NEW DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH TOPIC
How is instant retail changing stores, platforms, and supply chains?
Coverage of flash warehouses, front warehouses, discount stores, supermarket transformation, and local commerce platforms in China.
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2996 articles · Page 16 of 125
Why Is Alibaba Reducing Its Stake in This Ningbo Supermarket Leader for the First Time?
Following the divestiture of Intime and Sun Art Retail, Alibaba has made a new move in exiting traditional physical retail. On April 21, Sanjiang Shopping Club Co., Ltd. (601116.SH) announced that Alibaba Zetai plans to reduce its shareholding by no more than 16.43 million shares, or 3% of total capital, marking the first such reduction in nine years.
联商网编辑部10,000+ SKUs, Covering 4,000+ Outlets: Turning a Traditional Trading Company into a 'One-Stop Supply Platform' for Local Retail Stores!
In recent years, New Distribution has visited many distributor bosses who report that business is tough and revenue growth without profit growth is the norm. Many distributors are struggling to survive, being eliminated by the market, or acquired by competitors. The main difficulty for distributors today is the increased uncertainty in the downstream retail market. On one hand, the wave of traditional supermarket closures leads to customer loss, and mid-sized stores have weaker risk resistance. On the other hand, snack stores are expanding aggressively with low prices, followed by discount stores, and supermarket renovations require distributors to supply at bare prices. These channel changes have a huge impact on today's distributors.
汪海Convenience Store Giants' Hidden Battle: 7-Eleven's "Zero" Growth, FamilyMart and Lawson "Close In"
According to Lianshang.com statistics, globally as of the end of February 2025, 7-Eleven had 85,816 stores, significantly more than FamilyMart (24,620) and Lawson (22,098). Its overall sales were about four times that of FamilyMart and more than four times that of Lawson. In terms of market scale, 7-Eleven's position remains unshakable. However, beneath the calm surface, undercurrents are stirring. In the just-concluded fiscal year 2024, in stark contrast to the continuous profit growth of FamilyMart and Lawson, 7-Eleven's profits declined significantly. More critically...
联商网编辑部Another 'Poor Man's Supermarket' Comes to China
Despite tariff turmoil, UK-based frozen food supermarket Iceland has returned to China, opening its first physical store in Beijing. The 6,800 sqm store, named Iceland Lab, offers 3,200 SKUs of packaged frozen foods and aims to maintain its value-for-money positioning while adapting to local tastes and supply chains.
彭倩Bare Procurement ≠ Saving Money: The Pitfalls of Supermarket Direct Sourcing
During a recent market visit to Tibet, I observed that local supermarkets in Lhasa and Nyingchi are emulating Pangdonglai with improved fresh, bakery, and deli sections and lower shelving. However, many are falling into the trap of direct sourcing without considering operational capabilities, leading to hidden costs and inefficiencies. This article explores the complexities of direct sourcing versus distributor supply, offering guidance on product selection, new product introduction, KPI setting, and the importance of a professional procurement team.
王正齐31 Retail Enterprises Release Q1 Financial Reports: Wanchen Net Profit Surges 3344%, Yonghui Net Profit Plunges 79.96%
In Q1 2025, extreme contrasts within comprehensive retail, supermarkets, and snack food stores intensified. Suning.com, a leading enterprise, validated its transformation resilience with four consecutive profitable quarters, while Bailian Group offset a 14% revenue decline through REITs innovation and first-store economy. Regional leader Tianhong Co., Ltd. achieved profit recovery through business format restructuring, whereas Liqun Co., Ltd. and Dalian Friendship were mired in the dilemma of revenue growth without profit increase. In the supermarket sector, Bubugao leveraged the Pangdonglai model to achieve a 488% surge in net profit, while Yonghui Superstores saw profits plummet by 79.96% due to store closure pains. In the snack industry, Wanchen Group led with a 3344% net profit growth, crushing traditional brands, while Liangpin Shop and Laiyifen retreated in the price war. This industry reshuffle, driven by a supply chain efficiency revolution, is reshaping the competitive landscape of China's retail sector.
赵胜男The Battle of "Hundred-Billion Subsidies" Has Finally Reached Food Delivery Platforms
JD Food Delivery launched hundred-billion subsidies, and Meituan followed, emphasizing that over the next three years, Meituan will invest a total of 100 billion yuan in the catering industry. With subsidy deals and public opinion battles, Meituan and JD.com stole the spotlight in April, attracting attention from consumers, merchants, and riders. Under this heat, marketing subsidy actions can achieve twice the result with half the effort. As the war of words intensifies, what is Ele.me doing? The "red-yellow" battle: what is the "blue" doing? The fierce battle between JD.com and Meituan has many wondering—"What exactly is Ele.me doing?"
