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.
Related research and analysis
4620 articles · Page 27 of 193
Zhao Bo of New Distribution: Why a Supply Chain Revolution Is Inevitable in China's Current Market Environment
Zhao Bo, founder of New Distribution, explains why a supply chain revolution is inevitable in China's current market environment, driven by the shift from a high-growth to a mature market, changing consumer behavior, and the need for new distribution capabilities.
赵波Old Flavor, New Life: Exploring the Success Path of Meijian Breaking Through One Billion
In an era of product surplus and extreme scarcity of good products, it is not easy for brands to create a blockbuster single product. However, the new alcoholic beverage market has produced a dark horse—Meijian. From researching green plum varieties in 2014 to launching in June 2019 and now becoming popular nationwide, Meijian has filled the gap in Chinese table wine. In 2022, its total retail market scale exceeded 2.5 billion yuan, making it the first brand in the new alcoholic beverage sector to reach the billion-yuan level.
张雨薇How Distributors Can Build Capabilities into Their Organizations
When discussing this topic, many people's first reaction is what HR needs to do. For a typical trading company with annual sales of tens of millions, they won't set up a separate HR team; these tasks fall on the heads of the using departments, but their main business is not HR, so how should they handle it? Talent never belongs to the enterprise; it belongs to the labor market. If you leverage your professional advantages to empower employees, perhaps in the short term their overall capabilities will improve, but when employees leave, what remains? A business supported by excellent employees is individual heroism; when the "hero" leaves, the business pressure immediately multiplies.
高级研究员 海游In the Era of Surplus, What Opportunities Can 'Ultimate Supply Chain' Bring to Distributors?
Today, most products, especially FMCG, are in an era of surplus, squeezing distributors from both upstream and downstream. Distributors face a dilemma: mature bestsellers with volume don't make money, while profitable new products have too little volume and insufficient margins. To address this, New Distribution has launched the 'Ultimate Supply Chain' Brand Factory Direct Sourcing Fair, a new supply chain distribution model that connects brand owners and distributors at factory prices, offering low thresholds, high profits, and low risks.
张雨薇The Return of the Big Distributor
Some say my recent articles are pessimistic about distributors, citing the orderly retreat of distributors. I disagree! Those who should grow big will grow big, and those who should disappear will disappear. That is optimism. Those who should grow big but don't, and those who should disappear but don't, that is pessimism. Over the past 20 years, distributors have basically not grown big, but they have lived well, which is not necessarily a good thing. In recent years, distributors as a whole have been struggling, but there are more big distributors than before, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Whether pessimistic or optimistic depends on one's standpoint.
刘春雄In 2024, Distributors Should Focus on Efficiency: First Avoid Defeat, Then Seek Victory
As 2024 begins, distributors are advised to abandon unrealistic expectations and focus on operational efficiency to secure stable growth. Zou Wenbiao, co-founder of Zhoupu Data, predicts that 2024 will be better than 2023 for distributors, as they have accepted the new reality and will concentrate on controllable factors like personnel efficiency and payment cycles.
袁来What's at a Dead End Is Not the Distributor Model, but the Mindset
As the scale of business grows, complexity increases exponentially, not linearly, rendering traditional distributor models and intuition ineffective. To survive, distributors must transform into supply chain operators, leveraging platforms and new thinking, as exemplified by 7-Eleven's evolution and the need for innovative approaches.
赵波Distributors Won't Be Eliminated, But the Trading Model Will
This article discusses the future of distributors, arguing that while traditional trading models are becoming obsolete, distributors themselves can survive by transforming into platform operators, third-party delivery providers, promotion specialists, brand service providers, or circle-based deep distribution specialists. The key is embracing digitalization and adapting to the changing market.
刘春雄Distributors Will Not Be Eliminated!
A distributor member asked whether local distributors will be eliminated. The author argues that distributors as a group will always exist, but individual distributors may be eliminated by more capable peers, not by external forces like hard discounters. The key is to choose between a brand-oriented or retail-oriented path, and to keep learning and innovating to survive and thrive.
袁来Regional Market Operation Leadership: Should It Rest with Brand Owners or Distributors?
The complete offline channel chain is: brand owner - distributor/dealer - salesperson - outlet - consumer. The core of effective offline channel coverage is to connect all links in product circulation, which first requires addressing three questions: who does it, what to do, and what model is best. This article discusses these questions, arguing that market leadership should be determined by market efficiency, not by brand owners' preference.
高级研究员 海游The Distributor Business Can Thrive for Another Decade
Despite shrinking margins and rising costs in the FMCG industry, one distributor in Bijie, Guizhou, has achieved nearly 30% annual growth for three consecutive years. Fang Fan, general manager of Guizhou Fang Wang Yuan Trading, shares his 11-year journey from scratch to over 100 million yuan in scale, emphasizing market penetration, team management, and future strategies.
周群A 40 Million Yuan Business, Yet the Distributor Sees No 'Way Out'
During a recent market survey, a distributor in a county with a population under 800,000 had built a paper and hygiene product business to 40 million yuan, yet when asked about 2024 plans, he said, 'We'll take it step by step; we're still looking for a way out.' This reflects the widespread confusion and anxiety among distributors, especially those with mid-sized operations, as they face declining sales, difficult collections, high factory targets, and chaotic pricing.
张雨薇Zhao Bo of New Distribution: Why Is the FMCG Industry Undergoing a Profound Supply Chain Revolution?
