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 31 of 125
Hard Discounts Are Coming on Strong, and Walmart Finally Can't Hold Out
On January 17, Walmart China announced that the first batch of 29 hypermarket stores in 8 cities nationwide had completed upgrades. This news has been reported by several industry media outlets, highlighting customer-centric changes such as reducing SKUs by 50%, cutting ineffective promotions, improving cost-effectiveness, and enhancing product differentiation. Walmart officially defines this as 'leapfrog' cost-effectiveness, meaning enjoying quality products at low prices that exceed your price expectations. In recent years, the retail industry has been impacted by discount stores, making cost-effectiveness the industry's main theme.
赵胜男Exclusive: How Did Leerle Grow to 3900+ Stores and 40 Billion in Sales with Hard Discount?
Leerle founder Chen Zhengguo, with a non-standard Mandarin accent, often delivers memorable quotes about retail, the most famous being, "Redo all retail in the form of wholesale!" Starting from a 123-square-meter supermarket in 2011, Leerle has grown to over 3,900 stores with 40 billion yuan in sales. Before 2023, it was mainly known in Hunan and other southern provinces, but as snack discount stores boomed and hard discount became an industry hotspot, Leerle became a subject of study. Industry insiders call it the pioneer of hard discount in China. How did it grow? What is its approach to hard discount? And what implications does it have for the development of hard discount in China?
任文青AndyExclusive Analysis: Prospects of Different Hard Discount Models in China in the Wake of Bied's Closure
On December 23, 2023, Bied Supermarket announced its suspension of operations from December 22, 2023, and closed its mini-program mall and official website. This article, an exclusive contribution to New Distribution by Qi Te, a partner at Zhengxuan Capital who has long studied hard discount development in China, analyzes the prospects of different hard discount models in China, arguing that Bied's closure was an investor's stop-loss decision rather than proof that the hard discount model fails in China.
戚特Now Is the Right Time to Enter the Hard Discount Brand Space!
Brands are products of their era. In the current hard discount era, characterized by overcapacity and fragmented media and channels, the traditional 'high premium, high advertising, deep distribution' strategy is no longer effective. Instead, small and medium manufacturers have a historic opportunity to build their own brands by focusing on high-quality, low-premium products that align with hard discount retail channels, which can simultaneously build brand awareness and drive sales.
连杰、上官易易Factory Price 63, Retail Price 69.9: Who Is Hard Discount Really Taking Business From?
A supplier to Sam's Club reveals that their factory price is 63 yuan while Sam's retail price is only 69.9 yuan, highlighting the power of its supply chain. Hard discount models, including warehouse clubs and snack discount stores, are reshaping retail by offering high cost-performance, and this trend is forcing brands to rethink their strategies.
任文青AndyAfter Hard Discounts in Snack Foods, White-Label Hard Discounts Could Be the New Highlight of 2024
Hard discounts in snack foods have made a strong start to the supply chain revolution, but the climax awaits large-scale breakthroughs in private labels by mainstream retailers. In 2024, emerging retailers leveraging white-label hard discounts may become the next highlight.
刘春雄How Can Brands Turn the Challenge of Hard Discount into Opportunity in 2024?
The Chinese New Year (CNY) sales season is crucial for achieving annual targets in 2024. Sales teams observe that snack discount stores are performing better than traditional hypermarkets and supermarkets due to lower retail prices. Consumers are price-savvy, comparing across channels, and the hard discount trend that emerged in late 2023 is driving these changes. Brands must prepare for two possible trends: hard discount as a passing fad or its nationwide expansion, and can turn this challenge into opportunity by adapting strategies.
曹扬Geoffrey CaoHas Hema Become a Knockoff Supermarket?
Few retailers have sparked as much extensive and ongoing discussion as Hema with their reforms. Since Hema announced a comprehensive discount-oriented transformation last October, this 'internet-famous star of new retail' has been at the center of attention for months. By the end of 2023, Hema operated over 350 stores across 28 cities in China. The discount reform of this local retail giant is just beginning, and its success ultimately depends on consumers 'voting with their feet'. PS: From March 14-16, 2024, the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference, co-hosted by New Distribution and Ande Smart Logistics, along with the 2nd China FMCG Hard Discount Conference and the 2nd China FMCG Distributor Conference, will be grandly held in Chengdu!
何丹琳Opening Over 400 Stores in Two Years: How Waima Songjiu 'Shakes Up' the Instant Retail Track for Alcoholic Beverages
By precisely grasping consumer demand, Waima Songjiu drives new growth in instant retail for alcoholic beverages. "I just opened one in April this year, and my goal for 2024 is to see which cities Meituan opens for franchise next. I want to expand beyond Guangdong and open several more stores in other cities." This is the biggest business wish for 2024 of Boss Feng, who runs a Waima Songjiu business in Yingde, Guangdong. Waima Songjiu is Meituan's self-operated instant retail brand for alcoholic beverages, providing users with high-quality alcohol delivery in an average of 15 minutes through a model of "self-operated supply chain + front warehouses + self-owned delivery."
孟芸Hema CEO Hou Yi and the Missed Opportunities with Discount Retail
Hema CEO Hou Yi has missed several opportunities to embrace discount retailing, despite recognizing the importance of price competitiveness early on. As the company pivots to a full discount strategy, it faces challenges in rebuilding trust with customers and suppliers, and must clarify its core values and target audience.
孙静23 People, 100 Million in Sales! How to Successfully Transform from 0 to 1 in B2B within 3 Years?
The market is changing, and distributors must adapt. Facing current difficulties and challenges, if you remain stubborn and refuse to adapt to the times and market changes, it won't be your competitors that defeat you, but your own conservatism. Recently, regarding the topic '2024 will be the last window for traditional distributors to transform to B2B,' we invited Luo Kai, General Manager of Luoyang Hecai Trading Co., Ltd., to the Li Feng New Distribution live stream to discuss the path of traditional distributors transforming to B2B. First, let's briefly introduce Luoyang Hecai Trading. Founded in 2006...
