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.
Related research and analysis
2996 articles · Page 26 of 125
Running Stores with the Logic of Livestreaming
In an era of abundance, connectivity, and information overload, success depends on mastering the era's key productive forces. For physical stores, this means applying the measurable metrics of livestreaming—popularity and sales indices—to drive customer engagement and conversion.
逄格亮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 DistributionServing Top Snack Stores like Mingming Busy and Hao Xiang Lai, Lemeng Helps Community Retail Return to Retail Essence
The wave of hard discount has begun and won't stop. Over the past year, New Distribution has published a hard discount white paper, held the FMCG Hard Discount Conference, written in-depth industry insights, and shared discount retail cases. Recently, I had an in-depth exchange with Zhang Haibo, co-founder of Lemeng, whose insights on the industry's development and future changes are highly valuable. For the FMCG industry, Lemeng may not be well-known, but in the discount retail sector, especially the snack store industry, Lemeng is a household name.
任文青Andy"Generic" Snack Discount Stores Sweep Townships
Wang Hua, a former designer, opened a snack discount store in a small township in Shandong, but business has been poor, with daily sales around 700 yuan and a 16% gross margin, leading to losses. He regrets joining the franchise, as the initial investment was nearly 90,000 yuan, and the prices are not competitive compared to county-level stores. The article also discusses the rapid expansion of snack discount stores in county towns and townships, their low-price strategies, and the challenges they face.
晴山Another UK Internet-Famous Juice Brand Exits China Market
In 2020, innocent, a UK-born internet-famous juice brand, was brought to China by Coca-Cola. With its health-focused selling point of 'no additives except fruit', it was once seen as a rising star in China's juice market. However, within just four years, the brand has quietly retreated, closing its official stores on Taobao and JD.com and disappearing from offline retail channels. After ending its foodservice business with Starbucks China in March, innocent has officially concluded its 'China journey'.
联商网编辑部Representing Yunnan Baiyao, Cold Sore, Lay's, Nongfu Spring, etc., with annual sales exceeding 100 million in a fourth-tier city, how did he do it?
"Making money is getting harder and harder!" Many distributors have such feelings. In the era of material scarcity, products were in short supply, and many distributors quickly expanded their businesses by following brands. Later, with the emergence of retail formats represented by KA stores and convenience stores, another group of people enjoyed the channel dividend. Now, affected by the overall environment, store traffic is declining, sales are falling, and supermarkets are closing... The living space of distributors is severely squeezed, and long-tail categories represented by daily chemicals are hit even harder. In Chengde, Hebei, there is such a distributor who has been in business for 24 years, witnessing the industry from the product dividend period to the channel dividend period and now to multi-party involution, and has his own unique insights and thoughts at each stage. He is Mr. Wen Liwei, general manager of Chengde Deliyuan Trading Co., Ltd.
张雨薇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9.9 Yuan a Bottle: Aldi Exposes the Truth About Baijiu
Baijiu is now selling for 9.9 yuan. Recently, amid falling Moutai prices and stock value, a 9.9-yuan baijiu newly launched by German supermarket ALDI was snapped up by young consumers. The 52-degree liquor, made from five grains using traditional solid-state fermentation, sells for just 9.9 yuan per 500ml, and Aldi says it still makes a profit at this price. Not only baijiu, but a bottle of yellow wine at Aldi costs only 5.9 yuan. Aldi has been promoting low-priced private labels this year, such as its own milk brand 'Youbai' with a low-temperature pasteurized fresh milk at just 8.5 yuan.
沥金Behind the Makeover of Yonghui: A Capital Game of Acquaintances
The article explores how Pangdonglai, a regional supermarket chain in Henan, has become a national sensation by revamping major retailers like Yonghui Superstores, and reveals the intricate capital and personal connections behind these makeovers, questioning whether such transformations can be replicated nationwide.
让商业更具价值Food Market Mid-2024 Review: Recovery Breaks the Ice, Transformation Accelerates
2024 has been designated as the 'Year of Consumption Promotion,' with expanding domestic demand and boosting consumption as key economic priorities. In the first quarter, positive economic signals led to optimistic assessments of 'better than expected' and 'confidence is steadily recovering.' Online retail sales of physical goods grew 11.1% in the first four months, urban retail sales rose 4.6% in Q1, and foreign trade showed a rebound in April-May, signaling the growth of new drivers and economic resilience. However, cautious voices also note the pressure to meet annual targets. In the food and beverage market, health trends dominate, membership stores like Sam's Club and regional retail benchmark Pangdonglai perform well, discount snack stores expand rapidly, and second-generation entrepreneurs take over with a focus on internet channels. The first half of 2024 saw dense hotspots, including M&A, health-oriented products, overseas expansion, and new retail innovations.
foodatalink1-Yuan Water, 9.9-Yuan Shampoo: How Does 'Poor Ghost Paradise' Aldi Make Money?
Aldi, a German discount supermarket, has won over Shanghai consumers with ultra-low prices like 1-yuan water and 9.9-yuan shampoo, no membership fees, and a focus on quality and convenience. Its success stems from extreme minimalism, a vertical supply chain, and a high share of private-label products, though expansion beyond Shanghai faces challenges from local competitors like Hema Outlets.
宁缺The Decline of Hypermarkets and the Rise of Discount Stores: A New King Takes the Throne in Chinese Retail
Once-dominant hypermarkets in China are retreating, while discount and membership stores are surging. Carrefour's glory days are over, and traditional supermarkets face closures and losses, but new players like Sam's Club and Pangdonglai are thriving by focusing on value and experience.
