How good is your understanding of the developing economies in which your brands play? Do you have a good estimate of the market landscape and channel structure, especially the General Trade stores that dominate? Are channel playbooks in existence and aligned with distribution partners? To what extent have you identified category demand drivers by traders, shopper profiles, needs and occasions?
Knowledge of these channel dynamics is essential for any brand with serious aspirations for long-term growth. In a first survey of its kind, Frontline Research Group have benchmarked channel strategies of FMCG companies across Africa, Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia.
Diagnostic Survey of Channel Strategies
We asked senior level executives to rate their knowledge, understanding, planning and execution against six market dimensions. Detailed questions covered everything from pareto outlets, through cost-to-serve, profitability and ROI, value chain, skills and competencies of sales and distribution staff, and much more.
Key Take-Outs about General Trade
The survey is telling us there is an absence of ‘excellence’ in the planning and operation of the General Trade channel. Indeed, the average ratings were only ‘acceptable’ rather than ‘good’, suggesting significant room for strategy improvement.
Company strategies appear strongest where they involve internal structures and processes – category planning, portfolio, value chains and service operations.
Strategies are weakest where there is reliance on external data and line-of-sight on market dynamics – trader needs, shopper understanding, plus skills and competency shortfalls.
Critical Headroom
For all brands, improvement of strategies is critical to expanding reach across General Trade. Ensuring portfolio and pricing competitiveness, in fierce market conditions, can also aid the achievement of volume growth.
Whilst our results show differences across geographies and product groups, clearly all brands have significant room for improvement in developing economies.
The Outlook
Most commentators talk about developing economies being the growth engine globally. It therefore follows that in the next year, more of your brand’s growth is potentially going to come from a successful General Trade strategy.
If you feel your brand’s ambitions would benefit from sound data and analytics, driven by rigorous research methods, please reach out to Frontline Research Group. We can help provide better decision making, competitive advantage, cost savings and increased efficiency.
We can help you understand what your market coverage is, the channel structure, where you are winning and losing, an effective route-to-market and supply chain, the needs of your customers, how competitive you are at the point-of-purchase, and shopper behavior.
Frontline Research Group, The Right Research Partner
With three decades of experience, FRG stands out as a leader in General Trade market research. With a deep understanding of the sector and expertise in gathering actionable insights, makes Frontline an invaluable partner for brands looking to seize the growth opportunities that General Trade offers.
For more information or demonstration contact
Steve Johnson, Managing Director, steve@frontlineafrica.com
Jack de Wet, Divisional Manager, jack.dewet@frontlineafrica.com
Gareth Ellis, Regional Manager SE Asia, gareth.ellis@frontlineafrica.com
