Rotas para o crescimento na África do Sul através do comércio tradicional

Across Africa, mastering traditional trade channels is an essential element of establishing a successful route to market. Even as Western-style retailing expands in countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, traditional life­styles and customs remain strong. BCG’s recent continent-wide survey shows 97% retail penetration by value in Nigeria’s traditional channels. The corresponding figure in Kenya’s traditional channels exceeds 70%.

South Africans are the only group in our 12-country survey of African consumers who told us that they buy more consumer products in modern channels than in traditional channels. In part, this reflects how rapidly South Africa’s four leading supermarket companies—Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Spar, and Woolworths—have grown in ­urban and suburban areas. But even though South Africa has the largest and most developed modern retailing on the continent, 30% of South Africans’ purchases by value across categories occur in tra­ditional shops, and the number is even higher for certain products.

In South Africa, most Empresas de bens de consumo em movimento rápido (FMCG) Concentre-se em alcançar os clientes por meio de superlojas e cadeias de supermercados, porque eles acreditam que esses canais modernos oferecem a maneira mais rápida, fácil e de menor custo de aumentar as vendas, participação de mercado e reconhecimento da marca. Muitos deles também assumem que os clientes dos lojistas tradicionais não têm renda disponível suficiente para aumentar as vendas e os lucros de uma empresa FMCG. Como resultado, eles tendem a negligenciar os canais tradicionais ou a lidar com relacionamentos com pequenas lojas indiretamente através de atacadistas. Pessoas. Como em outros lugares da África, as multidões da África do Sul de pequenas lojas de propriedade independente têm capacidade limitada de fazer parceria com grandes fornecedores. No entanto, nossa pesquisa mostra que, com os investimentos e estratégias certos, as empresas da FMCG podem superar esses desafios para alcançar milhões de consumidores adicionais que têm os meios e motivação para comprar seus produtos.

This is a mistake.

According to BCG estimates, companies in South Africa are passing up a revenue opportunity of R100 billion to R130 billion, along with the chance to grow market share in a cohort of nearly 57 million brand-conscious and brand-loyal people.

To be sure, profitably serving South Africa’s traditional channels is a challenge. As elsewhere in Africa, South Africa’s multitudes of small, independently owned shops have limited capacity to partner with large suppliers. Nevertheless, our research shows that with the right investments and strategies, FMCG companies can overcome these challenges to reach millions of additional consumers who have the means and motivation to buy their products.

Most of the interviewees who participated in BCG’s biennial Pesquisa de sentimento do consumidor da África realizada em 2018 Tenha renda familiar inferior a US $ 500 por mês. Suas respostas nos permitiram mostrar às empresas da FMCG o forte potencial de crescimento que existe entre os consumidores aspiracionais de baixa renda. ¹ 1 A BCG conduziu sua pesquisa de sentimentos de consumidores na África em 12 países, incluindo a África do Sul, de janeiro a março de 2018. Para investigar e validar ainda mais a importância dos canais comerciais tradicionais na África do Sul, o BCG também realizou um comportamento do consumidor e um estudo de pesquisa de tendências de varejo, cobrindo seis províncias sul -africanas. ² 2 De janeiro a março de 2018, a BCG conduziu uma pesquisa na África do Sul, focada na compra de tendências e comportamentos, distribuição de marcas e disponibilidade de produtos nos canais de comércio de varejo da África do Sul. Esta pesquisa cobriu seis regiões: Gauteng, Cabo Ocidental, Noroeste, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Cabo Oriental e Limpopo. Realizamos uma pesquisa e fizemos visitas ao local a 852 lojas representando quatro formatos populares de canais tradicionais populares: revendedores em geral (lojas de variedades); lojas de spaza (quiosques que as pessoas operam em suas casas); varejistas de saúde e beleza especiais; E tabernas e Shebeens (pubs sul -africanos historicamente significativos em municípios), que vendem e servem bebidas alcoólicas. Para atingir essas duas metas, as empresas devem construir rotas igualmente robustas para o mercado através de canais modernos e através de canais tradicionais. 11% para transporte. Por exemplo, os entrevistados disseram que compraram mais de 75% de seus alimentos embalados e mais de 60% de suas bebidas (cerveja, vinho e refrigerantes) em supermercados. (Veja Anexo 1.) Isso sugere que os consumidores fazem suas grandes compras mensais em supermercados, porque os varejistas tradicionais não podem corresponder ao volume e variedade de produtos e marcas que grandes mercados modernos podem oferecer. lojas tradicionais com mais frequência do que os supermercados. Nossa pesquisa mostra que, mesmo quando os sul -africanos aumentam o uso do varejo moderno, eles continuam frequentando os revendedores gerais do comércio tradicional, lojistas de spaza e outras lojas e tabernas especializadas. (Consulte "Formatos comerciais tradicionais da África do Sul".)

