---
title: "Shocking! 99% of Distributors Die from Poor Product Selection (12 Ways to Die)"
description: "As the spring sugar and wine fair approaches, distributors are eager to find good products. However, many fail due to common mistakes such as chasing trends, ignoring consumer changes, choosing weak partners, lacking brand support, and poor financial planning. This article outlines 12 fatal errors in product selection to help distributors avoid them."
author: "于思静、武学峰"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2017-03-08"
language: "en"
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# Shocking! 99% of Distributors Die from Poor Product Selection (12 Ways to Die)

> As the spring sugar and wine fair approaches, distributors are eager to find good products. However, many fail due to common mistakes such as chasing trends, ignoring consumer changes, choosing weak partners, lacking brand support, and poor financial planning. This article outlines 12 fatal errors in product selection to help distributors avoid them.

**Click image for details**

As the new year fades, the annual spring sugar and wine fair is about to arrive as scheduled. This year's spring fair is destined to be a "hot" event:

On one hand, the industry has bottomed out and is rebounding, with many companies seeing hope for rapid development. Distributors' businesses have improved, and with some spare cash, they are feeling restless again.

On the other hand, last autumn's fair was "extremely" bleak, with few attendees and poor results. Now, both companies and distributors have a strong need to attend and seek cooperation, so this spring fair is "highly anticipated."

For the vast number of distributors, nothing is more gratifying at the fair than finding a good product. Today, as a "veteran" in the liquor industry, I'd like to share with you how to develop a discerning eye at the spring fair and find the most suitable product among thousands of new offerings!

Serious reminder: In my view, there is no standard for who is best, but for the millions of different liquor merchants, what suits you is the best. Otherwise, you will "die" miserably, for example:

1
**Miss the trend, "talked to death" by experts**

As the saying goes, where there are people, there is a江湖 (world); where there are consumers, there is a market. In recent years, the liquor industry has undergone deep adjustment. The once-thriving "group buying" market has shrunk, but the market is constantly changing. From this year's start and some companies' annual reports, we find:

1. The long-vanished "group buying" has resurfaced. What's behind it? Some sub-premium markets are warming up again, and a new ranking race has begun!

2. The mass liquor market, once highly anticipated, is now a red ocean. In the Shandong market, I found too many products around 100 yuan, dazzling to the eye. Instead, the 150-300 yuan price band lacks a national big seller, and the same goes for the 30-80 yuan band.

3. Some niche markets seem insignificant but are actually powerful, such as wedding banquets and township gathering markets. These seemingly low-end areas actually hold "big opportunities."

2
**Misread the pulse, plans can't keep up with changes, dizzy to death!**

Here, "pulse" refers to consumers, our gods! As the saying goes, where there are consumers, there is a market, and the market is ultimately composed of consumers. Therefore, changes in consumers directly determine changes in our product choices. Of course, consumer changes in 2017 have been very obvious. Specifically, changes in consumer spending reveal the following opportunities:

1. Healthy drinking is a new trend. More and more people are focusing on health. Many consumers choose healthier products while enjoying the pleasure of drinking, such as bitter buckwheat wine and health wines, which have become highlights.

2. The post-80s and post-90s generations are new consumer groups. Personalized products are becoming popular, needing to match the temperament of new consumers.

3. Rural consumers and urban middle-class have increased purchasing power and desire, and "drinking something better" resonates.

4. New consumption gives rise to new categories, such as low-alcohol fruit wines and liqueurs.

3
**Company lacks strength, raising the child alone, tired to death!**

It's often said that a product is a "child" shared by the manufacturer and distributor. But if you encounter a "heartless man," as a single mother, you'll be exhausted. Any product needs promotion to develop rapidly, though the methods and time invested differ. However, we must note that generally, companies with strength are more likely to succeed because they have a more mature grasp of the market and greater promotional support.

Therefore, when choosing a company, you must select one you trust and that has a certain reputation in the industry. For the liquor industry, the partner doesn't have to be a listed company or a state-owned enterprise, but it must be a reputable and steady company, or one that cooperates with major industry media. This way, the liquor merchant can grow and develop together with the manufacturer.

4
**Product lacks brand, playing short-term, asking for death!**

People often say, "Small wins rely on wisdom, big wins rely on virtue." The same applies to product selection: small wins rely on the product, but big wins still require brand. Choosing to cooperate with a company with certain brand influence is very important for liquor merchants.