The FMCG industry is undergoing a profound supply chain revolution driven by changing consumer behavior, fragmented channels, and the rise of new retail formats. This article analyzes the social background, the shift from competition to survival, and provides strategic recommendations for brands, distributors, and retailers to adapt and thrive.
赵波Acting as an Agent for Brands like Vinda, Kotex, and Saky, How Did He Make His Own Paper & Hygiene Brand the No.1 in Local Supermarkets?
Creating one's own brand is almost every distributor's dream, but few succeed. This article discusses a practical case: Hongdi Trading in Taizhou, Zhejiang, which represents brands like Vinda, Kotex, and Saky, and has made its own brand Lvya tissue the top-selling paper & hygiene brand in local supermarkets. In a recent in-depth interview with New Distribution, General Manager Lu Zhengfu shared his journey from wholesale to leading local daily chemical trading and his strategies for building a successful private label.
张雨薇Business Down 15%-30%, Should Snack Food Distributors Open Their Own Stores?
A snack food distributor with annual sales of 60 million yuan opened his own snack store and found it beneficial. The article argues that distributors should open a few community snack stores not to become chains, but to understand retail logic, optimize product assortment, serve their existing retail customers, and digest slow-moving inventory.
袁来Distributors: Brand Agency is 1, Store Service is 0, and How Big Your Business Depends on Stores!
Hello friends. I'm Yuan Lai from New Distribution. Recently, I met with several distributor friends to discuss current business difficulties and ways to break through. Combining these discussions with past exchanges, I observed that many distributor bosses spend their time and energy on brand owners rather than store customers. This article explores this issue and offers advice on refocusing on store service.
袁来Baijiu Inventory Pressure Mounts: After Reaching 10 Billion Scale, 1919 Unveils Two Retail Innovations to Disrupt the Industry
1919's 'Kuaihe' and 'Chihe' digital empowerment of tobacco and liquor stores and restaurants aims to solve the challenge of baijiu sales. As the industry faces inventory pressure and internal competition, these innovations represent a significant opportunity for local FMCG distributors to transform and upgrade.
陈思廷I Make 3 Million Yuan a Year as a Distributor in a County Town
In the long run, relying on distributors to develop our sales network is the right path. The so-called decentralization is poison, a lack of understanding of sales, Tang Binsen reflected at Genki Forest's 2022 distributor conference. In China, distributors are a huge group. Beverage giants like Coca-Cola and Nongfu Spring have mature distribution channel management systems. As of May 2020, Nongfu Spring had 4,454 distributors covering over 2.43 million terminal retail outlets nationwide.
胡楠楠Pessimism with Hope: Distributors' 'Attack' and 'Defense' in the Context of the Supply Chain Revolution
The future of distributors is not optimistic, even pessimistic. In the future, distributors will undergo significant differentiation, with the advantaged becoming stronger and the weak gradually disappearing from the industry. Facing the fierce market competition in 2024, Li Feng of New Distribution invited Liu Chunxiong, a proponent of new marketing, channel digitalization expert, and associate professor at Zhengzhou University, to discuss strategies for distributors to break through.
刘春雄Why Are Young People No Longer Willing to Enter the FMCG Industry?
A notable phenomenon has been observed: frontline sales in the FMCG industry have not attracted high-quality talent 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 for Coca-Cola or Master Kong. A brand owner friend complained about massive turnover among their salespeople. I said, 'Your products are harder to sell than insurance, and they earn less than food delivery or courier services, so how can you retain salespeople?' Many frontline brand managers and supervisors earn only 4,000-5,000 yuan upon joining, while food delivery and courier incomes have reached 10,000 yuan in the current market. The FMCG industry cannot retain people under these conditions. The lack of excellent talent entering is a surface phenomenon; on one hand, the field is not cool or leading enough, but more importantly, it cannot pay higher wages to excellent talent!
New DistributionBrand Factory 'On-Site Procurement Fair': Top Distributors Across the Country, Take Action!
The deep distribution model faces marketing dilemmas: manufacturers struggle with new products not being sold, while distributors find big products unprofitable. To address this, New Distribution launched the 'Extreme Supply Chain' Brand Factory On-Site Procurement Fair, which proved successful with over 4 million yuan in orders, and plans to scale it up at the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference in March 2024.
陈思廷Chengde Lulu Trapped by Almonds
Chengde Lulu, a leading Chinese plant-based beverage company, has seen stagnant revenue for a decade despite profit growth, and is now pushing into southern markets through new products and distribution expansion, but faces challenges from high prices and regional brand perception.
付艳翠Once You Pass 50 Million in Sales, Stop Working for the Brand
Hello friends. I'm Yuan Lai from New Distribution. Recently, I visited over a dozen distributor owners, and as the year ends, we reflected on our experiences. I'd like to share some insights: many distributors still have a 'working for the brand' mentality, but the real core competency lies in distribution and sell-through capabilities based on store control. Growth comes from where you invest your time, and even single-category distributors can succeed in B2b platforms by starting with their existing resources and building stable relationships with retail stores.
袁来Small Shop Business Halved, Supermarkets Forced to Cut Prices: Discounts and Low Prices Impact Local Markets—Where Do Distributors Go?
Snack and discount stores are proliferating, accelerating their impact on local markets. Distributors must understand this trend and adapt by focusing on their core competitiveness, expanding categories and channels, and managing store relationships to survive the discount retail wave.
周群