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 46 of 125
2022: The Advance and Differentiation of Community Group Buying
Looking back at 2022 in community group buying, it was as dramatic as a movie plot, with capital-backed groups closing, merging, and transforming while local groups revived and restarted, forming two sides of the same coin. Behind this stark contrast lies a new round of major reshuffling, where new kings rise from the margins and old kings fall from the pinnacle. The differentiation and reconstruction of the track never cease. Reviewing 2022 community group buying, we start with six key roles.
黄腾飞Divergence in Group-Buying Stores: Similarities and Differences Between the Northern and Southern Schools
As the undisputed hot track of 2022, group-buying stores have undergone a year of rapid advancement and differentiation, gradually forming different factions. The Northern school is represented by Shijiazhuang's Xiaoxu Daojia, the Southern school by Nanjing's Guofengjia, and there is also Meilintao, born in the Central Plains, which can be seen as an empowering group-buying store upgraded from the Northern school model. Using Xiaoxu Daojia, Guofengjia, and Meilintao as representative cases, we analyze the similarities and differences between the Northern and Southern group-buying stores.
黄腾飞Farewell 2022, 2023 [New. Thriving], the Third New Year's Eve Live Broadcast is Tonight!
On December 26, the National Health Commission announced that "COVID-19 pneumonia" was renamed "COVID-19 infection" and the "Class B management policy for COVID-19" was abolished. In just three years, the world has changed. Standing at the crossroads of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new in 2023, we may deeply miss the world before 2019. The past is gone, and we know nothing will be the same. The upcoming 2022 has been tough for us. Many brand managers and distributor owners say it has never been this hard; just to survive, 2022 has already taken all their efforts. Everyone who survived 2022 is a warrior. Now is the time to gather our thoughts and look toward 2023 together.
New DistributionThe Ups and Downs of the Supermarket Industry in 2022
As 2022 draws to a close, physical retail has faced its most complex and difficult circumstances, with the supermarket sector particularly hard hit by a cyclical downturn and uncertainty. Supermarket companies have generally seen performance pressure, leading to strategic contraction, store closures, and major personnel changes, while some have even faced capital reductions. At the same time, some listed companies have proactively divested retail businesses for strategic transformation...
联商网编辑部Rooted in Local Communities, Millions of Mom-and-Pop Stores Are Entering the Fast Lane
Community commerce is on the rise, but how can mom-and-pop stores turn a tough business into a good one? Across China, from developed first- and second-tier cities to towns and rural areas with weaker purchasing power, wherever people live, you can always find a small grocery or general store—these are mom-and-pop shops. They are aptly described as "small but complete," typically covering less than 50 square meters, yet selling high-frequency, essential products that match the income levels, consumption patterns, and lifestyles of nearby residents.
博雅Spring Festival Sales: Seize the Four Magnet Points That Contribute Most in Stores
Will Spring Festival sales be better this year? Some worry about the peak of positive infections, while others remain optimistic about the sales peak. Our suggestion is: take an aggressive approach for fresh and essential categories, and promote standard products and gift boxes early while stocking conservatively. Nationwide, the 'opportunities' for retail in the 2023 Spring Festival far outweigh the 'uncertainties'. The only thing enterprises need to consider is which key categories and items to focus on. Procurement should select and prepare the right products, while operations should display these good products fully to customers in the store, aligning with customer needs, which requires higher standards for store product layout.
New DistributionHow to Succeed in the Instant Retail Business?
The demand for instant retail is unstoppable. According to a report by China Merchants Securities, instant retail grew 34% in 2020, far outpacing physical e-commerce and social retail. From a micro perspective, consumers increasingly demand immediacy, with one-off needs like sudden cravings for cold cola or late-night cat litter now fulfilled via delivery platforms, providing new growth for stores. On the supply side, stores on instant retail platforms extend business hours and scope, meeting user needs. As user habits evolve, instant retail will become as routine as food delivery, transitioning from in-store purchases to home delivery. To succeed, businesses must leverage new operational tools and superior service awareness.
