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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4637 articles · Page 3 of 194
The Dealer's Business Must Change
Recent visits to wholesale markets across multiple regions have reinforced the perception that the distribution business is becoming structurally harder. Traditional channels are declining, while new retail formats are squeezing dealers' margins and bypassing them, forcing a transformation.
张振宇To Win in Vietnam's FMCG Market, You Must First Understand Its Distributor System
Vietnam's FMCG market is dominated by traditional trade (70-75% share), with a fragmented and relationship-driven distribution network. Chinese brands often fail due to a lack of understanding of this complex system, which includes national oligopolies, regional distributors, Chinese merchant networks, and specialized channel players.
戚特Scenario Roadmap: Momentum Scenarios Break Through, Kinetic Scenarios Drive Volume, Long-tail Scenarios Sustain Growth
Sales expansion is essentially scenario expansion. A product's success depends on how many scenarios consumers associate it with. The scenario roadmap follows the path from momentum scenarios to kinetic scenarios to long-tail scenarios, guiding cognitive spillover in a controlled sequence.
刘春雄Surge 45.11%! Zhongju Hi-Tech's Q1 2026 Profit Reaches New High
On the evening of April 17, Chubang's parent company Zhongju Hi-Tech (600872.SH) disclosed its 2025 annual report and 2026 first-quarter report. In 2025, the company achieved operating revenue of 4.200 billion yuan and net profit attributable to shareholders of 537 million yuan. In Q1 2026, operating revenue reached 1.320 billion yuan, up 19.88% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders was 263 million yuan, up 45.11% year-on-year, setting a new single-quarter record. This record-breaking profit growth clearly confirms that after a deep adjustment in 2025, Zhongju Hi-Tech has officially emerged from its repair phase and is steadily entering a new growth cycle.
杨玉琳Frequently Changing Distributors and Sales Teams: Manufacturers Destroying Their Own Markets
There are many reasons for healthy market growth, each with its own characteristics, but the two most common reasons for hindered market growth are frequent changes of distributors and frequent changes of the manufacturer's sales team. The usual practice of incompetent managers is only one: warning, closing accounts, splitting markets when performance targets are not met, and simultaneously eliminating salespeople. The result is only one: the more frequently the two organizations change, the weaker the market becomes, until no distributors can be recruited and the market is blank. Today we discuss how to stabilize these two organizations and build the cornerstone of healthy market development. The manufacturer's sales team...
高级研究员 海游Distributors, Don't Be Kidnapped by 'Transformation Anxiety'!
During the CFC conference in March, I spoke with several distributor friends, and the most common topic wasn't a specific channel or product, but a shared emotion: anxiety. Many distributors are troubled not by a lack of direction, but by too many directions, leading to hasty imitation and investment that disrupts their core business.
周群FMCG Industry Increasingly Fails to Retain Talent
As we enter 2026, the FMCG market remains one of the most dynamic and competitive industries. However, after years of digital transformation, changing consumption patterns, and supply chain restructuring, a severe challenge has emerged and increasingly become a bottleneck for FMCG companies' growth: talent shortage. More and more brand manufacturers are realizing that without solving the talent problem, many growth targets will remain on paper. This article offers some thoughts on this topic, hoping to inspire FMCG manufacturers.
邢仁宝Deep Dive | A Panoramic Overview of Indonesia's FMCG Distributor System: Those Who Control the Channels Rule the 'Land of Ten Thousand Islands'
Going global is imperative, but in Indonesia—Southeast Asia's largest and most alluring market—going global can easily become 'going overboard.' With 280 million people, a vast young workforce, a rapidly rising digital economy, and an upgrading middle class, Indonesia's macro data excites every brand. Yet, when brands actually land in Jakarta, they confront a daunting micro-reality: a fragmented geography carved by over 17,000 islands and a complex web of local political-business interests and clan networks. In Indonesia's FMCG sector, channels are king—a matter of life and death. This article provides a comprehensive, in-depth overview of Indonesia's major distributor systems, serving as both a list of key players and a strategic map for Chinese brands building local pathways.
戚特FMCG Industry: Beware of "Fake Data"!
