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Browse 1976 New Distribution articles about Retail Formats.
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1976 articles · Page 3 of 83
7 Sourcing Models Behind Private Labels of Sam's Club, Aldi, and Trader Joe's
As I've traveled recently, I've found that the debate over whether to pursue private labels has ended, and the focus has shifted to how to do it. The key is not product selection or pricing, but sourcing: where your products come from and how you obtain them. This article breaks down seven sourcing models identified by Kearney, from OEM to joint procurement, and argues that true differentiation comes from control over the supply chain, not just the model chosen.
袁来2026 Global Retail Top 50 Released, Only Two Chinese Companies Listed
Recently, the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Kantar released the '2026 Global Retailer TOP50 list'. Data shows that the total revenue of listed companies in 2026 reached $3.57 trillion (approximately RMB 25.70 trillion), a year-on-year increase of 2.50%; the total number of stores was 308,700, a year-on-year decrease of 11.71%, showing a distinct feature of 'slight revenue growth and store contraction'. From the changes in the two lists, several core trends can be clearly observed: discount retail and membership warehouse formats are resilient, while hypermarkets and convenience stores continue to face pressure; Japanese retail giants generally slipped in rankings, and Latin American regional retailers saw weak growth; omnichannel integration, smaller store formats, and AI technology application are becoming common choices for retailers to cope with cyclical fluctuations.
联商网编辑部Even 7-Eleven Is Closing Stores: Why Are Japanese Convenience Stores No Longer Profitable?
Japan's convenience store industry is entering a contraction phase, with the number of stores falling for the first time in 36 years, including strategic closures by major chains like 7-Eleven. The core issue is that the traditional model of 'convenience plus value' is being squeezed by rising costs and changing competition, making individual stores increasingly unprofitable.
十里Benchmarking Against Sam's Club Member's Mark: China's Private Label Lags by at Least 9 Years
After systematically reviewing the development histories of Sam's Club's Member's Mark and Costco's Kirkland Signature, I believe most Chinese retailers' private label efforts are still at the stage Sam's Club was in around 2017—brand consolidation and quality standard definition. Member's Mark has evolved over 28 years, with its true rise occurring in the last decade, offering valuable lessons for Chinese retailers.
袁来Private Labels Are Phasing Out Retailers That Merely Rent Out Shelf Space
Private labels are being both mythologized and underestimated: the hype is high, but the difficulty is lowballed. This article argues that success requires whole-chain collaboration, not just a retailer's effort, and announces the first China Private Label Industry Chain Conference in Hangzhou on June 4-5, 2026.
袁来A Small County, 130 Billion Yuan a Year: The Underestimated Bulk Snack Business
The Chinese people's obsession with snacks underpins a market exceeding 1.4 trillion yuan. Despite claims of snacks being unhealthy, consumption remains high, and the industry, after two years of low growth, is again experiencing rapid growth in both volume and price. In 2024, bulk snack stores surpassed supermarkets and e-commerce with a 37% share, becoming the largest sales channel for snacks.
快刀财经编辑部5000 Words to See Clearly: Super Hema NB's Bold Gamble on Franchising
In November 2025, Hema's budget community supermarket Super Hema NB announced its first batch of franchising, targeting Shanghai, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou, with a cumulative investment of about 2.65 million yuan for a 600-square-meter standard store. The industry generally sees this as a positive signal, but this view warrants deep scrutiny. Franchising is a double-edged sword in retail, and Super Hema NB's unique model—high fresh food ratio, private label dominance, and rapid franchise expansion—has no successful precedent globally.
陈思廷50-Yuan Membership Card, 28,000-Square-Meter Store: Why Did 'Happy Farm' Become a Hit in Shenyang?
In 2026, retail is undergoing a process of 'filter shattering.' While foreign membership stores are busy building middle-class fantasies, Shenyang's 'Happy Farm' uses the aroma of freshly roasted sunflower seeds to bring physical retail back down to earth. In early February, in Shenyang's minus-20-degree 'heat wave,' the store's sensory impact is physiological, starting with the smell of freshly roasted seeds, a stark contrast to the cold, sterile atmosphere of most supermarkets.
