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 82 of 125

Dealer Operations

Distributors Want to Try Community Group Buying? Stay Calm and Prepare for a 'Second Start-Up'!

The pandemic has reignited community group buying, prompting many distributors to enter this business. However, it's far more complex than it seems, requiring a shift from B2B to B2C thinking, daily category planning, and operational expertise. Distributors should approach it cautiously, ideally with a fresh team and a pilot project, while recognizing the broader trend of channel diversification.

袁来
Brand Marketing

Offline: Build One Store Well; Online: Build One County Well

Offline, build one store well—this is the requirement for connection dimension and depth; online, build one county well—this is the requirement for communication density after three-dimensional connection. The operational logic of three-dimensional connection can be summarized in one sentence: offline, build one store well; online, build one county well. Offline, building one store well means the store is the best unit for initiating three-dimensional connection, starting from a single store, expanding to communities, then to networks, thereby connecting three spaces. Online, building one county well means the county is the smallest unit for judging communication and transaction density. In marketing, density is cognition, and density is brand. Achieving high-density communication ignition in a county can be replicated in a city or province.

方刚
Retail Formats

I Run a Convenience Store in Wuhan: Documenting Life in the Store After the Lockdown

The lives of ordinary people are even more moving. I only talk about what I experienced myself. This is the second floor of our store, which I decorated simply for Christmas. I lived here during the lockdown. On the first day of the lockdown, 2020.1.23, I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and scrolled through the group, saw a group member repost the announcement, thought it was fake news, and went back to sleep. Around 6:30, I got a call from my supervisor (a common management position in the convenience store industry, managing 5-8 stores for the company), saying the city was locked down, the store needed to stay open, and we needed to arrange enough staff to prevent panic buying. Also, a store in the subway station next to me needed to transfer short-shelf-life goods to me, and I should cooperate as much as possible.

Amico
Consumer & Categories

Tsingtao Beer's Three Axes: Can They Open the Path to Social E-commerce?

In 2020, beer distributor Lao Wang and his brand owner Zhang are anxious due to the pandemic's impact on sales. Tsingtao Beer launches a three-pronged strategy—community group buying, contactless delivery, and a distributor program—to enter social e-commerce, leveraging its early layout and integrated online-offline logistics. This move is seen as a long-term strategic initiative to enhance brand power and consumer engagement, not just a short-term remedy.

李青林
E-commerce & Instant Retail

Home Delivery Becomes a Hot Trend, Manufacturers Rapidly Increase Investment, but Two Things Must Be Recognized!

In 2020, due to the pandemic, O2O home delivery has become a hot trend that all manufacturers are paying attention to. Recently, in New Distribution's Douyin live stream, many experts also advised manufacturers to pay more attention to the development of the home delivery model.

赵波
E-commerce & Instant Retail

Home Delivery Is Hot, the First Half Is Over, What About the Second Half?

An important feature of the internet is the separation of transaction and delivery. E-commerce is a typical example. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the separation of transaction and delivery in offline and community scenarios. Thanks to the 'home delivery' model, which provided a new solution when traditional delivery was disrupted, it even saved some community e-commerce platforms that were on the verge of closing. So, after the pandemic, will home delivery still have a future? If so, who will benefit? Some have said that home delivery might even replace in-store delivery and become the mainstream delivery model for commerce.

刘春雄
Retail Formats

The 'Rivalry' in a Bottle of Laundry Detergent

China's laundry market is undergoing a fierce transformation. In the Chinese household chemicals sector, international giants P&G and Unilever dominate segments like shampoo and body wash with diverse brands. However, in the laundry detergent segment, domestic brands Blue Moon and Liby have alternately taken the lead in market share, while P&G and Unilever, having been slow to respond initially, have become chasers. Unwilling to lag behind, these international giants have increased investment in laundry detergent, launched more brands, and attempted to compete for market share with new products such as laundry pods.

许芸
E-commerce & Instant Retail

Community Group Buying Mini-Program Live Streaming: Protecting Private Domain Traffic!

How to keep small shops open for business? Launch a community group buying platform to keep small shops open 24/7! 8 steps to start community group buying: 1) Contact Zhongke Shangruan customer service (koudouyouxuan) for community solutions; 2) Open a WeChat Official Account; 3) Open a mini-program; 4) Bind a payment account; 5) Organize the supply chain; 6) Recruit group leaders; 7) List products; 8) Promote the mini-program. As a pioneer in community group buying, Zhongke Shangruan began laying out this field in 2018, and after the frenzy of 2018 and the consolidation of 2019, it has become a necessity in 2020!