Because brands are built through long-term accumulation or large investments in manpower, materials, and financial resources for extensive promotion. Whether through long-term accumulation or short-term rapid enhancement, products with a certain brand have better consumer recognition and stability. Of course, imitation products offer high short-term profits, but they are detrimental to long-term operations. As brand awareness increases, good brands will be more welcomed. With information symmetry and a significant increase in brand concentration, the strong will get stronger, and the weak will get weaker! Counterfeit products, even if cheap, may have no buyers.

5
**Channel lacks profit, losing money to death!**

Product success largely depends on reasonable profits and smooth channels. For the liquor industry, an important factor for the entire channel to actively promote is a reasonable profit structure for all channel members. Therefore, for candidate products, there must be reasonable profit and price systems.

Generally, the agency model for liquor companies is that the terminal price is twice the ex-factory price, plus various market support and rebates. In total, the gross profit from selling a bottle can reach three-quarters of the terminal price. Otherwise, with such high costs and busy schedules, who would do this for you! Profit-seeking is the biggest driver of business rules; without profit, how can you play?

6
**Insufficient funds, bleeding to death!**

What's most important in business? Money! Without money, it's not business; it's "empty-handed catching a wolf"! After selecting a product, distributors paying for goods has become a customary rule. Today, the initial payment for a product is much lower than in previous years, but it's still a heavy burden for distributors whose funds are tied up in inventory.

Before taking on any product, you must first consider whether you have the pressure to pay, and whether you can bear the manufacturer's requirements. Even if the product is excellent, if the manufacturer's payment threshold is so high that it "hurts your bones," you can't take it! Be careful not to end up with insufficient funds and bleed to death.

7
**Excessive inventory, burdened to death!**

When it comes to "inventory," many distributors get a headache. "Inventory" is a pain for most distributors. Looking at the products in the warehouse makes them anxious and irritated. Before taking on new products, you must consider inventory. Otherwise, not having a place for new products is a minor issue, but the chain reaction of insufficient working capital caused by inventory can drag you to death!

8
**Can't sell, stifled to death!**

For the sales of new products, we cannot simply follow experience and take it for granted. The team and new channels need to gradually adapt to new products, let alone consumers?

Because any new product entering the market will have a certain "adaptation period." During this period, the product needs gradual cultivation, so distributors cannot put too much pressure on themselves. Therefore, before taking on a new product, distributors should objectively assess the minimum sales volume. If you are overly optimistic and go all in, you might not sell and be stifled to death!

9
**No support, overworked to death!**

Taking on a new product is like finding a wife; the two families must live together! Therefore, the rapid development of any product cannot be separated from the full cooperation of the manufacturer and distributor. A suitable product entering the local market needs the manufacturer's support to jointly develop the local market. Therefore, whether there is support and how strong it is are important factors for distributors to consider. If there is no support and the distributor works alone, be careful of overwork.

10
**Not adapted to local conditions, depressed to death!**

Perhaps brands are not regional, but distributors are. You must consider that when you get a product, local consumers must buy it for it to be a real sale. Whether a product can sell well locally depends on consumers' acceptance of new products. Think about it: China is vast and rich, and it's impossible for one product to appeal to all consumers. "Consumption barriers" are widespread, such as flavor type, alcohol content, and price, which can cause maladaptation. Therefore, before selecting products, distributors must have a full understanding of consumers in their region.

11
**Mispositioning, laughed to death!**

Any distributor, big or small, should have a clear positioning and strategy for their company. This determines the systematic nature of their product system, the direction of product management, and thus which products are key. For example, if a distributor mainly does circulation channels, and if the strategy is not adjusted, some profitable channel products are suitable, but if it's a product suitable for group buying, it will be difficult for the distributor to operate.

Therefore, when selecting products, distributors should compare whether their positioning matches the new product, especially channel compatibility. If the door is not right for the household, you might be laughed to death!

12
**Improper combination, imbalanced to death!**

For any distributor, optimizing the product mix should be a top priority. In the traditional business model, after determining the business direction, most distributors need image products to enhance their image, profit products to gain profits, and local volume products to capture market share. Only by combining these products well can distributors truly maximize profits in operations. If you have a wrong understanding of your product system, not only may product positioning overlap and cause internal friction, but it may even lead to chaos in the entire product system, and you'll die from imbalance!

**Source: Liquor Talk**

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