Do you know the fastest selling products in Nigeria are brand products? These products are already household names and are in high demand daily everywhere in Nigeria. Do you know you can become a brand product distributor to anyone of the brand products in your city or state?
There is huge profit advantage selling brand products. The demand is higher than non brand products. They already have loyal customers who patronize those brands daily. While you as the Distributor will enjoy their market exclusivity and profit taking
Although, this article is written to help Nigerians both home and abroad tap into he huge potentials of brand products distribution, existing brands can also find distribution opportunities for their products through ideas shared in this post.
Let me explain this, the same way interested dealers find products to distribute, brand owners can also find good distributors for their products.
Product Distributor Model
If you want to make money as a distributor in Nigeria, go for brand products. Most major dealers are big time marketers in their respective cities. The represent large brands in their markets.
There are several brand products in Nigeria that anyone can become a Distributor. Although the cost of starting can be high, but it pays off over time.
What you need is to find the right brand product in the niche you want to play. For example, there are several brand products in baby diaper business. The same thing applies to all other brand products.
In the beverage industry also, we have Nestle, Bournvita, Ovaltine, and others. These companies produce similar products and compete against each other. Their market is huge and they all struggle for market dominance.
Finding brand products to distribute may take some time but it’s not impossible. Sometimes, you may find the product but didn’t have the money. While some other time you may have the money but not find the right product.
So, learn to be patient till the right brand product meets your money.
Brand Product Distributor Market Niche
If you want to go into brand products distribution business, you need to define your market niche. Don’t just distribute any brand product. Choose the niche you want to play.
It’s important. It’s not just so you can be in one particular niche. It helps to bring you more business in the future. Sometimes, competing brands would prefer giving their products to same distributors as their competing brands.
This strategy is used mostly by upcoming brands. They lack the marketing power to build their own network. So they leverage on existing networks. You can become a darling for such new brand products. And it’s usually cheaper to take up their products than that of big brands.
Different Brand Product Distributor Niches
Here are the some of the product niches you can startup as a brand product Distributor.
- Beverages
- Drinks
- Baby Diapers
- Baby creams
- Car batteries
- Car spare parts
- Designer perfumes
- Brand phones
- Laptops
- Soaps and detergents
- Toothpaste
- Cooking oil
- Engine oil
- Electronics
This list is inexhaustible. You can add those you know of. Although the challenge with brand product distribution is that they may not be open for new distributors to come in.
But don’t also think no opening will exist among the big brands. Even if they are taken, some also become available later if the original holder is no longer in business or the company is expanding or restructuring their distribution network for more efficiency.
How Brands Pick Distributors
If you have been involved in managing brand products, you will realize that most of the work is not done by TV, radio and newspaper advertisements. The real work is done using market insertion strategy.
Even before the big brands start advertising their products on TV, radio and newspapers, they have built a distribution network nationwide. These network is what makes their products available and accessible throughout all the markets in Nigeria.
Do you sometimes wonder how these products become available and accessible everywhere in a short time? Yes, it’s not just because they are big brands. Any small brand can use the same methods and grow its small brand to big brand overnight. It’s not magic but it works faster than using radio, TV or newspaper adverts.
In fact, the only reason big brands even advertise on TV, radio and newspapers is because their products is already everywhere. And they know it.
Challenges of Product Distributors
The big brands needs distributors to sell their products everywhere in Nigeria. If you know how big the Nigerian market is, you will agree that no one brand possess the huge financial muscle to finance, manage and control their products and money in these markets successfully.
Those brand who tried in the past either lost the market or lost so much money through corruption that they made fast retreats.
So, the big brand needs the distributors to sell their products in the markets. It’s much easier for brand owners like Nestle to have just 100 major distributors to deal with than trying to deal with every dealer of Nestle products in the country.
These 100 distributors would rather interface with the hundreds of thousands of sub distributors and retailers who sell Nestle products. And that saves Nestle cost of managing and controlling their product distribution.
They are only concerned with delivering their products in containers to their major distributors, and the rest is left for distributors and retailers to handle. And money comes to Nestle in bulk through the distributors. There are no much debtors to deal with as well.
What It Takes To Become A Distributor
To think that becoming a Distributor is quite profitable, the startup is also quite huge. Although, for a start you can begin with smaller or new brands to learn the business. Remember, nobody is really an ‘expert’ in marketing.
But if you can afford the cost, you will need to first register a company. It doesn’t really matter if it’s an enterprise. A business name is what is required to start. Once you have a business name, the next thing is to acquire a warehouse.
For a start, it doesn’t have to be big. I recommend you get a spacious office in a popular street in your city. Brands like anything popular, because they want to remain popular. It will also give them an impression that you are a serious business.
