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 33 of 125
Hard Discounts Arrive: Do FMCG Brands Still Dare to Raise Prices?
As private label share grows, some worry that national brands will become redundant. However, private labels and national brands are complementary, as national brands drive store traffic, support retailer profit optimization, and offer consumer choice. Notably, high private label volume penetration and market share in a category do not necessarily maximize category profitability. The answer: In the era of hard discounts, which mainly replace cheap generic brands, FMCG companies should quickly occupy higher price points, but the window of opportunity is fleeting.
刘春雄Consumers Who 'Disdain' Prepared Dishes May Not Be Able to Resist Frozen Baking
Frozen baking, like prepared dishes, is a large-scale, industrialized food solution that is quietly entering our lives. Despite many restaurants advertising 'no prepared dishes,' brands like Sam's Club and Hema are open about their baked goods coming from factories. Frozen baking is the fastest-growing segment in the baking industry, with a compound annual growth rate of 23.87% from 2013 to 2022, and it offers advantages such as cost reduction, consistent quality, and fresh taste, making it hard for both businesses and consumers to resist.
FBIFYonghui Superstores: Contracting for the Winter
After the heavy snow, winter truly arrives, and animals are busy storing food. Business tycoons are no different, weaving a complex network of friendships. On December 12, Wanda announced a reinvestment agreement with PAG and other major investors, trading absolute control for relief, while also selling stakes in Wanda Film and some Wanda Plazas. Yonghui Superstores, facing its own downturn, sold its 1.43% stake in Wanda Commercial Management for 4.53 billion yuan, shifting from expansion to contraction to hoard cash.
徐霁On Survival and How to Thrive: A Conversation with Individual Retailers in Lower-Tier Cities
In China's third-, fourth-, and fifth-tier cities, individual retail seems to be gradually disappearing. Lao Wang (pseudonym), a regional distributor in Zunyi, Guizhou, notes that while large supermarkets in big cities are closing, small supermarkets are proliferating in lower-tier cities, squeezing out mom-and-pop shops. This article explores the current state and future of individual retail in these areas through interviews and analysis.
新商业价值媒体Hard Discount Transformation of Traditional Retail Is Not Simply About Selling Cheaper
Discounting is not just about selling goods cheaper. A category supply chain transformation essentially involves two points: lower prices and a richer assortment. Taking Lai Yifen as an example, in response to competition from bulk retail stores, it attempted discount transformation through price cuts. However, after the price cuts, it found that something was still missing. Where was the problem? Lai Yifen was born during a period of rapid quality upgrade in China's snack demand, but at that time production capacity had not kept up. Therefore, Lai Yifen's store format was small, with about two to three hundred SKUs, only able to support a portion of people's demand for quality snacks in the competitive environment at that time.
连杰Top 10 Keywords in the FMCG Industry for 2023
The recovery of the global economy, the coexistence of consumption upgrading and downgrading, and the explosive growth of the online economy have brought unprecedented challenges and opportunities to the FMCG industry in 2023. New Distribution has compiled the top 10 keywords for the FMCG industry in 2023, interpreting industry trends from multiple perspectives to help FMCG companies review key information and better grasp market changes and development directions.
杨玉琳、冯瑶Why Community Discount Supermarkets May Be the Next Retail Opportunity
China's snack-discount sector still has room to grow, but copying the current format is no longer enough. The next opportunity may be full-category community discount supermarkets built on stronger assortment, supply-chain, and organizational capabilities.
New DistributionLoss-Making Third-Tier Convenience Store Franchisees: Hard to Transfer, Closing Means Losses
Wang Qiang, who franchised a Japanese convenience store brand in Qingdao, Shandong, decided to exit after seven months due to intense competition from discount snack stores and lower-than-promised margins. He faces difficulties transferring his store and will lose at least 100,000 yuan. Zhang Li, chairman of Jianfu Convenience Store, highlights key challenges for franchising and predicts an inevitable consolidation period in the industry.