李锋、罗凯Chief Procurement Officer Reveals: How Does Sam's Club Keep Prices Low?
In the past year, both Pinduoduo and Sam's Club have thrived, becoming models for their industries. Despite vastly different customer bases, the shared emphasis on value for money has driven their success. Sam's Club's strong growth and expansion offer new insights for the retail sector, while its chief procurement officer reveals strategies such as long-term planning, omnichannel integration, and direct brand partnerships to reduce costs and lower prices.
孙静Online and Offline Chinese New Year Stock-Up Review: Nuts Are the Most Sought-After, Almond Milk Grows Fast
The Spring Festival is the last major battle for brands, especially with the later Chinese New Year in February this year, extending the festive shopping period. This year's CNY sales war is unique: online e-commerce lacks momentum, making it hard to grow GMV without heavy spending, while offline promotions often involve price cuts, larger packs, or bundled deals. These trends reflect lower consumer expectations. Many brands faced distributor clearance sales from early January, with gifting demand notably weak. However, some categories showed strong growth, such as small indulgences offering value for money. Few analyze the CNY shopping festival, but as the most important gifting occasion for Chinese people, it reveals shifts in consumer demand and which categories and brands have strong channel capabilities.
沥金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Sam's Club 'Dreams' for the Middle Class, while Metro 'Fulfills' Their Dreams
Metro, a name that has faded into silence. The positive side of this silence is its glory in the late 1990s when it was hailed as one of the 'Big Three' alongside Walmart and Carrefour. The negative side is that some consumers' memories of it are stuck in that past glory—'only business members could enter.' In 2020, Sam's Club rose to the center of the retail stage after the 'card-check incident.' While the media tirelessly discussed 'middle class,' 'membership stores,' and 'Sam's,' Metro was placed next to Carrefour, squeezed into a corner, with the latter labeled with 'decline' and 'collapse.'
胡亚楠Convenience Stores in 2024: Performance Diverges, Shift from Scale to Efficiency
Despite a challenging 2023, the convenience store industry continued to grow, with sample companies opening 13,148 new stores and closing 4,076, resulting in a net increase of 9,072 stores. Industry experts and executives highlight a shift from scale-focused expansion to operational efficiency and profitability, with a continued emphasis on product strength, operations, and organizational capabilities.
东方Low Prices, Discounts, Retail in Flux: What Should Brands Do?
In 2023, discount stores were extremely popular, but this is not an easy business. With no consumption growth and oversupply, businesses are forced into harder ventures. The article explores the future of snack discount stores, the development of discount supermarkets, and the implications for FMCG brands, predicting continued growth but at a slower pace, with more players entering the discount track and intensifying price competition.
任文青AndyPupu Supermarket Raises Delivery Fees, Rumored Layoffs: 'Climbing the Hill'
Pupu Supermarket, a representative of the front-warehouse model, is embroiled in layoff rumors and acquisition talks with JD.com. The company has raised its free delivery threshold in Fujian and Xiamen to 35 yuan, aiming to increase average order value and gross margin, but faces risks of customer loss and increased competition.
十里Strategies for Hard Discount Transformation in Chinese Physical Retail
Facing the surging wave of hard discount, traditional physical retailers (such as supermarkets) often adopt three attitudes: opportunism, defeatism, and adventurism. The risks of the first two are missing opportunities; the risk of the latter is overreaching. To avoid these errors, we must understand the essence of hard discount, our historical tasks, and the general laws of historical waves.
连杰The World's Most 'Ridiculous' Supermarket: Overpriced and Mocked as 'IQ Tax', Yet Raking in Billions—How?
In the U.S. retail sector, a saying goes: 'The poor go to Walmart, the rich go to Whole Foods.' Whole Foods, though little known in China, charges exorbitant prices—potatoes at $30 per pound, strawberries at $50-60 each, and a bottle of water with three asparagus spears for over $40—earning it the 'IQ tax' label. Yet, it attracts 8 million weekly shoppers, generates over $10 billion in annual sales, and was acquired by Amazon for $13.7 billion. This case explores how Whole Foods thrives despite its high prices, attributing its success to stringent sourcing standards, compelling product storytelling, community building, and a unique corporate culture.
正风Bulk Snacks Enter '10,000-Store Competition' with Intensifying Rivalry
As 2024 begins, discussions around bulk snack stores are non-stop, and one thing is certain: the competition in this sector will intensify this year. Over the past year, bulk snack stores have proliferated nationwide, with major brands expanding aggressively, especially in lower-tier markets. The top two brands, Snacks Busy and Wanchen, have rapidly scaled through mergers and integration, now targeting national expansion.
零售商业评论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Sam's Club Gains Another Rival
Sam's Club, the membership-only warehouse favored by China's middle class, faces increasing competition. Its global rival Costco, after five years in Shanghai and surrounding areas, has entered Sam's stronghold in Shenzhen, attracting 130,000 members and earning over 25 million yuan in membership fees shortly after opening. Costco's store locations show it is directly competing with Sam's, entering cities where Sam's already has at least two stores.
让商业更具价值In an Era of Slowing Growth, Why Can Meituan Flash Delivery Create Incremental Growth for Brands?
With the deep integration of people, goods, and scenes, Meituan Flash Delivery is leading instant retail toward new growth. In recent discussions with brand partners, the common feedback is that growth has become difficult in the past two years, and sustained growth even more so. For brands, growth is an unavoidable topic, but now it has become a challenge. In fact, over the past decade, the total market volume for most FMCG categories has not seen significant growth.
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