NEW DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH TOPIC
What structural changes are reshaping China’s FMCG channels?
Analysis of distribution restructuring, channel economics, and the changing roles of brands, distributors, and retail outlets in China.
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2301 articles · Page 14 of 96
“Even a delivery guy like me can tell something's wrong with this year's market!”
A salesperson's observation that even a delivery person can sense market problems leads to an investigation revealing sluggish sales, aging inventory, credit sales turning into bad debts, and distributors overwhelmed by stock pressure.
张雨薇Fuling Zhacai's Sharp Slowdown
In December 2023, Zhou Binquan, who had led Fuling Zhacai for 23 years, stepped down from all positions. After retirement, he remains the company's fourth-largest shareholder with a net worth exceeding 100 million yuan, achieving both fame and fortune and a graceful exit. However, what he left to his successor, Gao Xiang, is a situation of sharp slowdown: the stock price has fallen over 60% from its peak, market value has evaporated by over 25 billion yuan, and 2023 saw declines in both revenue and profit, with growth hitting a ceiling.
市值观察Video Account White Labels: Harvesting County-Level Luxury Women
During the Chinese New Year visit home, Xiaomei discovered that her family members had a habit of shopping on WeChat Channels, just like scrolling through Douyin or browsing Taobao. WeChat Channels has become a regular e-commerce platform for a group of people. Tencent internally has repeatedly mentioned the commercialization potential of WeChat Channels: at the end of 2022, Ma Huateng said in an internal speech that WeChat Channels is Tencent's hope for the future. It was also in that quarter's financial report that WeChat Channels' advertising revenue was first disclosed: over 3 billion RMB in three months. Tencent's 2023 annual results announcement emphasized that the total user time on WeChat Channels doubled compared to 2022.
关注微信生态的DTBlue Moon's Product and Knowledge-Marketing Foundation
Blue Moon sustained category leadership through technology-led product upgrades, solutions for narrower cleaning occasions, and long-term consumer education built around the role of a cleaning expert.
New DistributionWinning at the Point of Sale: Lee Kum Kee Joins Hands with Distributors to Create Rapid Market Growth
Recently, Lee Kum Kee held its national channel partner conference in Guangzhou, with the theme 'Win at the Point of Sale, Win with Lee Kum Kee,' underscoring the company's strategic commitment to terminal operations. The insights shared by business leaders at the conference conveyed a strong sense of confidence in winning at the retail level. Among the attendees were many outstanding distributor partners excelling in various channels. The author had the opportunity to meet a distributor from Henan, Xinxiang Zhihua Changwang Trading Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Zhihua Trading), and visited Xinxiang for a face-to-face interview with this distributor.
孟云Under Cyclical Pressure, Bestore Defends and Attacks?
In an era of intense competition across all industries, no one can win easily. On the evening of April 25, leading snack company Bestore released its 2023 annual report: revenue of 8.046 billion yuan, net profit attributable to shareholders of 180 million yuan. Despite cyclical pressure, it stabilized its core business. Its 2024 Q1 report showed revenue back on a growth track, up 2.79% year-on-year to 2.451 billion yuan. Due to proactive price concessions, net profit attributable to shareholders fell 57.98% to 62.4828 million yuan.
任建新"Game Changer" Master Kong: Breaking Through in the Electrolyte Water Arena
The electrolyte water track has attracted another giant: recently, Master Kong launched its "Infinite Power" electrolyte water, officially entering the functional beverage sector. As a new challenger in this arena, can Master Kong break through with its strength?
孟云Why Are There More Major Distributors in South China, East China, and Southwest China, While Fewer in North China and Central-South China?
At a recent meeting, I sat next to a major distributor from South China with annual sales exceeding 10 billion yuan, which reminded me of the differences in major distributors across regions. In North China, a distributor with 100 million yuan in sales is already considered major, highlighting the significant disparity. The presence of major distributors varies greatly by region, influenced not only by individual capabilities but also by geographical factors. For instance, South China, East China, and Southwest China have more major distributors, while North China and Central-South China have relatively fewer, with notable differences in the ceiling of distributor scale.
