Tiger Brands Found 21,000 New Doors Without Building One Store

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Tiger Brands Found 21,000 New Doors Without Building One Store

Its township presence grew from about 50,000 outlets to more than 71,000 during 2024.

That increase is roughly 42% in less than a year. The longer-term target reported by Reuters was at least 130,000 township and rural outlets.

The numbers reveal a distribution lesson that formal retail can hide.

A supplier can negotiate a national supermarket listing and still remain unavailable within walking distance of thousands of consumers.

The product may exist in the retailer's system, sit in a distribution centre and appear in a promotional leaflet.

None of that guarantees presence in the outlet handling tonight's top-up purchase.

Adding 21,000 informal outlets is not the same as adding 21,000 supermarket branches.

Order sizes are smaller. Routes are fragmented. Traders may replenish through wholesalers rather than direct delivery.

Pack price, resale margin and stock turn determine whether the product earns space.

The outlet count also exposes an organisational problem.

Key-account teams are built around a manageable number of powerful customers.

Informal growth demands influence across wholesalers, distributors, agents and thousands of owner-managed shops.

The supplier therefore needs two scoreboards.

One measures formal listings and weighted distribution.

The other measures active informal outlets, reorder frequency, wholesaler availability and the trader's return on cash invested.

A brand can be famous, nationally listed and locally absent at the same time.

Tiger Brands' expansion shows that the growth opportunity may come from reaching more doors, rather than winning another centimetre of shelf in the doors already served.

Reference: Reuters: Tiger Brands expands its presence in South African townships

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Disclaimer: Personal views are based on public info and my SA retail experience. Independent commentary, not representing any BRAND, its management, franchisees, suppliers or employees.

#Shoprite, #Checkers, #BoxerSuperstores, #PicknPay, #SPAR, #Woolworths, #FMCG, #RetailIndustry, #AfricanBusiness, #darkstore, #Clicks, #Dischem, #Medirite, #AI, #Robotics, #forecourts, #PicknPay, #SouthAfricaRetail, #BoxerRetail, #informal, #SPAZASHOP,

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