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Browse 10 New Distribution articles by 道农.
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30 Observations on Consumption Trends, Opportunities, and Challenges After the Pandemic
Data shows that the FMCG industry has been significantly impacted. In April, total retail sales of consumer goods fell 11.1% year-on-year, with declines in most categories except beverages, grain and oil, and medicine. Consumption sentiment is cautious, with a trend toward conservative spending rather than downgrading. Channel inventory is high, and companies face cost pressures and sales challenges. The competitive landscape remains stable, but new opportunities exist in prepared dishes and compound seasonings. Recommendations include prudent investment, product structure adjustment, and embracing new retail channels.
道农From Du Guoying and Xiao Guan Tea: Brand Marketing Opportunities for Chinese Agricultural Products
In 2008, Xinhua News Agency published an article titled "China's 70,000 Tea Companies Cannot Match One Lipton," highlighting the issue of China's tea industry being "large but not strong." To this day, the branding problem in the tea industry remains unresolved, and the industry is still highly fragmented. However, Xiao Guan Tea has emerged as a benchmark case in branding in recent years. In a recent interview with Xiao Guan Tea founder Du Guoying in Li Xiang's series column "Detailed Talks," the author gained deep insights into his product development approach, which is worth learning from. Today, we set aside the tea industry to explore a deeper question: how to build a brand like Xiao Guan Tea in a highly fragmented industry.
道农Prepared Dishes Are So Hot, Should Distributors Get on Board?
Prepared dishes have become the hottest track at the start of 2022, following community group buying and the metaverse. Lu Zhengyao, recently ousted from Luckin Coffee, has officially entered the prepared dishes sector with his new venture 'Shejian Workshop'. The model involves sourcing fresh ingredients, processing them into semi-finished products, and distributing via cold chain to retail terminals. With low franchise thresholds, the company has already secured 30 letters of intent. The market is booming, with projections of reaching trillions in scale, but distributors should carefully consider opportunities and challenges.
道农Why Do Successful Distributors Move Their Offices into Office Buildings?
Walking down a busy street, you see towering office buildings that seem out of reach. Most distributors think only internet or high-tech companies belong there, and that distribution is just a middleman business with no technical content. But moving into an office building isn't about showing off; it's a sign of the future state of distribution, where successful distributors operate as formal, digitized, and efficient enterprises.
道农No Matter How Popular Online, How High the Volume, Offline is the Main Battlefield for Internet-Famous Brands!
In recent years, the rise of the new consumption wave has made online platforms an incubator for new consumer brands, creating many bestsellers. New Distribution has interviewed and reported on dozens of innovative consumer brands, and through communication with founders, it was found that these brands, after achieving online popularity, encounter many challenges when entering offline channels.
道农Distributors Trapped in "Involution": Why So Many Covet Such a Tough Business?
Excess population competes for limited resources, yet development stagnates, remaining at a low level of repetition, forming "involution." Currently, distributors are trapped in a state of "involution," with intense competition for existing resources while still following the same old paths from a decade ago... The first to introduce the term "involution" into China was a historical sociologist returning from overseas, named Huang Zongzhi. In 1985, Huang published a book titled "The Peasant Economy and Social Change in North China," which mentioned that China's peasant economy, with excessive labor and limited land, formed an "involutionary growth."
道农Why Can't the FMCG Industry Afford High Salaries Anymore?
Recently, an interesting phenomenon has been observed: the FMCG industry has not attracted high-quality talent for frontline sales for a long time. Even companies like P&G find it very difficult to recruit graduates from Tsinghua or Peking University, let alone frontline staff at Coca-Cola or Master Kong. This article explores the reasons behind this, including low pay, inefficient distribution models, and the need for digital tools that empower rather than monitor salespeople.
道农A Digital Revolution in FMCG Distribution Channels Is Underway...
New manufacturing and new consumption have evolved and been reshaped at both ends over the past few years, driven by technology and the internet respectively. However, the transformation of the distribution channel in between has rarely been discussed, despite being crucial for FMCG companies due to low value and high turnover. The efficiency of the channel often determines operational efficiency, yet traditional offline distribution digitization has been slow, facing issues like internal and external disconnection, and requiring a strategic, future-oriented approach rather than patchwork fixes.
道农In China, Monster Energy Is Not Only Crushed by Red Bull, but Also Loses to the Second and Third Players...
China's functional beverage market is bustling with various players, and according to Euromonitor, retail sales reached approximately 54 billion yuan in 2019, up 10.3% year-on-year, with a CAGR of 16% from 2011 to 2019. Despite Monster Energy's global success, its sales in China account for less than 1% of its total revenue, struggling against competitors like Red Bull, Dongsheng, and Lehu.
道农The Awkward Position of Internet-Famous Consumer Brands: Thriving Online, Stalling Offline
In recent years, innovative consumer brands have been on the rise, especially between 2017 and 2019, with internet-famous hits appearing frequently and becoming wildly popular. However, an interesting phenomenon has emerged: while these brands are thriving online, they seem to be struggling offline, with almost no presence. Some might argue that these brands are still enjoying the online dividend and don't need to rush into offline channels. But that doesn't quite add up. Take Three Squirrels, for example, one of the earliest internet-famous brands that rode the wave of Taobao's rise and has grown into a major player in the snack food sector. Yet, its offline performance has been lukewarm. In its 2019 annual report, Three Squirrels reported revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan, a giant in the FMCG industry, but its offline business, including feeding stores and alliance stores, only brought in 518 million yuan and 280 million yuan respectively. A 10-billion-yuan FMCG giant born online, after years of offline expansion, still hasn't established a firm foothold.
道农