晴山Supermarkets' Over 10 Billion Yuan in Bad Debts Ruin the 60 Billion Yuan Fruit King
Everything has two sides; what once brought extraordinary benefits can become a fatal shackle. This is the case for Hongjiu Fruit, the 'first fruit stock.' In 2022, Hongjiu Fruit went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with its unique 'end-to-end' model, reaching a market value of up to 60 billion yuan, and founder Deng Hongjiu was hailed as the 'Fruit King,' completing a rise from a 'Chongqing porter' to a listed company boss. Now, less than two years later, Hongjiu Fruit is mired in delayed annual reports, auditor resignations, founder's pledged shares, and store closures and layoffs.
伯虎团队How Offline 'Pinduoduo' Players Are Expanding Their Online Territory
In the past two years, two retail formats have maintained rapid growth: discount retail and instant retail. Discount stores, known for high cost-performance, have expanded rapidly despite intense competition and store closures in the supermarket sector. Meanwhile, instant retail has grown at an average annual rate of over 50%, with its market size expected to triple by 2025. Increasingly, discount chain brands like HotMaxx and Hi-TGO are embracing instant retail, blending these complementary formats to meet evolving consumer needs.
周群Dialogue with Biut's Meng Fanzhong: Taking Over Carrefour, the 7 Billion Regional Supermarket King, and Standard-Bearer of Supply Chain Reform
“Taking over Carrefour, some said we were foolish, wanting to see if we could really do it. But after we moved in, we achieved twice the sales with only half the original space,” said Meng Fanzhong, founder of Biut. In 2023, Carrefour closed stores across Northeast China, and Biut moved into those locations, quickly generating high-performance media reports, making this regional supermarket brand known to more people. Starting from Hegang, a small northeastern city with a population of just over 800,000, Biut established its headquarters in Harbin in 2017, moved to Shenyang in 2021, and is set to exceed 7 billion yuan in sales in 2024. After more than two decades of development, Biut has grown into the largest supermarket chain in Northeast China.
任文青AndyYoung People Earning 20,000 Yuan a Month Can No Longer Afford Instant Noodles
The world's absurdity often reaches incomprehensible levels overnight. When coffee, once a symbol of lifestyle, has fallen to 9.9 yuan a cup, instant noodles, long seen as cheap food, are becoming unaffordable for young people. The topic of instant noodle price hikes has been circulating for a while, but I only recently felt it firsthand: one night after working late and caught in a rainstorm, I bought a cup of instant noodles, a braised egg, and a ham sausage at the 7-Eleven downstairs for a total of 14.5 yuan.
李东阳Are Premium Ice Creams Losing Their Appeal?
This summer, mobile ice cream wholesale points have appeared across streets, offering discounts to attract customers. Surveys show that mainstream ice cream prices are now below 5 yuan, with the best-selling items under 3 yuan. Premium brands like Moutai ice cream and Zhong Xue Gao have slashed prices, indicating a shift towards rational consumption.
桃叶Foreign Retailers Are Returning to China With New Formats
Foreign retailers did not simply retreat from China. They shed declining hypermarket models and returned through warehouse clubs, convenience stores, and consumer-centered formats that continue to influence local retail.
New DistributionThe Vanishing 'Carrefour's
Although store closures have been the main theme for traditional supermarkets in China in recent years, Carrefour China has been hit even harder. According to Suning.com's announcement on May 31 regarding its response to the 2023 annual report inquiry letter, as of the end of May this year, only four Carrefour China stores remained operational. Once a glorious leader and 'godfather' of local retail, it has now become a cautionary tale. Just four years ago, Carrefour China still had 228 stores, but that number has drastically declined.
戈多Head Snack Chains Expand Aggressively: Should Regional Players Advance or Retreat?
On June 12, Mingming Henmang Group announced surpassing 10,000 stores, becoming the first local snack chain to achieve this scale. Since 2020, snack discount stores have entered a rapid expansion era, with head players expanding nationwide and consolidating through mergers. According to NielsenIQ, the snack discount store sector grew by 75.8% in 2023. In early 2024, Henmang introduced a 'zero franchise fee' policy, driving its store count from 6,000 to 10,000. Regional players face intense competition but are finding survival strategies such as product differentiation, fee waivers, alliances, and transitioning to discount supermarkets.
汪海“I've Run a 16-Year-Old Store in Beijing, and This Year Is Harder Than Last Year”
Wang Dong, who has run a community supermarket in Beijing for nearly 16 years, reflects on the bittersweet journey of retail, facing rising rents, falling sales, and changing consumer habits. He expanded and then contracted his store, and now also runs a new store in a third-tier city, but profits remain thin as costs rise.
晴山China's Retail Leader Has Changed
The top spot in China's retail sector has changed hands, from Suning to Walmart, marking the first time a foreign company has topped the list in 40 years of chain retail. Suning's decline can be explained by Carrefour, while Walmart's success is driven by Sam's Club. The future of China's chain retail lies in innovators like Hema, Meiyijia, Pangdonglai, and others.
徐霁October Rice Field Takes Corn Sales to New Heights
A fresh corn cob can sell for as little as 2 yuan at a street stall, but with branding and e-commerce, it can generate over 100 million yuan in sales. In the corn category on Douyin from January to May 2024, October Rice Field captured nearly half of the market by repositioning corn as a snack and focusing on supply chain and consumer insights.
沥金2024 Is the Year of the Biggest Changes in China's Offline Channels in Nearly 20 Years
2024 is the year of the biggest changes in China's offline sales channels in over 20 years. The snack chain represented by Snacks Busy and Zhao Yiming, the hard discount represented by Leerle, and the supermarket reform represented by Pangdonglai have had the greatest impact. These three formats have many specific forms, such as snack chains: professional snack stores represented by Snacks Busy; store-in-store snack shops like Leerle and Xindong Snacks; and renovated grocery stores that sell cigarettes, betel nut, grain, oil, condiments, as well as beverages and snacks.
王正齐