刘春雄How Much Is a Salesperson's Customer Relationship Worth?
Long ago, I categorized the skills of frontline salespeople into three types: attitude skills, customer relationship skills, and business skills. Among these, customer relationship skills are the most important, accounting for 80% of the factors in closing a deal. This article explores how to increase regional sales through stable customer relationships, using the example of a distributor in Henan who successfully captured market share by leveraging customer relationships when a competitor was in transition.
高级研究员 海游In the Midst of Major Shifts in the Maternal and Infant Industry, Growth Remains the Overriding Goal
The essence of the FMCG economy is population economics, which is particularly evident in the maternal and infant industry. Births in China fell from 17.86 million in 2016 to 9.02 million in 2023, halving in just eight years, leading to declining birth rates, shrinking market size, and demand divergence. At the 2024 Parenting Festival Industry Summit hosted by Taobao Tmall, the focus was on achieving growth in this challenging environment, with the platform sharing insights on consumer trends and channel shifts.
陈文石What Are the Highlights of Hard Discount in 2024?
From March 14 to 16, the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference, the 2nd China FMCG Hard Discount Conference, and the 2nd China FMCG Distributor Conference were held in Chengdu under the theme 'Supply Chain Revolution.' Liu Chunxiong, a proponent of new marketing and director of the Marketing Digitalization Research Institute, delivered a keynote speech titled 'Supply Chain Revolution, New Brand Landscape' to over 2,000 manufacturer and FMCG representatives. This article highlights key points from his speech, focusing on the current state and future of hard discount, the differences between soft and hard discount, the role of white-label products, and the need for a new path beyond single-category snacks.
刘春雄Exclusive Insight | New Distribution Yuan Lai: Urban X Trade Circulation Business Development Model
At the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference held in Chengdu on March 14, Yuan Lai, Chief Content Officer of New Distribution, released an exclusive industry insight titled "Urban X Trade Circulation Business Development Model" at the 2nd China FMCG Distributor Conference on March 16. The speech outlines the evolution of distributor business models, from brand-oriented to category- and retail-oriented, and proposes a development path model with five stages, emphasizing the shift from distributor to urban trade circulation enterprise.
袁来Yu Jian of Kantar Worldpanel: How to Seize New Growth Opportunities in the Consumption Recovery Period
At the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference held in Chengdu from March 14 to 16, Yu Jian, General Manager of Kantar Worldpanel Greater China and a consumer and retail market expert, delivered a keynote speech on seizing new growth opportunities during the consumption recovery period. His insights sparked lively discussions among manufacturers and distributors on how to find growth in the current environment.
虞坚A Practical POSM Framework for China's Snack Category
Research across more than 2,000 outlets organizes point-of-sale materials around four jobs—attract, inform, improve efficiency, and prompt action—and compares ten common retail formats.
New DistributionLeyuan Health: Dual-Wheel Drive Strategy Amid FMCG Distribution Model Transformation
According to incomplete statistics, private labels account for only about 7% in China, indicating significant growth potential. We believe that in 3-5 years, this will be a rapid growth phase. This year, we have incorporated ODM as a strategic supplement to our overall business direction, complementing and promoting our branded products. Zheng Tongjian, Vice President and General Manager of Marketing Center at Leyuan Health, said this in an interview with New Distribution. ODM involves providing customized product development and production services for large retailers, channel partners, or brand owners.
冯瑶Zeng Jian of Xinchao Media: How FMCG Brands Can Break Through in an Era of Oversupply
Oversupply is a common challenge facing every industry in China in recent years. According to mainstream authoritative views from academia and industry, in 2024, mainstream consumer groups will remain saturated due to the broader environment. Is China's housing oversupplied? Data shows that the total number of existing houses in China exceeds 600 million buildings, enough for 3 billion people, far exceeding the purchasing power of the population. Is automobile capacity oversupplied? Data shows that the overall production capacity of passenger cars in China is close to 55 million units, while annual production is about 23 million units, with a utilization rate of only 50%.
