Your Product Is Doomed To Fail - Without Distribution
Distribution is the backbone of Indian market. It ensures smooth passage of a product from factory gate to retailers across India. No matter how good a product or how competitive the pricing - it’s unlikely to grow big and reach sizeable market without distribution support. Its comparatively easy to drive marketing campaign and create awareness/demand through large spending in Electronic And Print Media - but sales is unlikely to grow if consumers do not find the product in nearby retail store. Online is surely an alternative - but is still in its infancy - accounting for only 2% of total Indian retail market. So, how does one plan for distribution ? Ensuring a product reaches large number of consumers across a vast country like India using poor infrastructure (transportation, warehouse, cold chain etc.) is a challenge. The challenge gets even more difficult given huge diversity of language, custom and local regulations. Indian distribution industry is highly fragmented - to g