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 37 of 125
Everyone Is Learning from Sam's Club, but There Is No Secret
In 2015, a new retail war broke out in China. On one side were traditional supermarkets like Yonghui, RT-Mart, and Carrefour with hundreds or thousands of stores; on the other were Hema, JD 7Fresh, and Miss Fresh backed by internet capital and technology. Eight years later, the retail brand most closely associated with China's 70 million middle-class consumers is none of the participants in that battle, but Sam's Club, which was ignored by everyone at the time.
晚点团队The Life-and-Death Battle in Retail Is Not in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou
Retailers are increasingly targeting lower-tier markets due to cost advantages, lower competition, and growth potential. Both local and foreign companies are expanding into these areas, but challenges such as price wars and market saturation remain.
十里Instead of Letting Others Steal 30% of Their Business, Why Don't Distributors Open Their Own Snack Stores?
A distributor once asked me if he should open his own snack store after seeing snack stores cause 30-40% sales declines in their vicinity. Rather than letting others take the business, why not do it themselves? They already have supply chain advantages. This article explains three concepts—hard discount, chain franchising, and distribution-retail integration—to help distributors understand the industry transformation and decide whether to open stores.
任文青AndyRT-Mart's 'No Price War' Strategy Redefines Supermarket Price Competition
As the price war among supermarkets intensifies, RT-Mart has quietly joined with a 'No Price War' campaign, focusing on quality and value rather than confrontation. By offering competitive prices on key products, RT-Mart aims to benefit consumers and showcase its quality-price advantage without engaging in direct rivalry with competitors like Hema and Sam's Club.
李迎Meituan Select Enters the Deep Water Zone
At just past 8:00 AM, a delivery truck pulled up beside a group-buying pickup point in Shenzhen's Shangshui Garden. Deng Liang (pseudonym), a Meituan Select group leader, was already waiting at the door, helping the driver unload goods into the station. He has run this station for over two years. "For the convenience of my neighbors, I didn't even take a break during the Chinese New Year. Now, I only take orders from Meituan Select and have closed other community group-buying platforms." According to Deng, the most noticeable change at Meituan Select began around June this year, with delivery times arriving earlier—goods that used to arrive at 3 or 4 PM now arrive before noon, and the variety of products has increased significantly, including some vegetables and fruits he had never seen before.
楚勿留香Traditional Snack Companies Are 'Fleeing' the Internet
As cities rush to revive consumer sentiment, snack stores with minimalist decor and footprints rivaling Miniso stand out. Bestore recently opened a 1,200-square-meter superstore in Wuhan, its largest nationwide, drawing over 10,000 visitors and sales exceeding 760,000 yuan in three days. Despite lackluster performance, including capital reductions and store closures, Bestore is doubling down on offline channels, reflecting a broader industry shift as online growth stalls.
罗弋Deep Cultivation of Offline Channels, Covering 6,000+ Restaurant Outlets and 4,000+ Traditional Stores: The 26-Year Business Wisdom of a Traditional Distributor!
From the 1990s to today, the trading and distribution business has undergone tremendous changes, from the early dividends of information asymmetry to the rise of hypermarkets, the impact of internet e-commerce, and now the proliferation of fragmented channels. Distributors have continuously evolved with these changes; those who adapt grow larger, while those who don't are gradually eliminated. Recently, New Distribution interviewed Huang Silong, chairman of Guiyang Lingyun Trading Co., Ltd., who has been in the trading business for 26 years. Starting his business in 1997, he has grown from wholesale to a regional leading distributor, covering over 10,000 stores.
周群Hema Wrestles with Sam's Club with One Hand, Adjusts Prices with the Other
Hema's 'Move the Mountain Price' and 'Cutting Price', Meituan's 'Tug-of-War Price'... Although Hema officially explains these as references to the fable of the Foolish Old Man and determination, netizens see it as Hema sparking a price war with Meituan, Sam's Club, and Dingdong Maicai. For competitors and industry insiders, Hema's move is significant because it marks the first time the company, previously a symbol of consumption upgrade, is focusing on price. In traditional perception, consumers lucky enough to live in Hema's delivery areas have always been price-insensitive but quality-sensitive.
