I am still grappling with the selection of the products that we will adopt for our launch in February.
There are however certain features that guide my selection of any product as a potentially viable product.

A lot of people have suggested that I adopt what I sell or what has yielded profit for me in the past. Now, my experience shows that withing the F.M.C.G sector, there are two broad approaches to profit making.

I call the first one 'the fast and the furious'. It works like quicksilver. Huge profit but largely unsustainable. Loads of people immediately make an entrance into the business and you are displaced but then you would have made a kill in that one outing. Please recall a T.V set called Akira(I remember it clearly as that was the my first T.V set bought during my NYSC). It came in with a bang but left quietly. It just faded from the market.

The second typology I christen slow, steady and sure (S.S.S). Goldstar on the other hand had a good product, entered the market with a terrible marketing plan which gave so much room for other brands to excel. Moving forward, they decided to re-brand as LG and today they have high street stores selling different models of T.V sets and other electrical/electronic household and technological devices all around the world. In Nigeria, their lead distributor is a Sudanese conglomerate known as Fouani.

The likes of Fouani have built a brand that has withstood the test of time. You may never have heard of Fouani because they are more than less subsumed within the brand but please note that LG electronics rides on the back of Fouani in Nigeria and many other African countries. And oh yes, electronics are FMCG, so are other households, digital cameras, laptops, phones, shoes milk, sanitary towels and baby wipes. Just name it.

The typical process of becoming a distributor at least in Nigeria is to identify a company (mostly through observation or from testimonies of others who have become distributors or mostly those who have observed other distributors)

The biggest distributors for the conglomerates in Nigeria are usually retired staff of those organisations. From Total stations to Mega distributors for Cadbury, Guinness, Nigerian Breweries and Unilever. Most of them are usually people with some strong ties with the company, one way or another. In some cases the Husband works there and the wife is the distributor and vice-versa. Another trajectory is where companies woo existing distributors of the competition. In the noodles business for instance you will observe that the sellers of Indomie Noodles are also the sellers for all the other brands be it Honewell, Dangote, Golden Penny and what have you. In the snacks business the distributors of Gala from UAC are also the ones distributing Superbite from Chi Industries and Biggie from Hotty from Leventis foods.

You will also observe that in the majority of cases these products are sold together in order to ensure that the products move to the advantage of the distributor. So a combined brand approach is adopted. For the street hawkers they have top buy Gala together with Superbite and maybe Biggie and Hotty with Meaty.
So in the traditional distributorship building approach, you need a lot of initial capital outlay sometimes running into tens of Millions of Naira. So, for many of us becoming their distributor is quite desirable but very unreachable on account of this outlay and of course other requirements. Should we therefore fold hands and and become like Charlie Brown resigning ourselves to fate? No I don't think so. That is the thrust of this thread. We are all going to become Mega - distributors through the back door. And this will start this year and we will grow it gradually till we get to Eldorado.

Karin001:
The typical process of becoming a distributor at least in Nigeria is to identify a company (mostly through observation or from testimonies of others who have become distributors or mostly those who have observed other distributors)

The biggest distributors for the conglomerates in Nigeria are usually retired staff of those organisations. From Total stations to Mega distributors for Cadbury, Guinness, Nigerian Breweries and Unilever. Most of them are usually people with some strong ties with the company, one way or another. In some cases the Husband works there and the wife is the distributor and vice-versa. Another trajectory is where companies woo existing distributors of the competition. In the noodles business for instance you will observe that the sellers of Indomie Noodles are also the sellers for all the other brands be it Honewell, Dangote, Golden Penny and what have you. In the snacks business the distributors of Gala from UAC are also the ones distributing Superbite from Chi Industries and Biggie from Hotty from Leventis foods.

You will also observe that in the majority of cases these products are sold together in order to ensure that the products move to the advantage of the distributor. So a combined brand approach is adopted. For the street hawkers they have top buy Gala together with Superbite and maybe Biggie and Hotty with Meaty.
So in the traditional distributorship building approach, you need a lot of initial capital outlay sometimes running into tens of Millions of Naira. So, for many of us becoming their distributor is quite desirable but very unreachable on account of this outlay and of course other requirements. Should we therefore fold hands and and become like Charlie Brown resigning ourselves to fate? No I don't think so. That is the thrust of this thread. We are all going to become Mega - distributors through the back door. And this will start this year and we will grow it gradually till we get to Eldorado.

on point

its becoming interesting. I see high flyers emerging. Thumbs up Karin. You are doing a great job.
Hands on deck!

karin,you are really a business person and
that's putting it mildly. following,.