Last week, news of fraudulent investment attraction data in three places in Henan went viral. One county's investment bureau reported 7.8 billion yuan to the province, while actually attracting less than 100 million yuan—such an exaggerated figure is truly astonishing. In interviews, the parties involved explained that the problem was not their own work style, but the high-pressure targets from superiors. Faced with the requirement of "must grow," grassroots units had no choice but to cope by fabricating data at will. The higher-ups, without any vigilance, used these absurd numbers directly, leading to this explosion. In my view, both sides bear responsibility...
邢仁宝Flash warehouses don't lack goods; what they lack is 'new supply' that solves pain points
In a price war, price matters, but how to gain reputation and attention is the real way to break through. What we aim to be is not necessarily the highest in order volume or gross margin, but the instant retail brand with the best reputation. At the CFC conference held in Chengdu on March 16-18, 2026, Da Zheng, founder of Zhaixiaoxiong, delivered a keynote speech on flash warehouse operations and hit product creation, sharing insights on supply logic and hit product rules in the context of intense competition.
大郑The 12th Stop of the Tower Alliance Benchmark Distributor Study Tour: Guizhou Fang Wang Yuan, a Complete Success!
On April 10, the 12th stop of the Tower Alliance Benchmark Distributor Study Tour, held at Guizhou Fang Wang Yuan Trading, concluded successfully. Distributor owners from across the country gained a comprehensive understanding of how Fang Wang Yuan, in the fifth-tier city of Bijie, Guizhou, achieved annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan through 13 years of deep cultivation in the condiment and grain-oil category, and explored its complete transformation path from traditional brand agency to category operation, as well as its core methodology for thriving against industry headwinds.
New DistributionZhao Bo of New Distribution: In the Post-Truth Era, No Narrative, No Brand?
What is narrative? Let's start with a story. Wan Weigang, in his course 'Modern Thinking Tools,' shared a case: In the 1980s, Texas had a serious highway litter problem. The state government tried fines and campaigns, all to no avail. The main culprits were young men aged 18-35 who drove pickups and listened to heavy metal, priding themselves on rebellion. An advertising agency came up with a brilliant slogan featuring a football star and a blues singer, which solved the problem: 'Don't mess with Texas.'
赵波Consumers 'Win Again and Again': Master Kong Green Tea's 'One More Bottle' Promotion Goes Viral
Recently, New Distribution noted that Master Kong Green Tea's 'One More Bottle' promotion, which once created phenomenal sales in China's beverage market, was fully relaunched nationwide in March this year, quickly sparking a market craze. This classic IP, which once achieved phenomenal sales, has once again become the focus of the beverage market after many years. This is not a 'rehashing old ideas' brand marketing, but rather proof that truly vibrant promotional tactics, even today, can reignite consumer enthusiasm and terminal sales if the mechanism is right and the experience is smooth...
周群Terminal POSM Done a Lot but No Effect? Because Your Materials Can't Speak
Scene marketing is hot, but many brands are even more confused: what is the relationship between scene marketing and terminal materials? How do consumption scenes and sales scenes connect? At the main forum of CFC·11th China FMCG Conference on March 16-18, Ms. He Luyi from New Canned gave a brilliant speech titled "POSM Practical Guide: Creating a 'Speaking' Terminal." She pointed out that consumption scenes are for sowing, sales scenes are for harvesting, and a hook is needed to connect them—and that hook is the speaking terminal POSM.
何璐伊Zhao Bo of New Distribution: 36 Years of FMCG Marketing in China—How Marketing Power Shifted from Channels to Consumers, and Now to Algorithms
In March 2026, while working late, the author asked an AI assistant for a drink recommendation, which led to a realization that marketing power has shifted again. Over 36 years, it moved from channels (1990-2010) to consumers (2011-2023) and now to algorithms and AI (2024-present), fundamentally changing how brands must operate.
赵波Poor Warehouse Management Limits Distributor Growth
As the FMCG distribution industry enters a phase of intense competition, warehouse and distribution efficiency has become a critical factor for success. Warehouse planning, not just management, is key to reducing costs and improving efficiency, as highlighted at the 11th China FMCG Conference.
