NEW DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH TOPIC
How can distributors keep growing across fragmented channels?
Front-line analysis of product selection, organization, channel strategy, profit models, and business transformation for FMCG distributors.
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4620 articles · Page 23 of 193
Three Core Actions for Distributors to Turn Losses into Profits: Inspect Goods, Inspect Channels, Inspect People
In the first half of this year, many distributors have already started to incur losses or are on the brink of losses, and everyone is confused about future development. However, some distributors have seen their sales decline but profits increase, while others have seen both sales and profits grow. How did these distributors achieve this? For distributors, this year, offline snack chains, discount supermarkets, and regional supply chain companies will definitely divert some of their business, while Pinduoduo, Douyin, and community group buying are also seizing offline market share. Coupled with declining consumer purchasing power, these factors have led to a significant drop in distributor sales.
王正齐Monthly GMV Exceeds 10 Million, Single Product Sells Out in 3 Days: Food Merchants Profiting Big on This 'Dark Horse' Platform
As market conditions change and consumer demands diversify, distributors in the FMCG industry are evolving from single-agent models to platform-based service providers, local retailers, and omnichannel operators. Amid this transformation, Dewu, a platform focused on young consumers, has emerged as a new blue ocean for food and beverage distributors, offering significant growth opportunities through its young user base and content-driven marketing.
冯瑶Today's Consumers Aren't Afraid of High Prices, They're Afraid of Overpaying
Recently, the author visited several brand executives and distributors, discovering that many are anxious about shrinking volumes and have fallen into misconceptions. This article shares observations on consumers, channels, low prices, product innovation, and category cognition, offering insights for the current market downturn.
赵波Distributors: Are You 'Really Broke' or 'Faking It'?
In July, I was invited by several companies to participate in their semi-annual meetings and conduct training sessions. After the meetings, some distributors told me that business is tough this year, with unstable and fragile cash flow being the biggest challenge. Brand owners demand payment before delivery, while retailers demand delivery before payment, squeezing distributors in between. This article offers several solutions to address this issue.
高级研究员 海游In the First Half of the Year, Some Distributors Only Completed 50% of Their Manufacturer's Targets
Yuan Lai from New Distribution shares insights from visiting distributors and brand executives ahead of the 6th China FMCG Conference. A distributor in a fourth-tier county reported a 50% year-on-year decline in snack food sales in supermarkets, with returns rising sharply. The article analyzes the reasons behind declining store sales and offers practical advice for small and large distributors.
袁来Why B2b Is a Good Way Out for Distributors Seeking Transformation?
Recently, while visiting distributors across various regions, I observed that both sales and profits are declining. Distributors now face not only competition from peers but also pressure from retail competition. The reasons for the current difficulty include the severe downturn in the core channel of supermarkets and hypermarkets, and the rise of new retail formats such as discount stores, snack shops, and flash warehouses, which are eroding distributors' business.
云川2 Closed-Door Salons for Brand and Channel Matchmaking; 4 In-Depth Research Reports on Hard Discount, Distributors, B2b, and O2O — All Here!
The 'Brainstorming Feast' and grand gathering of a thousand attendees will be held from August 20 to 22. The 2024 6th China FMCG Conference, along with the 3rd China FMCG Hard Discount Conference and the 3rd China FMCG Distributor Conference, will grandly open in Shanghai, China. The conference will bring together all roles in the FMCG industry chain, including brand executives, top national distributors, traditional retail representatives, discount retail founders, and industry research experts, to engage in in-depth discussions and exchanges on topics such as the essence, direction, and solutions of transformation, and to efficiently connect cooperation opportunities.
New DistributionFMCG Distributor: Cash Settlement, 5,000 SKUs, Whole-Store Model for Daily Chemicals Achieves 50% Annual Growth
In recent years, distributors have faced tough business conditions, especially in snacks and daily chemicals. One daily chemical distributor, Henan Shirui Trading Co., Ltd., has bucked the trend with 48% growth in 2023 and a 50% target for 2024, using a 'whole-store output' model with cash-only transactions and 5,000 SKUs.
