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Articles by 薛文发
Browse 13 New Distribution articles by 薛文发.
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The Internal Friction Between Private Label and Procurement: Ten Directors Won't Fix It
In a meeting, tensions hit a low point for the third time. The procurement director pushed a display adjustment plan to the center of the table, saying, 'We've spent three years maintaining this prime shelf space, and the original brand pays us millions in annual support. Why should your private label SKU take up two facings?' The private label lead countered, 'Why? Because this SKU has a gross margin 14 points higher than the brand product in the same spot after three months, because company strategy requires private label to lead this category, and because the boss decided at the start of the year that private label should have dedicated displays.'
薛文发In-Depth Guide: Don't Blindly Add SKUs—Choosing the Wrong Category for Private Label Is a Waste of Effort
At an annual industry trade show, a private label manager from a regional supermarket collected over 70 supplier business cards in three days. Back at the office, he reviewed them all and proposed a project list of eight categories and over 20 SKUs from seven suppliers. His boss approved everything, but a year later, all eight categories were underperforming, with inventory turnover at the bottom of their categories and year-end losses in the millions. The problem wasn't the execution but the initial category selection—private label isn't about doing whatever you can find; it's about doing what you can do well.
薛文发Private Brands Without a Defined Role Will Eventually Be 'Cleared Out' of Their Category
Walking into the private brand section of most retail stores today, one often feels a strange sense: shelves are fully stocked, SKUs are numerous, but it's unclear why these products are there. This is the most common yet overlooked problem for Chinese private brands—having products without roles, quantity without division of labor.
薛文发"3.9 Yuan, 6.8 Yuan, 9.9 Yuan" – Don't Price Your Private Label Arbitrarily!
Private label products are booming, but many retailers are pricing them without a clear strategy, leading to confusion and missed opportunities. This article analyzes common pricing pitfalls and introduces the GOOD-BETTER-BEST framework, along with five actionable rules for building a coherent private label pricing architecture.
薛文发Don't Just 'Copy Homework' When Building Private Brands!
In the past year, traditional retail has faced immense pressure, with the industry undergoing a brutal supply-side clearance and model iteration. Against this backdrop, private brands have become a must for many retailers seeking growth and differentiation. However, is it really that easy? At the CFC 11th China FMCG Conference held in Chengdu from March 16-18, 2026, Xue Wenfa, Deputy General Manager of Guangdong Yinxue Group and a veteran private brand expert, delivered a keynote speech on 'Insight, Breakthrough, and Reconstructing the Growth Path of Private Brands'.
薛文发Don't Let Naming Ruin Your Private Brand!
Retailers invest heavily in developing private label products but often rush through the initial naming process. A random name lacks strategic direction and fails to build brand equity. This article explores the three common naming pitfalls, the three strategic brand architecture paths (parent, hybrid, independent), and emphasizes that systematic brand building, not just naming, determines success.
薛文发Retailers Without a Private Brand Strategy Have No Future
In recent years, competition in the retail industry has intensified, and the traditional 'rent-collecting' model is being phased out. For retailers, how to navigate the cycle and become the true 'survivor' or even 'winner'? Developing private brands is becoming the strategic direction and core weapon for more and more retail enterprises. Private brands: a century-old path, but also a strategic choice. As early as 1924, UK's Tesco began selling private label products, a century ago. On this path, there are both successful examples like Costco's 'Kirkland Signature' growing into a global brand, and countless failures that faded away.
薛文发2026: The Great Reckoning for Private Labels
In 2025, the private label sector saw two outcomes: some, like Sam's Club's Member's Mark, always have queues and carts being pushed out; others, the majority of followers, have private label sections gathering dust. This year, private labels were elevated to a pedestal, seen as retailers' 'lifeline.' But reality is harsh: according to the '2024-2025 China Private Label Development Report,' despite positive signals that large retail enterprises' private label sales share has exceeded 10%, over 60% of small and medium retail enterprises still have private label SKU share below 5%.
薛文发The Underlying Logic of Retail Branding: 90% of Retailers Overlook It
The FMCG market has shifted from incremental growth to stock, and now to contraction, intensifying competition across the entire industry chain, with 'brutal' being the most apt description. On August 20, at the 5th China FMCG Retail Innovation Conference, Xue Wenfa, Deputy General Manager of Guangdong Yinxue Group and a senior private label expert, shared how retail enterprises can build differentiated competitive advantages through branding strategy in his speech titled 'Breaking Through Homogeneous Competition: Branding is the Urgent Task for Retail'. The following is an edited excerpt of his on-site speech, compiled by New Distribution for readers.
薛文发Traditional Procurement Must Go, or Retail Has No Future
Recent Q3 2024 reports from major listed companies show traditional retailers struggling, while snack discount leader Wanchen Group shines with Q1-Q3 revenue of 20.613 billion yuan, up 320.63% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to parent of 84 million yuan, up 248.64%. Hard discount retail is also booming, with examples like Fujian's 'Guanpake' expanding rapidly, achieving monthly sales over 1.2 million yuan per store with only 5-6 staff.
薛文发In the Era of Channel Convergence and Shrinking Volume, How Can Brand Owners Break Through the Dilemma of Choice?
In recent years, with the rise of discounting trends, high-quality factories skilled in cost control and efficiency improvement will encounter new market opportunities. What characteristics do such enterprises typically possess? What are their strategic considerations? On August 21, Mr. Xue Wenfa, Assistant to the Chairman and Deputy General Manager of the Marketing Center of Guangdong Yinxue Group, delivered a brilliant sharing session at the 3rd China FMCG Hard Discount Conference, themed 'In the Era of Channel Convergence and Shrinking Volume, How Can Suppliers Break Through the Dilemma of Choice?' The company has an annual turnover of 5 billion yuan and is a veritable factory/brand with manufacturing capabilities.
薛文发Who Can Save the Retail Dilemma?
2024 is destined to be an extraordinary year, with supermarket performance continuously declining, e-commerce traffic peaking and falling, and CVS daily sales per store dropping significantly. However, hard discount stores are expanding against the trend, with capital increasing investment. An industry veteran predicts that 2024 will be a watershed for the retail industry, with a large number of businesses dying or being reborn, sinking or reviving, and lying flat or improving. The industry is lamenting bad luck and sighing over the current situation. But how many people have considered: Why is today's pain not yesterday's 'achievement'? The decline of supermarkets and the rise of new formats...
薛文发In the Era of Shrinking Volume, Will Private Labels Be a Panacea for Retail Enterprises?
As 2024 reaches the turn of spring and summer, the FMCG market is eerily cold, with various factors combining to blow a chill wind signaling the arrival of the 'shrinking volume' era. While platforms, brands, distributors, and terminals are all trembling, the heat around 'private labels' has suddenly risen, becoming a powerful weapon against economic cycles. Yonghui Superstores has incubated Yonghui Farm, Tianqu, Yousong, Chan Dashi, Ofresh, etc.; Dingdong Maicai has developed private labels in categories like fresh produce, craft beer, and mooncakes; Wumart has Daily Fresh, Liangshiji, and more. Many retailers are increasing the proportion of private labels.
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