汪海Ruoyu Paper: Exploring and Practicing PB Business from Zero to 100 Million
At the 2026 China FMCG Conference, Gao Yunchao, CEO of Ruoyu Group, shared the practices of Sichuan Ruoyu Tianfu Industrial Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Ruoyu") in PB business. For Ruoyu, PB was not initially the main track but gradually became a key investment direction after continuous transformation under pressure from the original business. This business is also regarded internally as a "top leader project"—the boss must be involved for the business to truly succeed. Ruoyu itself is a full-category tissue manufacturer with raw materials from bamboo pulp to wood pulp.
高云超Yonghui exits, Hema enters, setting up shop at Pangdonglai's doorstep in Xinxiang
In early April, the Yonghui supermarket on the first floor of Xinxiang Baolong Plaza officially closed, and Hema Fresh announced it would open its first Xinxiang store in the same location, expected to launch in June or July. This transition marks a shift in China's supermarket industry, with Hema entering a market where Pangdonglai has a strong presence, highlighting different strategies for competing in a mature market.
汪海Supply Chain Companies Want to Build C-end Brands: A Tough Road Ahead
In recent years, with the rapid development of tea, coffee, and bakery chain formats, as well as the acceleration of private label strategies by leading supermarkets like Sam's Club, Hema, and Pangdonglai, a large number of supporting supply chain raw material and ODM companies have emerged, preparing to move from behind the scenes to the forefront. Unlike the B2B large-customer model that relies on orders and is constrained by others, every supply chain company boss harbors a dream of owning a brand—truly mastering market discourse and securing a place in the C-end market. However, transitioning from a supply chain company to a C-end brand is not just a step away; it's essentially starting a new race on a different track.
陆兴元In the Era of Channel Fragmentation, FMCG Brands Need to Grow Like Liquid
Channels are fragmenting, and so are consumers. For FMCG brands, the old approach of using one brand language, one product logic, and one sales playbook across all channels is becoming increasingly untenable. Sam's Club, Pinduoduo, Xiaohongshu, Douyin, convenience stores, snack collection stores, and mom-and-pop shops all sell goods, but the consumer psychology, sales dynamics, and decision-making behind them are no longer the same. At the 11th China FMCG Conference on March 17, Liang Jiangjun, founder of Jiangyi Consulting and Chief Strategy Officer of Zan Yi Growth Network, shared insights on liquid brands, channel narratives, and building a C-end command center.
梁将军While Chinese Supermarkets Study Store Overhauls, Walmart Uses AI to Drive New Growth
While 2024-2025 Chinese retail focuses on learning from Pang Donglai for store renovations, Walmart is undergoing a more radical AI-driven transformation. This article explores how Walmart uses generative AI to rebuild its search, supply chain, store operations, and employee tools, creating a new growth flywheel.
戚特Breaking the Zero-Sum Game: 'Zero-Supply Integration' Is the Only Solution in the Era of Stock!
From March 16 to 18, 2026, the CFC·11th China FMCG Conference grandly opened in Chengdu! At the concurrent '6th China FMCG Distribution and Retail Conference' on March 18, Chen Jianfu, General Manager of Jiayuan Convenience and corporate coach, delivered a brilliant speech titled 'The Logic Reshaping and Growth Practice of Zero-Supply Integration: Breaking Boundaries, Symbiosis and Win-Win'. As a leading convenience store chain in northern Henan, Jiayuan Convenience has achieved remarkable results: over 280 stores, annual sales exceeding 400 million yuan, and a compound annual growth rate of 30%.
谌建富Retaking Pricing Power: How Zhongshang Supermarket Rebuilds Its Moat with Private Brands
As retail competition intensifies and channels fragment, traditional supermarkets face declining foot traffic, squeezed margins, and pressure from brand owners. Developing private brands is key to rebuilding competitiveness, with a focus on quality-price ratio, supply chain depth, and reclaiming pricing power.
刘强ALDI Surpasses 100 Stores in China, Marking a Key Milestone
After seven years of deep cultivation and expansion, ALDI has finally reached the milestone of 100 stores in China. On March 21, two new stores opened in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, and one in Shanghai, bringing the total to over 100 and signaling accelerated expansion in the Yangtze River Delta region.