晴山2023 China FMCG Supply Chain Digitalization White Paper Released (Download Included)
This report reviews the development of China's FMCG market in the post-pandemic era, focusing on the transformation of brand business and supply chain around omni-channel and one-warehouse inventory management. It analyzes new challenges and digital demands in supply chain operations, and provides insights through case studies. The full report is available for download via the 'Read Full Text' link at the end of the article.
罗戈研究Intensifying Competition! Dingdong Maicai Ventures into Outlet Format, Ready to Battle Hema?
A new store by the author of Fresh Food Ranking has drawn close attention from the fresh food industry. Recently, the first Dingdong Outlet store opened in Shanghai's Songjiang District. As a leading player in the front-warehouse model, can Dingdong Maicai's trial of the fresh food outlet format succeed?
生鲜榜作者The Flames of Instant Retail Are Ready to Reignite
Instant retail is stirring up a storm again. Douyin Mall has opened an independent entrance for 'hourly delivery', and JD.com has proposed to help 200 million local small and medium-sized retailers undergo digital transformation in the next five years. Suddenly, the instant retail track is ablaze with war. Alibaba, JD.com, and Meituan are all trying to get a piece of the pie. A few years ago, giants were keen on acquiring and investing in offline supermarkets, but the results were not ideal. For example, Bubugao, once invested by Tencent and JD.com and known as the 'first stock of private supermarkets', is on the verge of losing control. Even Gaoxin Retail, backed by Alibaba's forest, is barely surviving...
李欢The Dilemma of Hema
In 2018, when Hema opened in Wuhan, Hou Yi tasted a local specialty called "lotus root" and immediately decided to urgently procure it. With a shelf life of only 72 hours, Hema purchased during the day, air-freighted to Shanghai at night, and sold in stores the next morning, theoretically leaving only 24 hours for sales. In later media interviews, Hou Yi often cited this story as a symbol of Hema—from its inception, Hema was a standard product of consumption upgrade; early on within Alibaba, Hema was nicknamed "the second Tmall."
黎铮Instant Hit: Jinmailang's "Green Beef" Noodles Swim Against the Tide
A city distributor sold 10,000 units of Jinmailang's zero-fried noodles in a single month, while a county-level distributor moved 1,000 units monthly. The viral Douyin trend for banmian (board noodles) is part of Jinmailang's "0-Fried Healthy Noodles" series, now in short supply online and offline. Amid post-pandemic sales declines, Jinmailang's Lanfanfan zero-fried line is bucking the trend, backed by 20 years of R&D and a bold green packaging strategy.
AmyChinese E-commerce 'Pinning' Its Way Overseas
In the era of global recovery, with the rise of e-commerce for all, Pinduoduo has emerged victorious. On November 28, Pinduoduo Group released its third-quarter earnings report, showing revenue of 68.84 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 93.9%, and net profit of 15.54 billion yuan, with a net profit margin of 22.6%. Following the report, Pinduoduo's US-listed shares surged over 18% at the open, reaching a high of $139.93 per share, and closing at $139, with a market value of $184.7 billion, approaching the $200 billion mark. Pinduoduo's success is hard-won through real competition.
关不羽Ren Wenqing: Hard Discount - Reshaping Future Supply Chain Landscape and Growth Models
On December 6, the first China FMCG Hard Discount Conference opened grandly in Zhengzhou. At the main forum on the morning of December 6, Ren Wenqing, COO of New Distribution and chief editor of the 'China Snack Hard Discount White Paper', shared insights on 'Hard Discount - Reshaping Future Supply Chain Landscape and Growth Models'. The following are key points from the speech.
任文青AndySupply Chain Capability: The Core Competitiveness of Hard Discount Brands
Discount retail is surging, proving once again that if other methods fail, a 'price war' always works. In 2023, the discount store model centered on price wars exploded, kicking off China's retail discount revolution. The core competitiveness of hard discount brands lies in supply chain capability, which determines profitability and survival in the fierce 2024 competition.
