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The ESADE Alumni Marketing Club organised a conference to analyse the relationship between manufacturers and distributors. The guest speaker on this occasion was Josep Maria Bonmatí, CEO of the Asociación Española de Codificación Comercial (AECOC).
Josep Maria Bonmatí began his talk by explaining "how important it is to take consumers into consideration: we should start listening to their point of view". The speaker went on to say, "It's very important to know how to listen and how to tune in to several channels". He defined the market panorama by citing several factors affecting it, such as a larger population in smaller homes, the rise in immigration and the fact that costs have been spread horizontally, becoming more evenly distributed.
He then went on to mention distributors' reaction to this situation and, in particular, the reaction of those in retail who have been forced to operate in other sectors. This situation can be explained by the fact that it is difficult to grow in a mature market, competition from the discount sector, commercial saturation and changes in how costs and overheads are distributed. Another factor that Bonmatí underlined was that "it's just as difficult to innovate at the market level in Spain as it is to obtain a balanced product distribution throughout the country as a whole".
From the manufacturers' perspective, the AECOC representative commented that "solutions can be found to people 'not having time' and to make housework easier". The problem, as he pointed out, is that "sometimes distributors detect the problem first and, as a result, they are the ones who have to come up with the answer". According to Bonmatí, "Not only do we need to innovate in terms of products, but we should also be doing something to speed up the shopping process", and added that 36% of clients would like to spend less time on shopping.
The question of prices was also brought up at the conference. As Bonmatí pointed out, "Some consumers find certain products accessible if you cut the price and this, in turn, helps push sales up considerably". He also emphasised that leading brand products can often be found in different shops at the same time, "which means the differentiation factor has been lost".
Along the same lines, he added, "The introduction of the euro led to a lot of people becoming less aware of individual product prices. There has been, however, a rise in awareness over shopping costs as a whole". In the opinion of the AECOC executive, "Nowadays people are more concerned about how much they're spending on shopping in general".
"What manufacturers have to bear in mind is that both the consumer and the distribution channel have fundamentally changed", assured Bonmatí. "Analysing distribution is not a question of looking at type and size of stores, but at specific brands", he maintained.
Finally, he touched on distribution challenges from the manufacturers' perspective. Among these challenges he emphasised the constant search for market share, differentiation (distributors want to have different products to those carried by competitors), leadership, an efficient supply chain and human resources (fundamental in terms of being in contact with clients and distributors), before going on to underscore that distributors "should carry on in their role as shopkeepers". To round off the event, he quoted two specific examples from the foodstuff distribution sector.
Programme
The ESADE Alumni Marketing Club has organised this lecture in order to analyse the relationship between manufacturers and distributors.
Introduction:
Evarist Juncosa
President of the ESADE Alumni Marketing Club
Lecture:
Josep Maria Bonmati
Director General of AECOC
Moderator:
Manuel Alfaro
Director and Lecturer in the Department of Marketing Management at ESADE
Colloquium
After the lecture, participants are invited to stay for appetizers.
Date, time and venue:
Wednesday, 20th June 2007
7.30 pm
ESADE Building 1 - ESADEFORUM
Av. Pedralbes, 60-62
Barcelona
For more information:
ESADE Alumni
Tel. 902 420 020
Sponsored by:
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