联商网编辑部Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou Are Packed with Bulk Snack Stores
Bulk snack stores are taking over community entrances. "The same sugar-free drink costs 1.5 yuan less here than at 7-Eleven," says Zhou Heng, a resident who now regularly shops at a new Haoxianglai store. These stores are expanding rapidly in first-tier cities, competing with convenience stores and reshaping community retail.
十里Pupu Kitchen to Launch in Xiamen This Month? Is Food Delivery Pupu's Trump Card Against Xiaoxiang and Hema?
Industry insiders told Lao Zhang that Pupu Kitchen will open its first Xiamen store this month, with plans to densely deploy multiple stores in Fuzhou and Xiamen this year, while investing heavily in market promotion. After testing the 'front-warehouse + dining' model in Fuzhou for so long, a cross-city expansion to Xiamen would not only be Pupu's own business expansion but also a new challenge for the entire front-warehouse industry's innovation exploration. Behind this challenge lies the transformation of front-warehouse from 'online vegetable basket' to 'life service station', and a close contest among players in Fujian, a key battleground for instant retail.
老张Sunshine Supermarket GM: Adjustments Without Category Management Are All in Vain
As we enter 2026, supermarket adjustments are no longer a new concept. Many companies try to copy benchmarks to find a cure, but few achieve a closed-loop business logic. In a recent interview, Si Kai, GM of Handan Sunshine Supermarket, shares his 30 years of frontline experience, emphasizing that retail has no mysticism; all growth must be built on a scientific framework. He argues that adjustments without target customers, category logic, and efficiency models are all in vain.
赵胜男Biut Meng Fanzhong: If Supermarkets All Die, Do Brands Have a Better Position?
In a recent phone call, Meng Fanzhong, chairman of Biut Commercial Group and Zhenshimei Supply Chain, posed a striking question: 'If chain supermarkets all die, do brands have a better position?' Having just achieved Biut's 'Double Hundred Goal'—100 stores and 10 billion in sales by 2025—and managing Zhenshimei, a supply chain platform covering 50 billion in retail scale, he shared insights from six years of validation since 2019.
任文青AndyYunchuan: From 47 Stores to 1 Million Community Stores, I Have Three Years Left
“Fewer people are coming into stores; they just order on their phones, and prices are lower than ours. This business is impossible!” This is the most common and desperate feedback I've heard over the past two years. I've also seen countless community store owners struggling in anxiety and groping in confusion. When traditional FMCG tactics completely fail, how should China's millions of community stores survive? My solution is: regional B2B supply chain plus regional hard discount chain. To replicate this proven city model on a national scale, I organized this annual course...
云川Where Is the Next Growth Frontier for China's FMCG Industry?
In an era of oversupply, FMCG growth is shifting from channel dividends and distribution coverage toward consumer demand, instant retail, retail remodeling, private labels, global markets, AI, and cross-industry coordination.
New DistributionNew Distribution Zhao Bo: When AI Starts Making Decisions for Consumers, FMCG Becomes the Frontline Battlefield
In the FMCG industry, AI is not just changing a few 'tools' but the consumers themselves: who makes decisions, how they are persuaded, what prices they see, what journeys they take, and to whom they remain loyal. This long article, written entirely from the perspective of FMCG practitioners, systematically deconstructs the five dimensions AI is rewriting, starting from the consumer. Why FMCG is becoming the frontline battlefield for AI rewriting consumer behavior: if AI is reshaping every industry, then in the consumer sector, FMCG is almost the first to feel the change. The reason is not the technology itself, but the structural characteristics of FMCG consumption.
赵波Southeast Asia's 'Most Competitive' Market: Where Does Singapore's FMCG Competition Really Lie?
Singapore plays a dual role as a model and springboard market for brands expanding into Southeast Asia, offering the region's most regulated environment, highest per capita spending, and most mature retail and e-commerce structures. However, its extreme channel concentration, powerful retail oligopolies, and discerning consumers make it a challenging yet revealing arena for FMCG brands.
戚特