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Articles by 许翔 Ryan Xu
Browse 26 New Distribution articles by 许翔 Ryan Xu.
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When Business Slows, Manufacturers Need to Guide Distributors in Winning Every City Battle
When sales decline, frontline teams often blame the market or the environment, but the real issue is organizational capability. Manufacturers must guide distributors and sales teams to fight city-by-city battles, using short-term incremental channels to relieve pressure and long-term city business model iteration to enhance organizational efficiency.
许翔 Ryan XuWhy Do Few Traditional Offline Distributors Succeed in E-commerce?
Many distributor partners often tell me that e-commerce is difficult and challenging. Many have already achieved great success in traditional offline channels, with annual sales exceeding 300 million, 500 million, or even 1 billion yuan, proving their strength and capability. Yet, despite their continuous learning, experimentation, and operation, they still struggle to break through sales bottlenecks, operational sticking points, and profit black holes. Why? There are many differences between online and offline, which traditional offline distributors need to consider and self-reflect on before venturing into e-commerce.
许翔 Ryan XuOrganizational Mindset for Frontline City Managers to Drive New Retail Implementation
Many frontline city managers struggle to advance new retail due to pressure from core offline business targets. The key is a three-step approach: first upgrade organizational structure, then execute new retail, and finally achieve breakthroughs. This article focuses on the organizational mindset needed to stabilize core business and free up time for new retail.
许翔 Ryan XuA Few Small Trends Happening on the Frontline of the Market
After two months of field visits across more than 20 cities, a veteran FMCG manager observes subtle but accumulating changes in channels and terminals, from the consolidation of fragmented channels in high-tier cities to the resilience of traditional core channels in lower-tier markets, and the varying anxieties and strategies of distributors and retailers by city tier and scale.
许翔 Ryan XuDespite Recurring Pandemic, How to Efficiently Ignite the Campus Supermarket Channel?
During the pandemic, which terminal channel is the hardest for frontline sales teams to visit in person? The answer is the campus supermarket channel! Facing the recurring nationwide pandemic since the beginning of the year, campus closures have been implemented earliest, fastest, and most thoroughly. With students unable to leave campus (and in high-risk areas, even deliveries are restricted), the large student population has had to rely on campus supermarkets as their primary or even sole shopping channel. As a result, the campus supermarket channel has seen counter-trend growth, benefiting many manufacturers and distributors who had laid early groundwork.
许翔 Ryan XuCity Managers in First-Tier Cities Need 'Epidemic-Fighting' Readiness Now
The most beautiful April days should be a time of growth and vitality, but the nationwide COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted the daily work and business rhythm of many city managers. From Xi'an to Jilin, Xiamen to Nanchang, Shenzhen to Guangzhou, Quanzhou to Suzhou, and the most severely affected economic center, Shanghai, still under lockdown... Official information shows that the Omicron variant spreads and reproduces seventy times faster than the original strain, leading to rapid transmission, especially with a surge in asymptomatic cases...
许翔 Ryan XuReflect Diligently, Be Unbreakable, and Embrace Change: Building the Channel Foundation for Frontline City Managers!
As the pandemic persists, offline retail continues to bleed while new retail channels cool down. City managers must reflect, stay resilient, and adapt, focusing on core channels and building a solid foundation for organic growth.
许翔 Ryan XuCommunity Group Buying Surging: A Frontline City Manager's Playbook
With the push of the internet and capital, the FMCG industry sees a new major trend each year. In 2021, the resurgence of community group buying is reshaping the entire landscape of people, goods, and places. For frontline city managers and distributors, this means存量 erosion and cross-regional competition, forcing them to adapt or be left behind. This article outlines the trends, pain points, and solutions for city managers to proactively engage with community group buying platforms.
许翔 Ryan XuFirst-Tier City Manager: First Check the Market, Then Diagnose the Distributor, One Upgrade Lasts Three Years
After the Chinese New Year, city managers face increasing pressure as community group buying platforms disrupt the market. This article advises city managers to conduct a comprehensive market check and distributor diagnosis, then upgrade the distributor network strategically—an upgrade that should last three years.