袁来Worst Year in Over a Decade: Even Veteran Frozen Food Distributors Are Baffled! Why Is This Year So Tough?
Frozen food distributors are baffled as sales drop 20%-30%. Wang Bing, who had seen continuous growth for over a decade, faced his first major downturn starting in March, with declines across all channels except closed systems like group meals. Despite efforts, sales continued to deteriorate in April and May, reflecting a broader industry slump.
关关Zhao Bo of New Distribution: Great Companies Are Born in an Era of Shrinking Volume
After visiting member distributors of the Tower Alliance, Zhao Bo reflects on the systemic difficulties facing the FMCG industry, where old rules and high costs hinder efficiency. He argues that low prices driven by supply chain optimization and reduced intermediaries are a positive trend, and that great companies often emerge during economic downturns.
赵波Brand Owners, Stop Forcing Inventory on Distributors!
The FMCG market's dismal Q2 2024 performance has left many unprepared brand owners, including major ones, in a growth dilemma: products aren't moving at the terminal, sales teams are exhausted, and to meet KPIs, they're forcing inventory on distributors. This only worsens the situation, as distributors already struggle with retail discounting, leading to a vicious cycle that ultimately reduces revenue. The article argues that in a shrinking market, brand owners must adapt to new retail realities, focus on product innovation, and avoid extreme inventory pressure to survive.
张振宇All of Today's Sorrow Is but the Prelude and Overture to a New World
This article's viewpoint may not be accepted by many, but acceptance is not what matters most—it is still worth reading carefully. Recently, many articles and videos about the difficulties and pressures faced by manufacturers and distributors have caused great resonance in the industry. Many distributors have expressed that seeing the entire industry facing the same huge challenges has helped vent emotions and provided some comfort. But after venting, the question of what the future holds and what to do remains a mess. Today's sorrow is merely the prelude and overture to a new world. We...
陈思廷Distributors Launching B2B Supply Chain Platforms: Don't Rush, Don't Overdo It!
As a senior editor at New Distribution, I've observed a growing trend of distributors pivoting toward local B2B supply chain platforms as a new growth avenue. While this is promising, many face practical challenges. This article shares insights on avoiding common pitfalls, emphasizing the importance of real transactions over mere registrations, continuous optimization, and a steady, patient approach to building a sustainable local channel moat.
袁来FMCG frontline salespeople are anxious
“Business is tough now; upstream manufacturers' targets increase year by year, but downstream customers can't move goods. I don't know how long this consumption situation will last!” Last week, the author followed several FMCG salespeople on field visits to dozens of terminal stores, and on the way, salesperson Sister Liu lamented this. In the distributor team, salespeople are not only the vanguard of sales but also direct observers of market dynamics, and their feelings directly reflect the market's temperature. This article will start from the perspective of distributor salespeople, go deep into the frontline, analyze the internal and external factors causing their anxiety, and restore the true face of the market.
何雯Discount Retail Trends, Distributor Transformation, O2O Practical Implementation and Other In-depth Research Reports, All Here!
A 'brain-burning feast' for a thousand attendees. From August 20-22, the 'Crossing the Shrinking Volume Era' 2024 6th China FMCG Conference, the 3rd China FMCG Hard Discount Conference, and the 3rd China FMCG Distributor Conference will grandly open in Shanghai. Standing at the tail end of a consumption cycle, we urgently need to know what the future holds and what to do next. This conference will bring together all roles in the FMCG industry chain, including brand executives, top national distributors, traditional retail representatives, discount retail founders, and industry research experts.
New DistributionAiming at the Trillion-Yuan Market, Lai Yifen Launches Channel-Customized Brand 'Jicui' to Enter the Distribution Track
As the era of linear growth in FMCG comes to an end, distributors are under immense pressure from brands to increase sales targets. Lai Yifen, the 'first snack stock,' is responding by launching a new channel-specific brand 'Jicui' at its partner conference, aiming to empower distributors with a 'champion product' and achieve win-win growth.