小科科
Capital, Earnings & M&A

Sun Art Retail's Parent Company Reports Strong 2019 Results: Revenue and Profit Both Increase! Comments on the Epidemic...

On February 20, Sun Art Retail released its full-year 2019 financial report, the second year after being acquired by Alibaba. According to the annual report, as of December 31, 2019, Sun Art Retail's total sales revenue was 101.868 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.5%; revenue was 95.357 billion yuan, a decrease of 4% compared to 99.359 billion yuan. Operating profit was 4.890 billion yuan, up 4.1% from 4.698 billion yuan the previous year. Additionally, total sales revenue (cash generated from in-store sales) for 2019 was 101.868 billion yuan.

New Distribution
Brand Marketing

After Work Resumes, Re-strategize Marketing to Embrace the New Normal

In the past two days, except for Hubei, the focus has shifted from epidemic supervision to work resumption supervision, and another economic battle has begun. Before the Spring Festival, I outlined three major marketing growth strategies for 2020: product upgrade growth, channel squeeze growth, and three-dimensional connection growth. Now, the original plans and pace have been disrupted, but there are unexpected gains: new marketing tools such as community groups, live streaming, and home delivery services have accelerated the adoption of the three-dimensional connection growth model across industries.

刘春雄
Dealer Operations

Eight Lessons Learned by a City Manager After Returning to Work

Lao Wang, a city manager with over 20 years of experience in the FMCG and daily chemical industry, was caught off guard by the COVID-19 pandemic. After resuming work, he reflects on eight key lessons, emphasizing the importance of O2O, B2B, B2C, CVS, group buying, special channels, lower-tier markets, and risk management, and urges proactive recovery efforts.

许翔
Distribution & Channels

Expanding Online, Reducing Costs: JD New Channel's Multiple Measures to Fight the Epidemic Together with Offline Stores

In the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of small retail stores nationwide are tasked with ensuring residents' daily needs while facing challenges such as supply shortages, reduced foot traffic, declining sales, and cash flow difficulties. JD New Channel is closely monitoring the operational difficulties of small and medium stores in Wuhan and across the country, providing full support to help them overcome these challenges. Measures include actively helping store owners shift their operations online for contactless sales, and introducing multiple support policies to reduce operating costs and safeguard the survival and development of over one million ZhangguiBao users.

New Distribution
Consumer & Categories

Is Beer's Foray into Community Group Buying a Good Business?

The COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 severely impacted China's FMCG market, with many offline stores closing and distributors facing inventory backlogs, while home delivery services saw a surge in demand. In response, beer brands like Tsingtao, Budweiser, and Snow launched community group-buying recruitment plans. This article analyzes whether this move is a viable business strategy, considering factors such as professional teams, differentiated products, distributor support, and pricing stability.

李青林
E-commerce & Instant Retail

Guide | FMCG Manufacturers Doing Community Home Delivery: Detailed Explanation of the 'Eight Business Steps'

Recently, social media feeds have been flooded with posts recruiting community partners, with major brands like Nongfu Spring, Coca-Cola, Hengda Ice Spring, Yili, Red Bull, and Totole launching online recruitment campaigns. With the epidemic situation still unclear, manufacturers are focusing on community-based home delivery to find a breakthrough in sales.

邢仁宝
E-commerce & Instant Retail

Online Ordering Surges Amid Pandemic: How Can Companies Accelerate Digital Transformation?

During the pandemic, FMCG manufacturers and distributors are shifting focus to online channels such as community group buying, social communities, and delivery platforms. Dong Yang, from Waiqin 365, emphasizes the need to identify and manage these new channel owners, integrate online and offline operations through digital platforms, and adopt an early and playful approach to digitalization to stay competitive.

365商学院
Capital, Earnings & M&A

Yijiupi's Strategic Acquisition of Zhangshang Kuaixiao: The Changing B2B Market Behind It

On February 11, Yijiupi announced a strategic merger with Zhangshang Kuaixiao, a leading FMCG B2B company in South China, after which Yijiupi will hold 100% equity in Zhangshang Kuaixiao. The news quickly sparked heated discussions among industry insiders. To this end, New Distribution organized a live discussion on the topic 'During the epidemic, Yijiupi strategically acquires Zhangshang Kuaixiao: Is the spring of FMCG B2B in 2020 coming?' The following is a transcript of a conversation between Zhao Bo, founder of New Distribution, and Zhou Bin, co-founder and COO of Renwoxing Technology, which has been edited and released.