陈维龙How Can Physical Stores Successfully Break Through the Siege of E-commerce?
We are facing a situation where e-commerce dominates the Chinese retail market with a monopoly advantage, while consumers are upgrading their consumption patterns. Physical stores must shift from being mere 'goods movers' to offering differentiated value, such as superior dietary solutions, to survive and thrive.
联商网编辑部The Three Models of Convenience Stores
Among various retail formats, convenience stores have been relatively less affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, the market size and density of convenience stores have been on the rise, with expansion not only in first-tier cities but also in second- and third-tier cities. With the lifting of pandemic controls, the convenience store industry is set to enter a new round of expansion. According to Sun Wenju, an audit partner at KPMG China, the global convenience store market has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and the compound annual growth rate is expected to reach 8.7% from 2022 to 2023. In terms of penetration, mainland China had one store per 7,033 people in 2021, far lower than South Korea, Japan, and the US, indicating significant growth potential. Meiyijia, Linji, and Jianfu are three representative companies in China's convenience store industry.
晴天Which City Is China's Convenience Store Capital?
Convenience stores are the essence of everyday life. A surprising fact is that the top three cities in China's urban convenience store development index are not first-tier cities. Xiamen, Taiyuan, and Dongguan lead the rankings, with Xiamen topping the list for three consecutive years, driven by high growth rates and supportive policies, while local champion chains play a crucial role.
陈熊海Costco's Retail Philosophy and Operating Model
Costco combines radical assortment reduction, low margins, membership economics, high inventory turnover, private label, and employee investment to build a durable contract of trust with shoppers.
New DistributionPost-Pandemic Reflections on Growth
China's FMCG market has shifted from channel and brand-driven to brand and product-driven. As the pandemic recedes, many companies are setting aggressive growth targets, but the market has fundamentally changed, requiring new strategic thinking.
赵波Multiple Suppliers Withdraw from Supermarkets, Shift to Community Group Buying, Livestreaming and Other New Channels; Supermarkets at a Critical Juncture to Restructure Supply Chains!
Li Ming, general manager of a trading company primarily engaged in aquatic product wholesale, revealed in an interview with Longshang.com & Supermarket Weekly that his company had previously supplied more than 50 supermarket enterprises, but later only 10-plus remained, with business focus shifting to new channels such as community group buying, vertical e-commerce, and livestreaming. In fact, Li Ming is not alone; surveys by Longshang.com & Supermarket Weekly found that in recent years, suppliers have increasingly abandoned supermarkets or reduced their weight, turning to other emerging channels, a trend that is intensifying.
龙商网Xingsheng Launches 'Fortress Plan'
Since August this year, Xingsheng Youxuan has successively withdrawn from Shanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hebei, Anhui, Henan and other places. After two rounds of market contraction, it only retains a few key provinces for regional operations, showing a trend of degenerating into the largest local group. The lingering effect of cost reduction and efficiency enhancement persists, and the pattern of community e-commerce moving from four to three has basically taken shape. Shoude's attack: As the only survivor among the 'old three groups' that still tenaciously survives, Xingsheng once had its own unique skills. In 2017, Xingsheng Youxuan relied on physical chain stores Furong Xingsheng and mom-and-pop stores to form a product structure of 'daily FMCG + fresh food' and a model of 'pre-sale + self-pickup', entering community group buying in Changsha.
孟祥飞Store Closures and Declining Foot Traffic: Will Warehouse Membership Stores Become a Lifeline for Traditional Supermarkets?
The warehouse membership store track looks booming, but succeeding in it is not easy. With RT-Mart's recent entry, this model is seen as a potential transformation path for traditional supermarkets, yet challenges remain in localization and differentiation.
刘少德Instant Logistics: Giving Consumers a Reason to Pay for 'Certainty' in an Uncertain Environment
Retail is one of the most dynamic industries in socioeconomic development. In China, offline retail has evolved from supply and marketing cooperatives, state-owned department stores, and shopping malls to today's diverse formats including shopping centers, chain convenience stores, and mom-and-pop shops. More dramatic changes have occurred online. While platforms like Taobao and JD.com represent the ultimate form of pure online retail, the rapid rise of instant retail in recent years signifies a major trend of e-commerce platforms exploring physical retail and deep integration of online and offline channels.