陈思廷Snack Discount Stores in County Towns: Undercurrents Surging
Like a spring breeze overnight, snack discount stores have densely appeared on streets and alleys. Lin Ming (pseudonym), a resident of a fifth-tier small county town, recently found several such stores near his home, including two 'Snacks Very Busy' outlets. These stores are more fashionable than ordinary convenience stores and offer lower prices: a bottle of cola sells for 3 yuan in supermarkets but only 2.4 yuan at 'Snacks Very Busy'; a bottle of water priced at 2 yuan in convenience stores costs just 1.2 yuan at 'Zhao Yiming Snacks'. Overall, products in snack discount stores are mostly 20-30% cheaper than in regular supermarkets.
竹铭Why Fresh Food E-commerce Platforms Always Lose to the Neighborhood Wet Market?
Recently, Meituan Youxuan launched a new mini-program called "Tuanmaimai" on WeChat, marking its latest move in community group buying. This year, Meituan Youxuan has been expanding, and JD.com and Taobao have also re-entered the fray with their own fresh food services. Despite the industry's turbulent past with many failures, e-commerce giants are still drawn to fresh food due to its high frequency and rigid demand, but they face challenges from long supply chains, high costs, and the efficiency of traditional wet markets.
阿空How Did These Discount Store Franchisees Lose Their Money?
As the hottest retail format of 2023, hard discount has indeed attracted attention. New Distribution has always believed that the discount model will be one of the important retail models in the future. At the same time, we also note that 'low price' is the most impactful competitive means in current retail competition, but the skill of 'making money with low prices' is not easy to master. In a new business form, a large proportion of the first wave of pioneers often become martyrs. The purpose of this article is to remind brand owners, distributors, and discount store franchisees not to only see the opportunities of the hard discount trend, but also to be aware of its huge traps at this stage.
陈思廷Xingsheng Youxuan's Defeat Is Sealed
Xingsheng Youxuan, unable to sustain its competitive edge amid intense industry homogenization, recently withdrew from the Guangdong market, following its closure of Fujian operations in April. The community e-commerce pioneer has shrunk from covering 18 provinces at its peak to just Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi, its earliest strongholds. Despite early success and over $12 billion in funding, it now struggles against giants like Meituan and Pinduoduo, retreating to its Hunan base.
RBF编辑部Surviving in the Era of Affordable Prices
A company may collapse for many reasons, but Wang Yumeng never expected that the last straw would be 'low prices.' Her original leaf tea brand Chabiubiu was recently removed by Hema as it pivoted to a discount store model, making its mid-to-high-end positioning incompatible with Hema's new 'everyday low prices' strategy. This shift reflects a broader trend in China's consumer market toward value-for-money products, as seen in the rise of brands like Mixue Bingcheng and Pinduoduo.
李小霞 窦轩Bestore Slashes Prices Drastically! Is High-End Strategy Dead?
The leisure snack industry has been hit again. On November 30, Bestore announced its largest price cut in 17 years, with member prices on over 300 products in stores averaging a 22% reduction and a maximum cut of 45%, focusing on snacks with optimized costs without compromising quality and high repurchase rates. Shortly before, leading bulk snack retailer Snackbusy merged with Zhao Yiming Snacks. In November, both retail and brand sides of the industry made major adjustments, with Three Squirrels having already adjusted earlier, while Baicaowei said it would not follow suit for now.
田静Instant Retail Cannot Do Without Digitalization
According to the 'Instant Retail Industry Development Report' released by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, instant retail has maintained an average annual growth rate of over 50%, with the market size reaching 504.286 billion yuan in 2022. It is expected that by 2025, the market size will triple that of 2022, far exceeding market expectations. Whether viewed from growth rate or scale, instant retail is a track that retailers cannot afford to abandon. In embracing instant retail, retailers also face many new problems: inconsistent online and offline data, multiple systems...
周群From B2b Transformation to Discount Retail: The Self-Revolution of Traditional Distributors!
Discount retail is a hot topic, with snack discount stores expanding rapidly and traditional retailers and brands exploring how to adapt. Distributors are feeling the impact directly, as aggressive expansion of snack stores has led to significant sales declines. Yu Xiuwei, founder of Tangshan Yihe Trading, shares his journey from traditional distributor to B2b platform and then to launching a local discount chain, offering insights on whether hard discount is a challenge or opportunity for distributors.
周群