曾健Ren Wenqing: Hard Discount is the Surface, the Essence is the Transformation of FMCG Distribution Models
At the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference held in Chengdu from March 14-16, Ren Wenqing, COO of New Distribution and chief editor of the China Snack Hard Discount White Paper, delivered a keynote speech on March 15 at the 2nd China FMCG Hard Discount Conference, titled 'Through Hard Discount, Looking at the Transformation of FMCG Distribution Models and Its Impact'. He argued that hard discount is not just a retail phenomenon but a systemic change in the FMCG distribution model, driven by macroeconomic and industrial chain changes, and that the industry is transitioning from an old order to a new one.
任文青AndyData-Driven Empowerment: Digital Transformation from a Collaborative Perspective
Growth is an unavoidable topic for companies and distributors seeking development, and discussions have intensified in recent years. From March 14 to 16, the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference, themed 'Supply Chain Revolution,' was held in Chengdu. During the conference, over 100 speakers and more than 2,000 manufacturer representatives and FMCG professionals from across the country explored how distributors and brands can pursue growth in the current environment. Among them, Mr. Li Zheng, Vice President of Zhoupu Data, delivered a keynote speech titled 'Data-Driven Empowerment: Digital Transformation from a Collaborative Perspective' at the main forum, sparking lively discussions among manufacturers and distributors.
李正Snack Busy & Zhao Yiming Snacks: Strategic Expansion Northward, Aiming for 10,000 Stores!
Last year, we served over 600 million consumer visits, which not only reflects normal demand but also represents 600 million instances of being chosen and trusted, said Yan Zhou, founder and CEO of Snack Busy. On March 19, Snack Busy Group held its 'All Things Grow · 2024 Partner Conference' at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, with nearly 10,000 attendees including suppliers and franchisees. Four months after the merger with Zhao Yiming Snacks, the group unveiled its development strategy and goals.
任文青AndyReviewing Zong Qinghou's Marketing Philosophy: No Theory, Only Practicality
On the day Zong Qinghou passed away, I wrote: 'The best way to remember a person is to inherit his thoughts, as in 'carrying on the lost teachings of past sages.' After failing in the new consumption startup wave, I believe new consumption entrepreneurs should learn from old consumption entrepreneurs. Zong is the most worthy of our study, likely without exception. Today, I want to explore several topics: What is the marketing model behind Wahaha's ability to launch multiple hit products? What is the experience of quickly opening markets with new products?
梁将军Industry Exclusive | White Paper on Cost Reduction and Efficiency Enhancement in Warehouse and Distribution Logistics for Chinese FMCG Distributors
Distributors with business scale exceeding 50 million yuan often fail to achieve sustained growth due to management issues, with warehouse and distribution management being the most critical aspect after core business operations. Although warehouse and distribution logistics account for the highest proportion of operating costs for distributors, they spend minimal time optimizing and refining it. In the future, the number of distributors in a city will decrease while their scale will increase, making multi-SKU and multi-category management essential, with warehouse and distribution efficiency as a key indicator of operational performance. Based on this, New Distribution, in collaboration with BEST Supply Chain, has launched the industry's first white paper on cost reduction and efficiency enhancement in warehouse and distribution logistics for FMCG distributors, covering approximately 300 small, medium, and large distributors nationwide.
袁来Major Release | 2023-2024 China FMCG Distributor Warehouse and Distribution Logistics Survey Report
From March 14-16, 2024, the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference, the 2nd China FMCG Hard Discount Conference, and the 2nd China FMCG Distributor Conference were grandly held in Chengdu. At the 2nd Distributor Conference, Li Wenjun, partner of New Distribution Research and Consulting, provided an in-depth interpretation of the "2023 China FMCG Distributor Warehouse and Distribution Logistics Survey Report." This report, which took three months to compile, is a joint industry-exclusive study by New Distribution and Best Supply Chain, and serves as the essence of the "2023 China FMCG Distributor Warehouse and Distribution Logistics Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement White Paper."
New DistributionHow Meijian Moved From Niche Plum Wine to Scaled Growth
Meijian built scale through category focus, restaurant occasions, product standards, agricultural and production investment, disciplined expansion, and growth measured by repeat demand rather than channel inventory.
New DistributionThe 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