Editor's note: The business world is like a battlefield. In the FMCG distributor community, female distributors are generally not studied or recognized as a distinct group. However, we have found that there are many outstanding female distributors in this group. They not only demonstrate 'she power' with their talents and characteristics in the cutthroat market, but also achieve impressive and record-worthy business successes. From February 25 to March 1, 2023, reporters from New Distribution drove nearly 2,000 kilometers to visit several county-level markets in Gansu Province. Today, we are honored to share the stories of five such outstanding female distributors.
Chengxian Tian Guifen: Standardized Operations Are the True Key to a Distributor's Growth Our first stop was Chengxian, Longnan City, Gansu Province, because it is home to the only airport within a radius of nearly a thousand miles—Chengxian Airport. Gansu's market is vast and sparsely populated, with a total population of just over 20 million. Chengxian in Longnan has only about 200,000 people, while there are over 2,000 counties nationwide with populations exceeding 300,000. The most famous association with Longnan might be the idiom '得陇望蜀' (covet Shu after getting Long), where 'Long' refers to today's Longnan. In Chengxian, a county market with a population of just over 200,000, Tian Guifen's Yafei Trading has grown into the only distributor with annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan. Its Snow Beer market share is far ahead locally. Like most first-generation FMCG distributors, Tian Guifen's entrepreneurial journey is strikingly similar: her career started based on fate's choice rather than a chosen destiny. Born in 1963, Tian Guifen married into Chengxian from elsewhere, worked in a factory, and after the factory closed, she started a small business. In 2004, she began distributing Snow Beer and the local brand Hongchuan Baijiu. After nearly 20 years of development, she has become one of the most well-known major distributors in Chengxian's FMCG sector and a member of the Longnan City Chengxian Political Consultative Conference. Star-rated distributor (Yafei Trading) Tian Guifen has her own unique approach to the market. In 2004, when she first started with Snow, there was no Snow Beer factory in Gansu, so she had to drive her own truck to Mianyang, Sichuan, to pick up beer. Snow Beer had no local brand awareness, and the manufacturer offered little market guidance. What to do with a truckload of beer? After much thought, Tian Guifen came up with an idea: she placed four promoters in high-traffic restaurants. This was almost unprecedented in the market at the time. Thanks to this innovation, Snow Beer quickly established a foothold in Chengxian. Today, her company has a team of 25, of which 20 are salespeople or drivers, with very high per-capita output. She has a unique sales mechanism: both salespeople and drivers can sell products. How does she resolve potential conflicts between salespeople and drivers over orders? She solved this cleverly with a small innovation. If a driver takes an order, the sales commission goes to the driver, but the sales target counts toward the salesperson. Why is this mechanism clever? Drivers, having sales commissions, will pay close attention to maintaining customer relationships, given the sales opportunities. Salespeople, though losing the commission, still get credit for the sales, so they won't complain much. The key is that if a salesperson loses an order to a driver due to poor relationship maintenance, they have no excuse. At the same time, this serves as excellent supervision and healthy competition. If most of a salesperson's targets are achieved by drivers, it likely indicates a problem with that salesperson's attitude or ability. Furthermore, Tian Guifen's company fully implemented an SFA system several years ago, achieving systematic and standardized management. During our three-hour interview and visit, she was not interrupted by a single work call, demonstrating the orderliness of her management. Tian Guifen highly endorses China Resources Snow's business philosophy and has always insisted on standardized operations. She not only strictly pays taxes according to regulations but also fully standardizes employee contracts and insurance. She believes that strict standardized operations are the core competitiveness of a distributor and the foundation for growth. If a distributor's profits are only obtained through non-compliant operations, they will not succeed. Because she has consistently maintained good profits through standardized operations, her company was recognized by the Chengxian government at the end of 2022 for outstanding performance and was the only trading company invited to give a representative speech. Compared with her company, many distributor companies are afraid to deal with government regulatory departments, largely because their operations are not fully compliant.