赵蓓From Zero to 100 Million in Six Years: The Growth Story of a Distributor Representing 80+ Brands Including Lee Kum Kee and Totole, with 5,000+ Stores
Despite the general downturn in distribution, some distributors still find growth opportunities by seizing market share. Bajie Trading, a seasoning distributor in Nanchang, Jiangxi, achieved over 100 million yuan in sales within six years of its founding in 2014, by focusing on fine management and adapting compensation models to different stages of growth.
New DistributionFarewell to Beijing's Last Carrefour Stores
Carrefour's Shuangjing and Siyuanqiao stores are the last two remaining Carrefour supermarkets in Beijing. As of June 2, 2023, the Shuangjing store's business hours were adjusted to 10:00-19:00. It's hard to imagine a supermarket on Beijing's Third Ring Road closing at 7 PM. At 9:30 AM, the yellow fence outside the Shuangjing store was not yet open, but the "Shopping Card Consultation" desk, simply assembled from two tables, was already crowded with people, mostly elderly. The author observed on site that to buy 100 yuan worth of goods at Carrefour now, you can only use 20 yuan from your shopping card, and the remaining 80 yuan must be paid in cash or via mobile payment; additionally, you must first provide your name and phone number to complete Carrefour membership real-name verification, then wait 10 working days to check the review result at the cashier. After approval, each shopping card can be used to spend 500 yuan, valid for the current month.
刺猬公社编辑部The Secret Behind Sam's Club's 30-Fold Performance Growth
Walmart China's Q2 sales reached $4.1 billion, up 21.7% year-over-year, with e-commerce growing 44%. Sam's Club's success is attributed to its 'new,奇特' product strategy, internet marketing, and instant retail, driving sales from 300,000 yuan to 10 million yuan per store daily.
张陈勇Who Is Being Disrupted by the Rise of Niche Retail Formats?
Niche, low-price retail stores are on the rise, disrupting traditional supermarkets and convenience stores. These stores, often run by distributors or entrepreneurs, leverage supply chain advantages and low operating costs to offer competitive prices, reshaping the retail landscape.
十里New Distribution x Meituan Flash Purchasing: A Successful Visit to Meituan Lightning Warehouse
On August 24, the third study tour of the New Distribution Dealer Member Club, in collaboration with Meituan Flash Purchasing's Flash Purchasing Lounge, concluded successfully with a visit to Meituan Lightning Warehouse. The tour focused on official interpretations of the Lightning Warehouse model, case studies on operating it from scratch, and discussions on opportunities and challenges for distributors amid its rapid growth. Despite strict registration limits, recruitment was completed in just three days, with over 30 dealer owners from across the country participating.
周群Snack Stores Take Away 30% of Business, 200,000 Distributors Face a 'Life-or-Death Race'!
In June, a friend added me on WeChat and said that distributors, especially those handling big brands, are struggling to survive. He is a distributor in a county-level city in Hubei, mainly supplying leisure food to supermarkets, but his business has been hit hard by the rise of snack discount stores, which have opened about 50 stores in his area and caused a 50% decline in his main client's sales. This article analyzes the phenomenon of snack hard discount stores, their impact on traditional distribution, and offers strategic advice for distributors.
任文青AndyYonghui: The Last Piece of JD.com's Puzzle?
JD.com has made fresh food a top priority, integrating businesses like 7FRESH and Jingxi Pinpin into a new innovation retail unit. To strengthen its fresh supply chain, JD.com may consider acquiring or taking control of Yonghui Superstores, which has a highly efficient fresh supply chain.
董二千An 80s Office Worker's Account: Why I No Longer Shop at Traditional Supermarkets?
Li Mingliang, an 80s office worker in Beijing, explains that he now primarily uses Meituan Maicai, Dingdong Maicai, and Meituan Waimai for groceries, and has not visited physical supermarkets for nearly a year. When he does go to physical stores, he prefers Sam's Club. His spending data from January to July shows that online channels account for about 60% of his grocery spending, while offline spending is mainly at Sam's Club and wet markets.
楚勿留香Discount Stores Sweeping the Market: Will They Replace Traditional Supermarkets?
