional B2b Cooperation Guide” on-site; and builds a bridge for dialogue between regional B2b platforms and key brand leaders, enabling one-click connection and on-site supply-demand matching!
🔺