Lixian Zhou Xiaofeng: A 'Silly Boss' Who Sticks to Real Business and Continuously Refines Her Network Our second stop was Lixian, Longnan. Lixian is the birthplace of Qin culture. According to historical records, the Ying clan, originally vassals of the Shang Dynasty, were demoted to commoners by the Duke of Zhou for participating in a rebellion and forced to migrate westward to the Lixian area. Later, for their merit in horse breeding, they were made vassals by King Xiao of Zhou, serving the Zhou royal family for generations and defending against the Western Rong, which fostered the Qin people's martial spirit. In Lixian, not many terminal owners know the name Zhou Xiaofeng, but 'Silly Boss Trading Company' is famous. Silly Boss Trading Company Zhou Xiaofeng's Lixian Silly Boss Trading Company is a distributor of Snow Beer and a major distributor with annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan. She is also a representative of the Longnan City People's Congress. Some joke that consumers in Lixian drink an average of five cases of Snow Beer per person per year. Zhou Xiaofeng, with a background in factory finance, started distributing Snow Beer in 2003, building her business from scratch. When asked about the differences between men and women in business, she said that women are not good at socializing and drinking, so they have to do better on the front lines to have a chance. But women are more meticulous and down-to-earth, and often have stronger endurance for difficulties than men. In terms of business model, Zhou Xiaofeng's company differs from typical companies. All product costs, profits, and expenses are disclosed to business supervisors. A unit price for each product is calculated and given to the supervisor, with different commission rates for different product tiers. The company takes a small share, while the supervisor's team takes the majority. Supervisors then lead their teams to develop and serve terminal customers. Each business supervisor is essentially a partner without needing to invest. This mechanism not only secures the income of core talent but also shares operational responsibilities and risks. According to Zhou Xiaofeng, through this approach, she is confident that every core supervisor at Silly Boss can become a 'millionaire' within a few years. There were two important turning points in Silly Boss's development. The first was in 2007, when Silly Boss shifted from a wholesale model to terminal delivery, leading to doubled growth year after year. Sales grew from a few million to over 40 million by 2013. Therefore, Zhou Xiaofeng has always prioritized building delivery capability as the most important asset. Today, Silly Boss's delivery network seamlessly covers all townships in Lixian. Because distances between townships and the county seat, and between townships, are vast, this network has now been opened to other FMCG distributors, becoming a vital channel for Silly Boss to maintain township terminal relationships and drive business growth. The second turning point was in 2013, when Zhou Xiaofeng invested her earnings in land and infrastructure. From 2013 to 2020, over seven years, she invested more than 20 million yuan to build a 4,000-square-meter office building and nearly 10,000 square meters of standardized warehouse. Zhou Xiaofeng believes that 'those with fixed property have fixed hearts,' and only then can business thrive. When business reaches a certain level, distributors must seize the opportunity to invest in infrastructure. In a county town, only with your own land and buildings can people's hearts and careers be stable, and talent is more willing to work diligently for the company. Among all the brands she partners with, Zhou Xiaofeng places the highest importance on Snow Beer. She says, first, she strongly identifies with Snow's corporate development philosophy, including its current premium strategy; second, Snow is a brand that values relationships with distributors, and Silly Boss has weathered several crises with Snow's support. Beyond business, Silly Boss actively fulfills social responsibilities by building seven nursing homes in the county seat and townships. Although elderly care requires significant investment and is not profitable, Zhou Xiaofeng believes it is a social responsibility that a distributor, having solved its survival issues, can afford to undertake. Nursing home built by Zhou Xiaofeng In fact, it is precisely because of Silly Boss's honest business practices and its consistent public welfare efforts that its reputation is well-known among terminal owners in Lixian.
