Distribution

Brand distribution comes in many forms and is not without challenges. We share latest developments.

Future in Brand Wholesale Distribution: The Cash Cow is dead. Long live the Cash Cow.

Wholesale distribution managers knew it all along, traditional brand wholesale wouldn’t last forever. And 2020 saw an acceleration of change that began long before the pandemic: the termination of mediocre businesses.

But turmoil in wholesale distribution isn’t over yet; ahead lie at least one to two more years of trouble and possibly major strategy changes at online pure players.

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Retail Stores vs. Online Platform Wars

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… (retail) humans and many species of (online) aliens co-exist with robots who assist their routines. Travelling between planets takes place offline as well as online. The same goes for shopping, where retail spacecrafts range from small starfighters called mom & pop shops to battle stations such as the moon-sized Death Star (Online Platforms). (more…)

Brand Distribution Best Practice Post Covid

Our research and industry dialogue ‘Future in Brand Distribution’ has been off to an enlightening start. Four weeks in, executive talks and our online survey have already returned much valuable inspiration on the future of the lifestyle industry.

The sentiment we encountered in the industry dialogues was generally positive and energising, even though many still find themselves in lockdowns. It seems as though the Covid-19 pandemic not only gave a boost to digital transformation but also liberated some of the brand industry’s best creative thinking.

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How India’s Digitization Impacts Retail and Brand Distribution

India has been on an exciting digitization journey since 2009. Many key elements that will form the backbone of ‘Digital India’ also serve to enhance retail and brand distribution.

Some of  the building blocks are already well in place, tried, tested, validated, and nationally rolled out, and others will be introduced in the next 2-3 years.

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How to Drive International Expansion Without Escalating Complexity

Customise or standardise? That’s perhaps the most important question a brand at the beginning of its international expansion has to answer.

Depending on who you ask, you will get very different answers. If you ask your brand and marketing management, they will vote for as much standardisation as possible. If you ask your sales force, the answer will be quite the opposite.

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