田静One Key Upgrade to Boost Your Freezer Sales by 20% This Summer!
For beer, beverages, dairy, and ice products, freezers are the most critical sales channel. If you lose the freezer war, a summer failure is almost inevitable. With over 20 million freezers deployed in retail and foodservice outlets, brands like Kangshifu, Uni-President, Nongfu Spring, and Genki Forest are investing heavily. However, traditional freezer management relies on periodic visits, leading to issues like impurity, untimely restocking, and hidden losses. The Xuanwu Cloud Xuantong AIoT Smart Freezer revolutionizes this by using AI vision to monitor and manage freezers in real time, boosting sales by over 20% and purity by 17%.
陈思廷Distributors: Change is Painful, but Not Changing Means Elimination
In recent exchanges with distributors, first-half sales generally fell short of expectations, leaving many anxious. Market pressure is forcing distributors to attempt changes—whether in organizational structure, compensation, business models, or software—but the process is painful. This article shares common challenges and solutions, emphasizing that distributors must not be held hostage by employees, should tie pay to market performance, reduce reliance on secondary wholesalers, master small-store management, develop sell-through capabilities, use digital tools effectively, and approach B2B cautiously.
周群Over 100 Million in Revenue but on the Brink of Losses: What Should FMCG Distributors Do?
Many distributors are asking why business is so difficult this year and when it will improve. A decade ago, bosses were already lamenting the difficulty, but back then, despite the challenges, business was barely manageable; today, it's nearly unsustainable. When growth becomes hard, large companies habitually squeeze downward—both their distributors and smaller brands through price and cost wars. One milk distributor told the author that in 2023, with revenue exceeding 100 million yuan, after deducting all expenses, they found themselves losing hundreds of thousands. With sales scale exceeding 100 million...
陈思廷Distributors: Should They Hang On or Let Go?
This article, inspired by a social media post from marketing expert Wei Qing, explores the dilemma facing many distributors: whether to continue in a shrinking market. It argues that the traditional trading model is outdated due to the supply chain revolution and the rise of B2B platforms, and suggests two viable paths forward: transforming into B2B platform operators or focusing on brand promotion. The article advises that if neither is possible, an orderly exit may be the best option.
刘春雄Zhao Bo from New Distribution: Finding Growth Opportunities in a Shrinking Market
The article discusses the challenges facing China's FMCG industry amid economic downturn, including shrinking market demand, intense competition, and changing consumer behavior. It emphasizes the need for companies and distributors to adapt by finding incremental opportunities in new scenarios, channels, and consumer needs, while also optimizing existing business operations.
赵波Navigating the Era of Shrinking Volume: Outlets Remain the Lifeline for Manufacturers and Distributors
This article discusses the importance of classifying retail outlets by brand communication levels to optimize brand influence, monitor communication effects, analyze regional market characteristics, improve resource efficiency, and strengthen competitive advantage. It provides a practical case and methods for categorizing outlets into ABCD levels based on multiple criteria such as sales, brand communication, profit, and competitive suppression, emphasizing that outlets remain the foundation for manufacturers and distributors in the era of shrinking volume.
高级研究员 海游Dealers in Small Ponds Should Aim to Be 'Big Fish'
Recently, the author visited over twenty dealers across various markets, from first-tier to county-level, covering categories like snacks, condiments, and beverages. A clear observation emerged: the era of aggressive expansion is over, and competition for markets, channels, and customers has intensified. This article shares insights from these visits, highlighting the distinct challenges faced by dealers in large cities versus small towns, and offering strategies for survival and growth in a shrinking market.
何雯In the Era of Overcapacity, Finding a Responsible Manufacturer Gets Harder for Distributors
In a shrinking market, if one company grows, it's at the expense of others. Competition intensifies, especially in FMCG, leading to higher breakeven points and industry consolidation. For distributors, growth requires choosing the right brand partners and continuously improving operational capabilities.
高级研究员 海游