With the rapid development of discount stores, China's retail market is undergoing a major transformation. The advantage of traditional supermarkets in 'saving money' is overshadowed by discount stores. Traditional supermarkets offer periodic discounts on some items, while discount stores offer everyday low prices. Will traditional supermarkets be replaced? Opinions vary. Some believe they may be replaced in the future, such as Hema CEO Hou Yi, who stated that hard discount stores are not a bubble but real retail skill, and will replace hypermarkets in the future. Others say low prices may disrupt the existing channel ecosystem, and the domestic premiumization process has never stopped, so discount stores lack long-term commercial potential. Of course, some believe the two are not necessarily substitutes and will coexist in the future.
赵胜男A Battle Between Bestore's Premium Strategy and the Snack Discount Track
The rise of bulk snack stores has triggered a new round of channel transformation in the industry, with 'low price' and 'discount' becoming key words. In this changing environment, can Bestore's premium route still work? Upon reflection, the high-end market of an industry will never completely disappear. Although consumers' shopping intentions have become more rational after the pandemic, this does not mean their interest in high-quality products has waned.
勾勾Leaving 7-Eleven and FamilyMart Behind, Lawson China Marches Toward 10,000 Stores
When foreign convenience store chains lower their proud heads. The term '10,000 stores' is no longer rare, with Mixue Bingcheng in tea drinks, Luckin Coffee in coffee, and Meiyijia in convenience stores. But for foreign brands, cases of setting and steadily pursuing a 10,000-store goal are few. Lawson is one, aiming for '10,000 stores in China by 2025.' Despite the pandemic's impact on offline retail, Lawson has maintained rapid expansion, adding 1,175 stores in 2022, second only to Meiyijia among top 10 brands, and achieving its first profit in China in two years.
任彩茹How Can Community Group Buying Brands Trapped by Price Undercutting Be Saved?
In the previous article, the author discussed the surging trend of community group buying. Following its publication, rumors emerged that JD.com would acquire Yonghui, though multiple sources suggest this is unlikely. However, Liu Qiangdong's involvement, the competitive dynamics between Douyin and Pinduoduo in community group buying, and the resurgence of this channel have become increasingly clear. Behind the acquisition rumors lies the market's concern for traditional channel power and the confusion of brand owners and distributors regarding community group buying.
老陶Snack Stores Are Busy, FMCG Manufacturers Are Panicking!
“Now many are proactively coming to discuss cooperation, including top-tier brands, and they bring their CFOs—sales directors are useless, as it ultimately involves cost accounting,” said a founder of a snack discount store brand about upstream manufacturers. In 2017, Snack Busy appeared on the streets of some Hunan cities. “Selling snacks at low prices—can that be a good business?” “Just a passing fad!” Many were pessimistic, including upstream FMCG brands. But the market is like this: consumers are the real players with the final say...
任文青AndySix Major Trends in the Food Consumption Market for the Second Half of the Year
As 2023 enters its second half, what trends are emerging in the food consumption market, and where are the growth opportunities? At the 2023 4th China Innovative Food Conference, Yu Jian, General Manager of Kantar Worldpanel Greater China, highlighted six trends: growing health demands focusing on both results and the process; the one-person economy requiring tailored products; price polarization favoring high-end and value-for-money products; retail fragmentation benefiting proximity formats and interest-based e-commerce; revenge travel boosting convenient and functional beverages; and sustainability needing to connect grand narratives with individual experiences.
沥金Community Group Stores Continue to Differentiate, Four Directions Gradually Become Mainstream
Since community group stores entered the industry's view, they have been accompanied by controversy. Some see them as a strategic opportunity for community group buying to break into offline retail, others as a new gimmick created by related media and service providers, and still others as a 'resurgence' of 'Dailuobo'. The existence of controversy reminds practitioners to rationally view small trends in industry evolution. The currently hot community group stores are still a subset of the community group buying industry, which itself is a subset of the retail industry. For practitioners, whether they have already achieved results or plan to enter, they must respect community group buying and retail.
黄腾飞Franchise Expansion and Low-Price Strategy: Who Still Buys Moutai Ice Cream?
Despite the popularity of Moutai ice cream, it is not a lucrative business for franchisees. The product's high price and limited variety, coupled with a shift towards affordable ice cream and increased competition from new tea drinks, pose challenges. Moutai's primary goal is brand rejuvenation, but the long-term conversion of young consumers to high-end liquor remains uncertain.
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