Our extensive primary research confirms that multinational and domestic FMCG companies in South Africa are missing out on big opportunities to stimulate sales and to establish a larger, stronger overall market presence. To achieve both of these goals, companies must build equally robust routes to market through modern channels and through traditional channels.

Two Views of South Africa’s Retail Trade

The consumers we surveyed in the 2018 bien­nial study said that the food and bever­age category was the largest monthly recurring expense for their households, account­ing for 24% of their monthly budget versus 17% for rent or mortgage and 11% for transportation. For example, survey respon­dents said that they purchased more than 75% of their packaged foods and more than 60% of their beverages (beer, wine, and soft drinks) in supermarkets. (See Exhib­it 1.) This suggests that consumers do their big-basket monthly shopping in super­markets because traditional retailers can’t match the volume and variety of products and brands that large modern markets can offer.

On the other hand, 69% of consumers said that they visited traditional shops more often than they did supermarkets. Our survey shows that even as South Africans increase their use of modern retail, they continue to frequent the traditional trade’s general dealers, spaza shopkeepers, and other specialty stores and taverns. (See "South Africa's Traditional Trade Formats.")

Our research shows that consumers do their small-basket and top-up shopping in traditional stores every week, or even daily, because they live within walking distance of a shop or because the shop lies along their commuting route to work. In our survey, 60% of general merchandisers, health and beauty specialty shops, spaza shops, and taverns were in residential areas, and 25% were near taxi stands. Such accessibility is a major consideration, given that survey participants identified transportation costs as their third-largest household expense.

Além disso, embora as principais redes de varejo sul-africanas operem em vários locais nas principais cidades e subúrbios e tenham aberto recentemente lojas em alguns municípios, os consumidores permanecem fiéis aos proprietários de pequenos cápsulas que fazem parte de sua comunidade. Esses proprietários de lojas podem ampliar o crédito a clientes regulares, armazenar uma variedade maior de pequenos tamanhos de pacotes (por exemplo, eles podem oferecer ovos à venda individualmente) ou vender marcas - especialmente marcas de cuidados com os cabelos - que as lojas modernas não estocam. Descobrimos que esses motivos para fazer compras em pontos de venda tradicionais permaneceram verdadeiros, mesmo que o Pick n Pay, Shoprite ou outra cadeia familiar seja aberta em um município. Embora 80% dos compradores tenham relatado comprar seus cereais de café da manhã e 68% relataram comprar seu leite em supermercados - versus 6% que compraram cereais e 16% que compraram leite em lojas de spaza - não há razão para supor que também não os comprariam de uma mercearia local. Da mesma forma, produtos frequentemente comprados, como fraldas, oferecem grandes marcas uma grande oportunidade para capturar mais vendas de mercadorias embaladas de itens únicos. Por exemplo, em nossas visitas às lojas, descobrimos que algumas lojas de spaza estavam vendendo uma marca líder de fraldas em unidades únicas a R5 cada.

We believe that by working more closely and effectively to support traditional retailers, FMCG companies could capture a much greater portion of the total amount that South Africans spend on frequent, small-quantity purchases. Although 80% of shoppers reported buying their breakfast cereals and 68% reported buying their milk in supermarkets—versus 6% who bought cereals and 16% who bought milk in spaza shops—there is no reason to suppose that they wouldn’t buy them from a local grocer, too. Similarly, frequently purchased products such as diapers offer major brands a big opportunity to capture more single-item packaged goods sales. For instance, in our store visits, we found that some spaza shops were selling a leading brand of diaper in single units at R5 each.