New DistributionA County Supermarket in Hebei Praised by Pangdonglai: No Store Closed in 40 Years, Annual Revenue Exceeds 23.9 Billion Yuan
In 2024, the supermarket and department store industry faced severe challenges, with most listed companies reporting declines. However, Xinyu Lou, a county supermarket from Huanghua, Hebei, achieved revenue of 23.9 billion yuan, maintaining growth for four consecutive years. Its success lies in a commitment to integrity, a robust supply chain, deep penetration of lower-tier markets, and a unique organizational culture.
王冲和Pangdonglai Is Not the Antidote for Yonghui
Yonghui Superstores, which is fully learning from Pangdonglai, continues to incur losses, and the market is again worried about this disciple of Pangdonglai. According to its 2024 annual and Q1 2025 financial reports, revenue fell 14.07% to 67.574 billion yuan in 2024, with net loss attributable to shareholders widening by 136 million yuan to 1.465 billion yuan. While the losses were expected, the latest data still fell short of market expectations, and the transformation pain is set to continue.
吴文武2025: Sugar-Free Tea at a Turning Point?
In this week's 'Looking Ahead to 2025' series, the New Distribution Intelligence Station analyzes the sugar-free ready-to-drink tea category using data from the New Distribution Brand CT and the DAP-Data beverage database. Despite steady market share growth, sales growth turned negative in March 2025, signaling a shift from incremental to existing market competition, with high-tier cities stabilizing and low-tier cities driving growth.
echo，lby，南瓜The Time Bomb in Supermarket Business: The Joint Venture Model
The joint venture model, once a highly efficient combination for supermarkets and suppliers during the era of rapid growth, has become a time bomb threatening the survival of both parties as market increments stagnate. This article uses the story of a supermarket owner, Xiao Chen, to illustrate how the model's inherent flaws—lack of core competitiveness, mutual distrust, and neglect of product quality—lead to a lose-lose situation, and proposes a shift towards a win-win partnership based on trust and transparency.
零售荆言County Town Supermarkets Are Getting Harder to Run
The business of county town supermarkets is declining. Operators like Fang Chao and Guo Lin face challenges from changing consumer habits, competition from chain stores and convenience stores, and supply chain issues, leading many to close or struggle.
十里Douyin's "Female Drinkers" Propel a 40-Year-Old Henan Beer Brand to Fame
In a monopolistic market where the CR5 exceeds 90%, and in an industry that peaked in production and sales in 2013 and has since entered a stock competition, a local 40-year-old brand has risen abruptly, securing the top spot in the beer sales ranking on Douyin's Double 11 Good Things Festival, and driving a new category's transaction value on JD.com's Double 11 supermarket to grow by 5324%. This is what Jinxing Beer has achieved in the past six months. Behind this story are many "female drinkers" on Douyin (nickname only, no inappropriate guidance), who, with sentimental love songs as BGM, have pushed Jinxing's tea-flavored beer to the top of the charts.
刀法行研Hema Sets Aside Its 'Obsession' with New Retail
Nine years after its founding, Hema has achieved full-year profitability for the first time in a complete fiscal year (April 2024 to March 2025). Notably, this profitable fiscal year coincides with the first full year under new CEO Yan Xiaolei, who has initiated a series of business adjustments and strategic focus, including plans to open 100 new Hema Fresh stores and transition its X membership stores to an online model.
江月Wushang Group Enters Membership Store Arena, Going Head-to-Head with Sam's Club
Wushang Group (000501.SZ) has quietly established Wushang Jiangtun Membership Store Warehousing Co., Ltd. in March 2025, signaling its official entry into the warehouse membership store sector. The company plans to open its first store in Dongxihu District, Wuhan, within the year, adopting a paid membership model, as it seeks to break through its profit dilemma amid declining revenue and intensifying competition from Sam's Club.
RBF团队Why Are There So Many 7-Elevens in Thailand?
According to the China Chain Store & Franchise Association, in 2023, the three major Japanese convenience store chains—LAWSON, 7-Eleven, and FamilyMart—had a combined 12,943 stores in China. Outside China, in a country roughly the size of Sichuan Province, 7-Eleven alone has grown to 15,245 stores, making it the country with the most 7-Eleven stores outside Japan. That country is Thailand, where over 15,000 7-Eleven stores command 70% of the convenience store market share.