许翔 Ryan XuCity Manager in a First-Tier City: Channel Is the Foundation, Product Selection Is Key, and Victory Lies in Response
After a weekly meeting, Lao Wang asks Lao Li and Xiao Zhang to stay behind to address pricing conflicts in community group buying. He emphasizes that in the new retail era, frontline city sales organizations must adapt by focusing on channel needs, product selection, and rapid response, while maintaining core values and discipline.
许翔 Ryan XuFrontline City Managers: Don't Be an Old-School Execution Foreman, Be a City Manager Seizing New Opportunities!
At the end of each year, Lao Wang conducts annual performance reviews with his subordinates. This year, he finds the reviews more difficult than ever due to the rapid changes in channels brought by the pandemic, with many new retail platforms lacking mature measurement standards. Most of his team remains hesitant about new retail. In the current era of highly fragmented channels, frontline city managers have never been more important.
许翔 Ryan XuFirst-Tier City Manager: A Complete Analysis of Special Channels - Trends, Pain Points, and Strategies
This article explores the trends, pain points, and strategies for managing special channels in first-tier cities, emphasizing the importance of these non-mainstream channels for incremental growth. It provides actionable insights for city managers to develop and maintain these channels effectively.
许翔 Ryan XuCity Managers in First-Tier Cities: Value CVS Convenience Stores, the Never-Disappearing Offline Channel
Late autumn nights are cool, and the streets near midnight are empty. But no matter how late it is, Lao Wang knows a light is always on for him... After working overtime on a headache-inducing community group-buying response plan, exhausted Lao Wang dives into his daily convenience store, eating a hot bento and drinking black coffee. This 24-hour store always revives him instantly! The light and door of the corner convenience store are always open for hardworking FMCG workers... CVS convenience stores have always been a hot topic in channel management, but many frontline city managers in daily chemical FMCG may see them as a chicken rib—low sales but high costs. However, from a higher perspective, CVS stores are not just places to sell goods but also vital brand promotion fronts, representing generations of young urban consumers and being one of the core channels for future mainstream consumers. Therefore, we must firmly grasp this channel.
许翔 Ryan XuFirst-tier City Manager: CS Channel Winter is Coming, Manufacturers Need Professional People, Differentiated Products, and Intensive Cultivation
After a day of visiting CS channel stores, Lao Wang feels exhausted and worried about failing this year's targets and the future. The article discusses the challenges facing the CS channel, including declining foot traffic and the impact of e-commerce, and offers strategies for city managers to adapt, such as focusing on professional talent, differentiated products, and intensive market cultivation.
许翔 Ryan XuCity Manager in a First-Tier City: Wholesale Chaos Is a Chaos of Hearts. Create a Sunny Wholesale Environment and Empower Business Transformation
Today is the local wholesale market's autumn ordering fair. For this grand event, Lao Wang and the distributor's team have been preparing for over two weeks, hoping it will be as successful as usual. However, the lively atmosphere did not bring the expected orders. After the wholesale clients left with their families, well-fed and satisfied, only a dozen tables of leftovers remained... Seeing his somewhat deflated subordinates and the distributor boss, Lao Wang cheered up and encouraged everyone: "Perhaps the traditional wholesale ordering fair format is outdated. We need to change, to upgrade the promotion strategies and mechanisms of the wholesale market!"
许翔 Ryan XuCity Manager's Playbook: Distribution and Sell-Through Strategies for Low-Frequency Daily Chemical Products in 6 Million Small Stores
After a day of visiting dozens of small stores under the scorching sun, Lao Wang and his team review their findings. Facing complaints about slow-moving shampoo and price inversion on laundry detergent, Lao Wang insists on changing distribution and sell-through strategies. The article analyzes the trends of small stores (convenience, platform, community) and provides targeted solutions for city managers to tackle the challenges of low-frequency daily chemical products.
许翔 Ryan XuHow Can Local Large Retail Stores Save Themselves as New Retail Diverts Business?
