Retail and consumer goods
General trade
Small independent shops, such as kiranas in India, reached through distributors.
Facts checked against sources onWhat does General trade mean?
General trade (also called traditional trade) is the network of small, independent, often family-run shops, such as kirana stores in India, dukas in East Africa and baqalas in the Gulf. In many emerging markets it still sells most packaged consumer goods. Brands reach these shops through layers of distributors and wholesalers, with salespeople visiting each shop regularly, often weekly. Example: a brand selling through 1 million shops that each buy 20 a month has 20 million of monthly sales, but must pay distributor margins and a large field sales force to serve so many small accounts. Business-to-business ordering apps are changing how these shops buy.
Where does it come up in case interview prep?
- India for case solversLesson in Regions for case solvers: the big markets of the world
- Southeast Asia for case solversLesson in Regions for case solvers: the big markets of the world
- Channel economics across industries: direct, retail, marketplaces, distributors and sales teamsLesson in Customers and growth: the economics of marketing
- How consumer goods companies make moneyLesson in Consumer packaged goods (FMCG)
- Distribution, promotions, private label, and innovationLesson in Consumer packaged goods (FMCG)
- Consumer goods players, trends, and how to crack the casesLesson in Consumer packaged goods (FMCG)
- How the drinks industry works: brands, bottlers and the route to marketLesson in Beverages: soft drinks, water, beer, wine and spirits
- Drinks players, trends 2024 to 2026, and how to crack the casesLesson in Beverages: soft drinks, water, beer, wine and spirits
Related terms
- Modern tradeOrganized retail chains such as supermarkets, hypermarkets and e-commerce.
- Numeric distributionThe share of all relevant stores that stock a product.
- Weighted distributionThe share of total category sales made by the stores that stock a product.
- Value chainThe activities a firm performs to create and deliver value.
- Like-for-like sales (LFL)Sales growth from stores open in both periods, leaving out new and closed stores.
- Sales per square metreStore sales divided by selling space: how productive the space is.
- Shrink (shrinkage)Inventory lost to theft, damage, errors or spoilage.
- MarkdownA lasting price cut to clear stock that is not selling.
Spotted something wrong or out of date? Report a mistake. We check every report and correct the page.