Olhando além das barreiras do comércio tradicional

Large FMCG companies favor investments in growth through modern channels and tend to see traditional channels as a limited opportunity and, therefore, a low priority. There are two reasons for this tendency. First, many FMCG companies incorrectly imagine that traditional trade customers have limited disposable income or don’t care about brands. Second, such companies are daunted by the distribution challenges involved in supplying and servicing a multi­tude of small businesses that lack infrastructure and may be unlicensed.

In our surveys, we have found evidence of strong demand for branded products (that is, products produced by a global or large-scale local manufacturer) among shoppers who use traditional channels. In the BCG 2018 consumer sentiment survey, 65% of respondents of all income levels agreed that “brands say something about who I am,” and 88% agreed that “all things being equal, brands that have been around the longest are the best brands.”

With regard to the number of different brands of products available on the shelves of traditional stores, we found considerable variation from one category to another. (See Exhibit 2.) Overall, the array of health and beauty product brands available (98) was significantly larger than the array of brands available in any other category. The next-largest numbers of brands available were in the categories of alcoholic beverages (64) and confectionary (50).

Although FMCG players are present in key categories, their absolute numbers and percentage penetration show that they are not maximizing their positions. Exhibit 3 shows the limited degree of penetration that the top three brands in each of four major product categories (health and beauty, packaged groceries, confectionary, and cooking aids) are achieving through South Africa’s traditional channels—a situation that leaves ample room for companies to expand their distribution footprint and market share. Meanwhile, companies that are not present at all may be losing valuable opportunities to competitors.

Four Key Operational Challenges

We explored a number of operational characteristics and variables for different types of traditional store formats, including layout, shelf space and display, products and brands stocked, supplier behavior and relationships, number of employees, tech adoption, customer behavior profiles, and theft and other risks. From our survey and from direct observation, we identified four significant route-to-market challenges that companies need to overcome.

First, dealing with highly fragmented retail markets is difficult and expensive for distributors anywhere. The fact that South Afri­ca’s traditional trade is composed of small, informal, individually owned shops makes the challenge even greater.

Second, the absence of vital storage facilities and limited display space is problematic. For example, in our survey, only about 30% of general dealers and spazas had refrigerators, and only 13% (general dealers) to 14% (spazas) had freezers.

Terceiro, os layouts da loja não têm os corredores amplos de uma loja moderna e têm apenas prateleiras simples nas paredes. Essas limitações dificultam o uso de técnicas padrão de marketing de bens de consumo para otimizar a exibição de produtos e marcas. Isso cria riscos de saúde e segurança para os consumidores, bem como riscos de custos e legais para vendedores. pode limitar a capacidade dos proprietários de lojas de efetivamente mercadorias ou gerenciar o posicionamento da marca. Produtos falsos ou falsificados em algumas categorias podem ser prejudiciais às marcas reais. Por exemplo, visitamos quatro lojas que vendiam a mesma marca de farinha de milho, um grampo sul-africano, em R10, R12, R15 e R18 por kg-uma espalhada que quase dobrou o preço entre os números mais caros e mais caros. espaço para garantir a disponibilidade. Para empresas de FMCG, esse problema geralmente se traduz em uma perda de receita direta, pois as lojas de uma pessoa devem continuar operando com ações limitadas disponíveis em categorias-chave ou fecham completamente para estocar. em longe superam os custos. Ao estabelecer e manter relacionamentos e controle diretos nos canais tradicionais, as empresas podem obter vários benefícios:

Fourth, product and brand quality control is a problem in several consequential areas:

• Recalls. Too many products that should have been recalled remain on the shelf for sale. This creates health and safety risks for consumers, as well as cost and legal risks for sellers.
• Sell-by dates and spoilage. Selling spoiled, expired, or improperly stored products to consumers can pose health and safety risks and can damage brand reputation.
• Theft and counterfeiting. Customer shoplifting can limit the ability of shop owners to effectively merchandise or manage brand positioning. Fake or counterfeit products in some categories can be damaging to the real brands.
• Pricing variability. In the absence of supplier price-management support, a single brand or product category can frequently be offered for sale at a staggeringly wide range of prices. For example, we visited four stores selling the same brand of cornmeal, a South African staple, at R10, R12, R15, and R18 per kilogram—a spread that almost doubled the price between the least expensive and most expensive figures.
• On-shelf availability. Frequently, storeowners don’t have the particular products that customers are looking for because they have neither the working capital nor the storage space to guarantee availability. For FMCG companies, this problem often translates into a direct revenue loss, as one-person shops must either continue to operate with limited stock available in key categories or close entirely in order to stock up.