Despite the easing of the pandemic in most regions, consumer habits and the retail landscape have changed, with some offline large stores losing sales permanently. However, large stores remain crucial, and city managers must adapt by upgrading their strategies, focusing on integrating online and offline, optimizing product assortments, and transforming their roles to lead these stores through the new retail era.
许翔 Ryan XuFirst-tier City Manager: Be a Channel Expert, Not a Distributor Management Expert
Amid the new retail era, city managers must shift from a distributor-centric approach to a channel-expert mindset, redesigning distribution networks with a city-wide perspective and embracing digital transformation to stay competitive.
许翔 Ryan XuIn-Depth Analysis | Frontline City Manager: Cultivating 'Lighthouse' Key Accounts to Win the Battle for Urban High Ground
As the pandemic subsides, foot traffic in hypermarkets is recovering, but sales haven't fully bounced back. However, a closer look reveals that big-store channel sales haven't declined; online-to-home plus offline sales have even grown slightly. This article argues that big stores remain the most important 'lighthouse' channel and marketing high ground in every city, and provides a comprehensive playbook for city managers to plan, execute, and drive growth in these stores, covering both traditional and new (O2O) scenarios.
许翔 Ryan XuCity Manager on the Frontline: Facing Omnichannel Distribution, We Don't Need to Escape Our 'Comfort Zone'—Just Expand It!
A city manager reflects on how the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift to omnichannel distribution, urging frontline managers to expand their existing capabilities rather than abandon them. He provides a strategic framework for adapting the 4Ps (channel, price, product, promotion) to new and old retail scenarios, emphasizing precision and hands-on engagement.
许翔 Ryan XuCity Managers in First-Tier Markets: Beyond Orders and Execution, Add Some Brand Thinking!
A city manager reflects on nearly two decades in sales and laments the increasing difficulty, but his former boss reminds him that the essence of FMCG remains unchanged: brand is the foundation, distribution is key, and victory is decided at the terminal. The article argues that frontline sales teams must embrace brand thinking, leveraging both headquarters and local brand resources to drive sustainable growth.
许翔 Ryan XuCity Manager in a First-Tier City: Beyond Execution, Think Deeper and More Thoroughly About Promotions!
It's raining today, and foot traffic in the store is sparse. In the quiet personal care section, there are more promoters than shoppers. Old Wang, with a worried look, has already paced back and forth several times from the main shelf to the floor display in the main aisle... "Manager Wang, I don't know why, but this promotion mechanism used to sell over 200 bottles a day, and now it's less than half. Is it getting tired?" asked A Ling, a star promoter who has worked at this supermarket for seven years. "A Ling, your observation is correct! The business environment has changed, and customers' shopping habits are also changing. If our promotion mechanisms and strategies don't change, we're dead."
许翔 Ryan XuCity Manager: Selling Best-Sellers Is for Survival, Selling New Products Is for the Future—Both Must Be Strong!
After the morning meeting, Lao Wang instructed the team to stay at the office and watch the headquarters' live new product launch online. The team, however, showed little enthusiasm, with comments like 'ugly packaging' and 'too expensive.' Lao Wang decided to correct their attitude, emphasizing that in today's market, selling best-sellers is for survival, while selling new products is for the future. Under the new omni-channel distribution landscape, frontline teams must upgrade their product strategy.
许翔 Ryan XuCity Manager in a First-Tier City: When Prices Were Chaotic Across 3 Channels Before, How Should Prices Be Managed Across 8 Channels Now?
At today's weekly meeting, the discussion was particularly intense, and a meeting that would normally end in an hour had already lasted over two hours... Lao Wang felt that more debate wouldn't change the old problems, so he quickly called a halt: 'Price chaos is not a new problem! Market prices are chaotic every day! Don't just complain! Previously, you complained about hypermarkets and cross-regional channel stuffing, and now you're complaining about e-commerce and B2B. Is there no end to this?' Years pass, people change, but the flowers bloom similarly each year. In fact, Lao Wang himself knew that price conflicts truly never end...
许翔 Ryan Xu