New Distribution
Retail Formats

Survival Strategies for Supermarkets Amid the Pandemic

Since the lockdown of Wuhan on January 24, supermarkets have been operating on the brink of survival. As the main sales channel for daily necessities, if supermarkets fail, people's livelihoods are at risk. We must care about economic recovery as well as food and vegetables. Supermarkets, especially small and medium-sized ones, face enormous challenges: on one hand, a surge in demand for daily necessities; on the other, severe overstock of holiday gift boxes. This article offers practical advice from retail expert Huang Biyun on how to 'save lives, cure diseases, and maintain health' during this crisis.

刘润
E-commerce & Instant Retail

Why Have 'Community Groups' Become the Hot Commodity During the Epidemic?

Now 'community groups' and 'property security guards' have become hot commodities. Connecting with users through terminal community groups is the best opportunity for BC integration.

刘春雄
E-commerce & Instant Retail

Nationwide Rush for Groceries Revives Struggling Fresh E-commerce

During the pandemic, online grocery shopping has surged, with users setting alarms to grab vegetables, giving a lifeline to the fresh e-commerce industry that faced a shakeout last year. However, companies now face challenges in supply chain, delivery, and user retention, while new opportunities like direct community supply and restaurant retailization emerge.

燃财经工作室
E-commerce & Instant Retail

SARS Gave Birth to Alibaba, Pneumonia Matures Home Delivery

During the COVID-19 pandemic, home delivery services proved indispensable, resolving the conflict between quarantine and essential needs like vegetables. This has reignited interest in new retail and may spark a new wave of investment, with brands likely to allocate more resources to home delivery in 2020.

刘春雄
Retail Formats

The 'Contactless Checkout' at Huoshenshan Hospital Goes Viral: Can Unmanned Supermarkets Be Reborn?

The emergence of an unmanned supermarket at Huoshenshan Hospital seems to have given unmanned supermarkets a new mission and found new living space. The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has put the whole country into a state of 'universal isolation.' In this context, the unmanned state seems to be the safest, and a series of unmanned facilities such as 'contactless' delivery have become the focus. With the official delivery of Huoshenshan Hospital, which represents 'China Speed,' the 'unmanned supermarket' that was rarely mentioned has been brought back into people's sight. On February 2...

王星平
Management & Methods

Ministry of Commerce Notice: Organize Qualified Trading Enterprises to Resume Work and Business as Soon as Possible!

According to the latest news, the General Office of the Ministry of Commerce issued a notice on the 5th regarding organizing the resumption of work and business of trading enterprises. The notice states that enterprises with conditions should be organized to resume work and business as soon as possible, promptly coordinate and solve difficulties in resuming work, and guide enterprises to effectively implement epidemic prevention and control. The full text is as follows: To the competent commerce departments of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, cities with independent planning status, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps: At present, we are in the critical stage of epidemic prevention and control for the novel coronavirus pneumonia. Affected by the epidemic, coupled with multiple factors such as extended holidays and personnel returning to cities, the demand for daily necessities in large and medium-sized cities continues to increase, and the situation for ensuring the supply of daily necessities is more complex and the task more arduous.

New Distribution
E-commerce & Instant Retail

Under the Epidemic, "Home Delivery" Business Is Accelerated, and "Self-Rescue" Should Seize Offline Scenes

The pneumonia epidemic's impact on business focuses on two directions: how businesses can "self-rescue" to minimize losses, and how the epidemic accelerates the maturation of new business models. The contradiction between "self-isolation" and "rigid household demand" makes "home delivery" the best solution, and it is expected to rise to a new level after the epidemic, while offline scenes will become more precious and may see a "revenge rebound".

刘春雄
Dealer Operations

The Most Comprehensive | Ten Strategies for FMCG Manufacturers in Response to the Epidemic

The epidemic has caused significant losses in the FMCG industry, but the fundamentals remain unchanged. This article provides ten strategies for dealers to cope with challenges such as inventory backlog, cash flow shortages, and communication with manufacturers.

赵波