徐桢From Channel Distribution to User Symbiosis: Reconstructing the Growth Logic of Personal Care Brands
The personal care industry has seen a significant shift in its growth logic. In the past, brands relied on channel distribution, terminal coverage, and regional penetration for steady growth; however, with rising traffic costs, channel fragmentation, and rapidly changing consumer demands, relying solely on shipments and distribution can no longer explain today's growth. For personal care brands, the new question is not just how to distribute products, but whether products can truly meet user needs, whether brands can build sustained choice, and whether channels can become interfaces for user connection. On March 17...
曹业林From "Trade" to "Operations": How Traditional Distributors Become Comprehensive Operators of New-Quality Categories
At the CFC Conference held in Chengdu from March 16-18, 2026, Liu Liang, General Manager of Shenzhen Guanduoduo Trading Co., Ltd., delivered a keynote speech on how traditional distributors can evolve into comprehensive operators of new-quality categories. He emphasized that effortless success is a myth, failure is the norm, and focusing on the next step is key, urging distributors to shift from simple trading to value creation.
刘量New Distribution Zhao Bo: How Distributors Can Raise, Install, and Nurture the Lobster
Over the past two years, distributor owners have all asked the same question: Can AI really help me do business, rather than just chat with me? Yes, but only if you "raise it right." If you ask me "how to install the Lobster," the answer is simple: go to Tencent Cloud and do a one-click, foolproof installation. Installation is not the point; the key is how to configure it, feed it data, install skills, and finally let it monitor your operations. Many owners find that after installation, the answers seem okay, but soon they feel "it's just so-so." The problem is usually not the Lobster, but...
赵波Price Wars: How Can Distributors Break the Deadlock?
During a recent business trip to Hubei, several distributors mentioned they now hesitate to invest in offline channels because, after costly product introduction efforts, online platforms often reap the rewards once a product gains traction. With both online and offline markets saturated, squeezed growth is breaking existing balances, pushing offline distributors to the brink. However, there are still paths forward, which we explore from a retail development perspective.
高级研究员 海游Breaking Old Channel Patterns, Establishing New Consumer Order: 'Product, Store, Distributor, People, Money, Data' Must Be Redone!
At the CFC·11th China FMCG Conference main forum (March 16-18), Bain & Company global senior expert partner Lu Xiuqiong delivered a keynote speech titled 'Breaking Old Channel Patterns, Establishing New Consumer Order.' She highlighted that China's consumer market is undergoing deep shifts from demographics to channel structures, rendering traditional models for brands and distributors obsolete. Facing new cycles of down-market expansion, divergence, and omnichannel integration, companies must comprehensively rebuild capabilities and redo 'product, store, distributor, people, money, and data.'
鲁秀琼The Era of FMCG Distribution is Over
The more diligent, the more losses. Late one night before the Lunar New Year, I received a call from a friend. He has been an FMCG distributor in North China for 20 years, representing household-name brands. During the 'golden two decades,' he was almost synonymous with success: more brands, bigger warehouses, higher sales figures. But that night, he said, 'Teacher Wenqing, this past year has been really tough. I find myself in a vicious cycle: the more diligent, the more losses.' He broke down 'diligence' in detail: to keep the business alive, he added every possible lever—pressing another round of stock, adding a promotion, stacking another rebate, hiring people to monitor displays, end caps, and sell-through. The goods entered the stores, but two weeks later, when he followed up, the end caps were still there, the shelves were still there, the inventory was still there—the only thing missing was sales.
任文青AndyThe Second Half for Distributors: Not Distribution, but Operation
This article is adapted from Nie Biquan's keynote at the CFC2026 11th FMCG Conference, where he shares Baihui Commerce's journey from brand distributor to category operator. The company emphasizes that the industry is shifting from distribution to deep operations, focusing on turnover rate over gross margin, and building win-win partnerships with both manufacturers and retailers.
聂必权The Distributor Business: The More You Do It, the More Addictive It Gets!
While many distributors lament shrinking margins and tougher sales, Fang Fan, general manager of Guizhou Fangwangyuan Trading, has a different take: after 13 years, he finds the distributor business increasingly rewarding. Starting from scratch in Bijie, a fifth-tier city, he built a condiment trading company with annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan, maintaining nearly 30% growth for three consecutive years, with comprehensive loss rate below 1.2% and inventory turnover within 30 days.
张雨薇