Multiple Benefits of Direct Relationships

We believe that the risks present in traditional channels, as outlined above, are manageable—and that the opportunities for FMCG companies to increase revenues, market share, and profits far outweigh the costs. By establishing and maintaining direct relationships and control in traditional channels, companies can realize a number of benefits:

• Acesso superior a consumidores esquecidos. Essas áreas oferecem o potencial de as empresas atingirem milhões de novos consumidores que compram em lojas tradicionais e modernas. Os compradores em potencial incluem pessoas que vivem em citações e áreas rurais que têm acesso ao transporte que lhes permite fazer compras em supermercados suburbanos uma vez por mês, mas que gastariam com prazer mais em lojas mais próximas de casa. Categorias e segmentos de clientes. As empresas que não estão bem representadas em todos os canais e formatos de loja não podem aproveitar ao máximo a identificação dos sul -africanos com as marcas. A publicidade direcionada cria reconhecimento da marca, receitas de lealdade e lucros entre segmentos de clientes discretos e em várias categorias de produtos. Como resultado, essas lojas tradicionais não se beneficiam dos serviços de negócios e vantagens financeiras de que um relacionamento direto com as empresas da FMCG poderia oferecer-lhes, como melhores termos comerciais, suporte de merchandising e entrega direta para a loja-todos ajudam a impulsionar um modelo de negócios mais lucrativo e escalável. Empresas FMCG para descobrir e desbloquear novo crescimento por meio de canais comerciais tradicionais. Já vimos vários exemplos convincentes de várias empresas aproveitando oportunidades de crescimento nesses canais esquecidos. Traditional trade channels are widely dispersed across the country, with small shops in many remote locations. These areas offer the potential for companies to reach millions of new consumers who shop in traditional and modern stores. Potential buyers include people living in cites and rural areas who have access to transportation that enables them to shop in suburban supermarkets once a month but who would happily spend more in shops closer to home.
• Better Coverage and Leverage to Grow and Control Market Share. Access to a much larger customer base can lead to a deeper understanding of how to manage and target growth in promising and underdeveloped FMCG product categories and customer segments.
• More Targeted Advertising to Larger Consumer Segments. For all socio­economic groups, brand activation is a very efficient way to increase sales. Companies that are not well represented in all channels and store formats can’t take full advantage of South Africans’ identification with brands. Targeted advertising builds brand awareness, loyalty revenues, and profits among discrete customer segments and across multiple product categories.
• Better Price and Quality Control. Many traditional stores stock their shelves with products that their owners have purchased from modern stores. As a result, those traditional stores don’t benefit from the business services and financial advantages that a direct relationship with FMCG companies could offer them, such as better trade terms, merchandising support, and direct-to-store delivery—all of which help drive a more profitable and scalable business model.
  

Investing in Traditional Channel Growth

Given the recent sluggish performance of South Africa’s economy and retail sector, this is a good time for FMCG companies to discover and unlock new growth through traditional trade channels. Already, we have seen several compelling examples of various companies seizing growth opportunities in these forgotten channels.

With regard to supply chain management, we are also seeing the emergence in South Africa of startup entrepreneurs who are trying to address fragmentation and access issues by becoming channel middlemen between consumer goods manufacturers and retailers.

outros setores voltados para o consumidor também estão vendo oportunidades. Alguns bancos sul-africanos estão começando a experimentar o uso de lojas de spaza como "lojas bancárias" que oferecem serviço bancário minimalista e de baixo custo como uma alternativa às agências de serviço completo. O link para o back office do banco é principalmente por telefone celular. Os inovadores do FMCG devem observar o progresso dos bancos de consumo à medida que começam a disponibilizar pagamentos digitais e serviços de crédito para pequenas lojas e seus clientes. Encontrar oportunidades de crescimento nos canais tradicionais e modernos é um passo à frente para o país e para empresas que podem ajudar a fazer isso acontecer. Stefano Niavas

---

It is clear that as South Africa’s retail sector continues to modernize, traditional trade channels are poised to evolve in support of South Africa’s next wave of retail growth. Finding growth opportunities in both traditional and modern channels is a step forward for the country and for companies that can help make it happen.