窄播Hema Clenches Its Fist, Aiming at Sam's Club's Next Stronghold
Hema founder Hou Yi spent nine years without achieving his goal, but new CEO Yan Xiaolei accomplished it in just nine months. On the last day of 2024, Hema disclosed in an internal letter that the company had been profitable for nine consecutive months, with double-digit growth and a customer increase of over 50%. From shelved IPO plans and rumors of a sale before March last year to aggressive store openings this year, Hema's fate has reversed in just one year. In mid-February, Jack Ma appeared at a Hema store in Changsha, and Alibaba explicitly stated at an earnings meeting that there are no plans to sell Hema.
高越Sam's Club's 'Great Leap Forward'
Sam's Club China is accelerating its expansion, with eight stores expected to exceed $500 million in annual sales, and its 'store-warehouse-cloud integration' model driving online sales to over half of its revenue. The company is strategically expanding into affluent county-level cities, backed by capital from Walmart's divestiture of JD.com shares, and is focusing on product quality, membership experience, and value-for-money to win over Chinese consumers.
楚勿留香Field Visit to Tao Xiaopang: Its Ambition Goes Beyond Replicating Pangdonglai
At a critical juncture of old and new forces in the retail industry, Pangdonglai and Tao Xiaopang present contrasting paths, reflecting deep differences in retail philosophies. While the former exposes shortcomings in quality control and public opinion management, the latter rises rapidly with an 'asset-light + digital' model. What are the core differences? A visit to Tao Xiaopang's store reveals the answer.
RBF团队Gathering in Shenzhen from May 7-10! Retail Giants and Regional Benchmarks Including Walmart, Hema, Tianhong, China Resources Vanguard, Biyoute, and Aotele Are All Coming!
In March this year, Yonghui Superstores fired the first shot in 'removing middlemen.' Yonghui's director Ye Guofu unveiled a reform plan at a supplier conference: complete adjustments at over 200 stores, eliminate middlemen to implement 'bare-price direct sourcing,' cancel various fees for suppliers, and shift the retailer-supplier relationship from confrontation to symbiosis. Removing middlemen, direct sourcing at bare prices, and focusing on core suppliers all send a resounding message to the industry: the new retail era of 'value reshaping' has arrived. The retailer-supplier relationship is being restructured, and brands and distributors must re-examine their strategic positioning, roles, core functions, and value to better adapt to market changes and enhance supply chain competitiveness.
田静Will Drugstores Overrun by Snacks and Beverages Become the Next Convenience Stores?
Last winter, the author noticed a chain drugstore at their community gate selling ice cream from a freezer, a sight that seemed ill-advised in winter. By spring, the freezer remained with more varieties, prompting the author to explore the store and discover a wide range of non-pharmaceutical products, leading to reflections on the trend of drugstores diversifying into snacks and daily goods, and whether this could make them the next convenience stores.
百万食饮人都在看Walmart Goes Rogue: Pressuring Suppliers to Cut Prices Against the Wind
Despite a prior regulatory notice from China's Ministry of Commerce, Walmart has continued to push Chinese suppliers for a 10% price cut. This move, seen as an attempt to shift tariff costs onto Chinese manufacturers, has sparked a collective backlash and highlighted the shifting dynamics of global supply chains.
SunnyueAnnual Sales of $54 Billion, Covering Over 100,000 Outlets: The Business Logic of McLane as a 'Middleman'
China's current retail transformation, whether it's membership warehouses, discount retail, or instant retail, as well as the forced adjustments in supermarkets and convenience stores, is all about improving supply chain efficiency. Improving industry efficiency inevitably involves supply chain adjustments, and distributors, as a key intermediate link, are the hardest hit. Many distributors are confused about their future business positioning. However, this cycle of industry chain adjustment has been experienced in the retail development history of all developed countries. Naturally, the solution for the 'middleman' business can also be found in global retail history.
张振宇How to View JD's 7FRESH Supermarket Accelerating Its 'Warehouse-Store' Expansion?
By the end of June this year, JD's 7FRESH supermarket will open 20 'warehouse-stores' in Tianjin, according to a JD insider. This signals an acceleration in JD's layout in the instant retail market, as it aims to cover all six districts and four suburbs of Tianjin, with a new model combining stores and warehouses.
零售氪星球