Wudu Han Ying: How an Outsider Conquered Wudu's Nightlife Market in Three Years Our third stop was Wudu District, Longnan City. Wudu, established as Wudu Commandery in the Western Han Dynasty, was a famous military stronghold in ancient times. Wudu is most famous for olive oil and Sichuan pepper. Unlike the previous two female bosses, Han Ying is from Sichuan and was recruited by Snow Beer in 2018 to be a distributor in Wudu. She entered the Wudu market in early 2019, establishing Wudu Shengji Trading Company, responsible for Snow Beer's nightlife channel and some high-end dining in Wudu's urban area. Wudu was not Han Ying's first market outside her hometown. In fact, over the past decade or so, she had worked in markets in Tibet, Qinghai, and elsewhere until coming to Wudu in 2019. An outsider, unfamiliar with Wudu, taking on the most difficult and complex nightlife channel—the odds of success seemed low. But after four years of persistence, Han Ying not only secured the vast majority of nightlife venues in Wudu District but also became the distributor with an absolute share of Snow Beer's high-end beer in Wudu. As an outsider trying to win the local market, Han Ying had only one method, but she used it to the extreme: relentless relationship building! Although Wudu is not large, in 2019 there were over 100 KTVs with considerable high-end beer sales, but none sold Snow. Han Ying and her husband were both the bosses and the only two salespeople. They visited each store one by one, repeatedly, and when nightclub owners initially refused, she would go as a consumer and spend money until she secured the account. Han Ying recalls, 'My first nightlife account in Wudu took a month and more than a dozen visits. It was that stubborn determination to never back down that got our beer in.' From one store to over a hundred, from getting products in to gaining a leading edge, Han Ying used this method almost exclusively. However, this hands-on approach also led her to neglect other aspects, causing problems and losses. First, in her rush to break the market deadlock, she did not keep up with account period management after products entered stores, leading to chaotic settlements and some terminal debts becoming bad debts. To this day, Han Ying still has hundreds of thousands of yuan in terminal credit, but some nightlife venues have closed. Although she knows the owners, the debts may never be recovered. Second, the boss was exhausted every day, neglecting team building, resulting in a lack of available personnel, and the business has hit a bottleneck. Because the boss did everything herself, terminals recognized the boss rather than the company. If someone else went to a terminal, they could only deliver goods and nothing else. In 2023, Han Ying's two most important tasks are, first, to build a professional team under Snow's guidance; second, to strengthen financial discipline, standardize account periods, and clean up bad debts. The problems Han Ying faces today are not new; similar issues arise among distributors nationwide and are worth learning from.
Zhouqu Li Hongxian: To Win in Premium, Seize the High Ground Our fourth stop was Zhouqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu. Zhouqu, known as the 'Jiangnan of Tibetan Townships,' is traversed by one river and two streams (Bailong River, Gongba River, and Boyu River), with complex terrain and frequent natural disasters. Zhouqu became known nationwide due to the catastrophic mudslide on August 7, 2010, which destroyed most of the county town. Today, however, the resilient people of Zhouqu, with help from across the country, have almost rebuilt the county town from the ruins. Li Hongxian of Zhouqu Huifeng Trading is a representative of Zhouqu's resilience and wisdom. In just a year and a half, she helped Snow Beer achieve an absolute dominant share of high-end beer in the dining and nightlife sectors of Zhouqu's urban area. Before 2021, Li Hongxian had never been a beer distributor, especially not in the on-premise channel. Snow Beer was her first brand focused on on-premise sales. Being a distributor in Zhouqu is particularly challenging because the entire county has only 110,000 people, with just 40,000 in the urban area. A woman with zero on-premise experience, in a fifth-tier small county town, trying to sell high-end beer—how could that work? In fact, Li Hongxian took just over a year to achieve over 90% coverage of Zhouqu's dining and nightlife venues, with a market share far ahead, and premium beer accounting for over 60% of sales. Her approach to premium is distinctive. 'Premium beer requires a premium strategy. My strategy is that the first store must be the best-performing and highest-class store in Zhouqu,' Li Hongxian says. 'This is what Snow calls seizing the 'high ground.' The first store Li Hongxian chose was strategic. There is a local barbecue restaurant called 'Ersa' with a great reputation and loyal customers, and it has multiple branches, all doing well. Despite her limited sales experience, Li Hongxian believed that only by securing 'Ersa' could she break the deadlock. To win over 'Ersa,' Li Hongxian's method was similar to Han Ying's: she went to the restaurant to drink. She brought ten cases of beer to the store and said, either you sell my beer, or I'll store it here and drink it while I eat. For the first store, she visited four times before closing the deal. With the high ground secured, Li Hongxian quickly expanded, achieving over 80% distribution of premium beer within months. Today, the owner of 'Ersa' has become a close friend of Li Hongxian.
