India started its Retail journey a long time back. In the early retail era, there was a concept of Weekly HAAT/Bazaar, where both buyers and sellers used to gather in a big marketplace for trading. This Weekly HAAT/Bazaar was a great attraction for both Urban and Rural places, where people used to buy their daily groceries, spices, utensils, clothing, etc.
For as long as India can remember, Kirana stores are the go-to destinations for groceries, quick snacks, stationery, healthcare, beauty care, clothing, and many other products. From a child purchasing a pen/pencil to a family purchasing their monthly provisions, these stores are hubs for multiple trade transactions in a day.
A CPG company should define its execution strategy based on a retail trade channel & it’s sub-channels. Predominantly, there are retail three trade channels that should be considered: Traditional, Modern, and On-Premise. It’s a known fact that product categories may flourish in one trade channel while they fail to thrive in another. So, a clear understanding of each trade channel is a prerequisite. Let’s look at each channel.
CPG manufacturers spend many hours in research and production. After long hours of production, they should have an effective product distribution strategy to bring their products to the target customer.
If a product is unavailable at the right store and at the right time, it will affect a brand drastically. It may lead to their customers’ distraction to a rival brand, or it may affect the other SKUs of the brand. So, when, where, and how you distribute your product plays a vital role in the entire retail execution process.