Finally, have some good money. Distribution business is a money business. That’s the reason the brands are counting on you. You take up their problems and you get compensated with huge commission. And you need to have enough capital to buy in large quantities.
Cost of Brand Products Distribution
There are no particular cost when it comes to brand products distribution. But the bigger your capital the better you can play. For example, companies like Nestle might require distributors who can purchase products in the hundreds of millions.
While smaller brands like Sunfree baby diapers might just be as low as six million. The bigger the brand the bigger the cost implication.
And if you just think you have the money to get into the big brands, the problem is that most of they are not always available. And when they do, it’s usually hot cake and these brands are careful with new entrants. They prefer experience distributors who have handled bigger brands before.
Action Points
This article is unintentionally short. We cannot actually cover all the aspects of Brand Products Distribution in just a single article. I have also written another article before along this lines. You can read them as well HERE.
However, this article is to further enlighten you on the opportunities in the brand products distribution. And to help you balance your thoughts on what’s possible.
But if you are a small or new brand owner who wants to expand into the market, I have shared little secrets of the big brands. It’s called market insertion. Contact me for more details on how it actually works and how your brand can develop its own market insertion campaign.
But to start your dream in product distribution, get these thoughts below:
Step One: Form a Business
I always advise that any business that requires more than one million to start should be a registered business. Stop doing things off the books. Start as a business. It doesn’t cost much to register business name in Nigeria.
For as low as N15,000 you can register a business name. You can even get it done lower if you go now to CAC office in your state to register a business name yourself. Unless you want to register a limited liability company then you need a professional like lawyer or accountant.
Step Two: Write A Business Plan
The problem with most people about business plan is that they think they may never get to read it again. Think of a business plan as a way of researching your new business idea to enable you discover the potentials and challenges that may arise along the way.
There are things you might discover from writing your business plan that you may never know until you have a plan.
Also, you may not write it yourself but don’t let it just be a document. Business plan contains more information about the business you intend to start than you may ever know. So, get one written for you even if you can’t write it yourself.
Step Three: Choose Your Product Niche
Don’t set out to distribute any product you may find. Have your eyes on particle product niche or niches as your case may be. Never do general merchandise. That’s a strategy for failure. Don’t buy the idea that you can’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Big brands don’t like confused distributors. They are only attracted to specialized distributors. Because brands are specialized too. Every brand product have their niche. They also want their distributors to be niche oriented, so they don’t dilute their brand identity in the market.
And having a niche helps you focus both your energy and resourcing in building a good reputation in an industry. For example, I grew my market insertion Business from promoting baby diapers in the market. Now, I easily attract diaper brands.
Step Four: Start Small With Small Brands
If you are waiting till when you find big brands to distribute you may never start your business. Imagine there are no new brands to distribute, won’t you start your business? Don’t wait, look for a small brand in your niche with good prospect and startup immediately.
Remember, the big brands of today where once small brands of yesterday. They grew big because distributors like you partnered with them to grow their markets nationwide. You too should do the same and reap the dividend as they grow big in the future.
Step Five: Don’t Squander Your Capital
Big brands don’t always play fair. They want to control the market. And that includes controlling the distributors as well. By controlling the distributors they control the distribution and their competitors as well.
So avoid falling for their trap. Avoid squandering your own money because the brand is giving you excess credit facility. They give you this credits to make you cash trap and dependent. And so you think you can use your money to buy properties and grow other businesses.
Don’t fall for this. Once you are trapped in their money they start giving exclusive conditions that limits you from dealing with other similar brands or ever having any stake in competing brands.
Step Six: Learn More Before You Start
If you want to know why Igbo businessmen are more successful than other tribes, it’s because they learn their trade. The same way you attend university to study medicine and become a medical doctor, go and learn trading business.
Don’t take this lightly. And don’t think you are too old to learn trading. Distribution business is trading with large money. If you don’t know how to trade even with small money, how do you intend to succeed with large money.
Find a store that deals largely with brand products and start your internship.
Conclusion
The market is complex and no particular product will dominate forever. The old may die and the new will rise. So, don’t look down on new and small brands. If you don’t know the passion nor the vision behind the brand, don’t call it small or new.
Brand products distribution is not just about trading on products, it’s also helping brands gain market shares in areas where they are low or non existent. You have the brands needs. You are important and equally indispensable.
And if you are a brand owner who think expanding into more markets is a challenge, you can leverage on market insertion to grow your brand overnight. If you need us to help or advise you on your brand products distribution dream, you can reach us on the following contacts: WhatsApp/Call/Text: 08139006120, 07087770518 or email: nedu@myblog.com.ng