路言High-Debt Model Fails, Better Life Chain on the Brink of Collapse
Traditional large supermarkets are undergoing a deep transformation. On December 14, Better Life Commercial Chain Share Co., Ltd. announced a major strategic adjustment, including closing and exiting the Sichuan market, shrinking Jiangxi to three cities, and closing inefficient loss-making stores in Hunan and Guangxi, while continuing to operate shopping malls and department stores. The company expects closure losses of 300-500 million yuan.
勾勾When a Supermarket Decides to 'Deliver'
On October 19, 1992, a small 60-square-meter store opened in Nancheng, Dongguan, named 'Jiarong' by its chairman Hu Jintai. Thirty years later, Jiarong has grown into a large group with over 150 stores, ranking 51st in China's top 100 chains. Facing the impact of the pandemic and the rise of online retail, Jiarong partnered with Meituan to explore instant retail, achieving online-offline integration and a second growth curve.
最话团队Discount Stores Shed Their 'Near-Expiry' Label
Whether it's near-expiry or profitable hard discount, it's clear that price has become a key indicator of consumer purchasing behavior globally. These players aim to build a larger retail ecosystem.
青翎Community Group Buying's New Label: Launching New Products, Selling White-label Goods
Community group buying is essentially the monetization of group leaders' relationships. Due to the strong ties between leaders and users, what leaders recommend is what users buy. White-label products offer profit margins, and with quality assurance and recommendations, users accept them. Thus, white-label products with quality guarantees become a natural choice for group buying platforms. Supply chains should leverage this feature to launch new products, and white-label products can also seize this opportunity to grow.
刘春雄Fresh Food E-commerce in 2022: Forced to 'Give Up,' Yet Still Able to Mount a Conservative Offensive?
From the年初 rush to enter prepared dishes in search of new paths to the year-end release of Miss Fresh's delayed 'huge loss' report, the fresh food track's 'Mercury retrograde' period has been exceptionally long. This year, with external capital becoming more cautious and industry competition intensifying, the fresh food e-commerce track has frequently heard 'contraction' voices, with a clear trend of accelerated decline, and massive layoffs and cost reduction becoming a common consensus in the industry. Among them, the former leading platform Miss Fresh has had the hardest time, first drastically reducing business to 'survive by cutting off an arm,' then trying every means to keep its 'listed company' title, yet still deeply mired in the dual shadows of huge losses and debt disputes. In the mixed fresh food e-commerce track, what is the foundation for survival for all players: seeking financing to continue 'burning money,' optimizing supply chains to improve quality, seeking new turns in lower-tier markets, or developing private label products for differentiated competition?
锌刻度Is the 'End' of Retail Membership Stores?
As market conditions change, hypermarkets are declining, and brick-and-mortar retailers are shifting strategies to adapt to new consumption trends, with many turning to warehouse membership stores as a way to break through. However, this path is not smooth, and competition is intensifying as more players enter. How should warehouse membership stores develop in the future? Will they become the 'ultimate' form of retail?
联商网编辑部All Three Major E-commerce Platforms Disclose Q3 Earnings: JD and Alibaba Stable, Pinduoduo Grows Rapidly
All three major e-commerce platforms have released their Q3 2022 earnings reports, which were positively received by the capital markets. While JD and Alibaba showed stable performance, Pinduoduo achieved rapid growth in both revenue and profit, exceeding market expectations.
New DistributionSmall Mini Programs, Big Impact: WeChat Empowers FMCG Enterprises to Achieve Channel Digitalization
Digitalization is an inevitable topic for FMCG companies and a key driver of industry growth. WeChat Mini Programs, with their wide user reach and convenience, are helping brands digitalize their distribution channels, enhance service efficiency, and expand consumer touchpoints.
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