Hezuo Chen Jie: In Small Cities, Customer Relationships Are the Biggest Moat Our fifth stop was Hezuo City, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Hezuo City, the capital of Gannan, is located at the junction of Gansu, Qinghai, and Sichuan provinces. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, Hezuo was a key northern fortress of the Qiang regime. Hezuo covers over 2,600 square kilometers but has a population of only 110,000. Chen Jie is from Baoji, Shaanxi Province. She came to Gansu with her husband twenty years ago and established Chengjia Trading in Hezuo in 2008, starting to distribute Snow Beer. Chen Jie's entry into Snow Beer was quite dramatic. She initially ran a building materials business in Gansu. When someone owed her money, they transferred a KTV in Hezuo to her. When her beer supplier delivered to the KTV, they talked about the beer business, and she felt it suited her better than building materials. In 2008, Snow Beer was not available in Hezuo, so Chen Jie became a distributor through a friend's introduction. But in 2009, over 90% of the local market was Huanghe Beer. Chen Jie and her team visited stores one by one, facing rejection after rejection, working until midnight every day. This continued for three years before the situation changed. To conquer a small city market like Hezuo, Chen Jie believes two points are crucial. First, the manufacturer must provide sustained and firm support to the distributor, and the distributor must have the grit to fight hard on the front lines, deeply cultivating the market. Chen Jie believes that without Snow Beer's consistent market support and unwavering focus on market goals, the distributor alone could not win the market. Second, in small cities, customer relationships are the distributor's biggest moat, so great effort must be put into service and relationships. In a small city like Hezuo, there are no special tricks; you just need to dominate channels and terminals. Small cities value personal connections and service. Chen Jie exploited the weakness of her main competitor's poor service to break into terminals. For example, when a KTV customer faced difficulties, Chen Jie directly gave them ten cases of beer. Once such a customer overcomes the crisis, no brand can lure them away, and they will spread her reputation in their circle. Chen Jie believes that compared to male distributors, women are more attentive, making it easier for others to feel their sincerity and kindness, and they often show more patience and resilience in developing markets. Today, Chen Jie holds a leading share of the Snow Beer market in Hezuo.
Afterword: After in-depth visits with these five outstanding female distributors, we found that business success is not inherently related to gender. Excellent distributors share common traits regardless of gender. Every outstanding distributor boss often has many common qualities: courage, resilience, an eye for opportunity, decisiveness, a willingness to learn, and perseverance. Among New Distribution's readers nationwide, there are many excellent distributors who are constantly learning and improving. Among them are outstanding female distributors in various regions, some even with annual sales exceeding one billion yuan. Some of these distributors have been in business for over twenty years, while others may have just started a few years ago. Why do they remain excellent? It has much to do with their continuous efforts to broaden their horizons and learn from others. Many of them come to Chengdu every March or April to attend New Distribution's FMCG Innovation Conference, engaging in extensive and in-depth exchanges with outstanding companies and distributors from across the country. This is both a sharing of experience and a mutual learning and promotion among excellent entrepreneurs. From April 6-8, 2023, in Chengdu, Sichuan, the 8th China FMCG Innovation Conference welcomes all outstanding distributors from across the country!