Madam Karin, I sent a mail to you yesterday, hope to get response soonest. Thanks

My name is Hooxjnr signing in. I represent Auta Balefi after Masaka along Abuja Nassarawa express road.

I'm Henry, representing Calabar.

I was banned for some reason which I don't understand but it has been lifted.

One of the biggest impediments to starting out as a as a distributor is the huge capital outlay.

A large shop has to be rented, mobility has to be secured and then in some cases you have to make a deposit to the producing company (sometimes refundable, other times non- refundable). After that, you still need to make an investment in the purchase of the goods and normally a minimum quantity order is required which may necessitate an investment running into Millions of Naira.

You can therefore see that it is an uphill task raising that kind of money. Even for those who have been in business for a while the requirements may still appear quite steep.

How does one then overcome this kind of impediment. There must be a way out.

Actually there are several ways to overcome this obstacle.

We will adopt the one I think is best for us as we embark on this journey.

Sometime last year, I was invited by the management of a major food company for the grand opening of their ultra-modern factory located in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. I was unable to attend that event for reasons that bordered on timing and convenience.

This doubled as a launch event for their recently developed soft drinks. I understand that those interested in becoming the distributors were asked to apply and make a deposit of a certain huge amount. This is the stuff of distributorships.

The above model will of course be impossible for my target readership so I am going to show you how we are going to take the market by storm using alternative means.

My name is Caleb Adeoga, i represent Ijebu Ode and Ijebu environs, Ogun State
Contacts;
Email: calebadeoga@gmail.com
No: 08132417537 (Same on whatsapp)

The Preferred product.

I honestly do not have any product in mind at the moment but I do know that the product must have the following characteristics;

It must be an everyday usable product.

It must be cheap enough for as many people as possible to buy without qualms.

It must not be too heavy to ease moving about with it

It must come from a company that has the capacity to produce it consistently with the right quality control measures in place.

It must also provide a profit margin of at least 10 percent for the very fast moving ones and more for the lesser ones.

I have been advised in a previous thread to start with something (product) that I have sold successfully. I think that makes a lot of sense.

I have been advised in a previous thread to start with something (product) that I have sold successfully. I think that makes a lot of sense.

Karin001:
I have been advised in a previous thread to start with something (product) that I have sold successfully. I think that makes a lot of sense.

Nice one Ma. Following with all keenness!

Essentially, we must get some understandings on territorial exclusivity with the companies that are producing for us. We really don’t want to work so hard making a product viable and attractive within a sales territory and then ceding it to some interloper with a lot of money.

Someone has already recommended a format to follow so choosing a product should not pose that much of a difficulty. We will start with the ones
I have successfully negotiated with. Snacks is my forte.

In starting out I am going to suggest that we look at the options available for us. Do not be deceived, we are going to meet certain requirements if we are going to start well and progress effectively.

ACCOMODATION/WAREHOUSING/SHOP SPACE;
Quite truthfully you need a lot of space if you are to start a distribution business at some level. Goods must be stored appropriately. In many towns in Nigeria, commercial property is very expensive to rent but we must look for a way to overcome. Synergy is the answer here because we must have some form of space but help hovers around us.

DELIVERIES/LOGISTICS (INBOUND); For many companies the cost of delivery of the products is woven into the selling price. For others they do not get involved with logistics or transportation at all. I assure you that in the event that you are able to take charge of your own delivery, you have reduced the cost of purchase of the goods to a bare minimum and you thus indirectly increase your profits.

Again there is a way out of this; Synergy.

HUGE CAPITAL OUTLAY FOR INITIAL PURCHASE; For many companies the status of a distributor is determined by the volume of purchase initially and subsequently. To qualify for this status, you must therefore be able to buy at least a minimum quantity per specified time frame (usually analyzed in terms of purchases made within a month or a quarter). This also implies that you must also have a ready market to sell these goods to as fast as possible. Indeed, it wouldn’t make any sense to stock your warehouse with goods without selling them. So what is the way out here? How do we circumvent this scenario?

Again, Synergy comes to play.

My name is Joseph Agbedor, I reside in Abuja I can cover on of the suburban, Lugbe precisely. I mean from City gate to Airport.

Definitely there's gonna be huge capital outlay but with determination and combined effort we'll succeed. But one of the greatest resource to succeed in this venture is experience in distribution of fmcg. I'm calmly waiting for the choice of product.

Hello Karin

I would pick Ojo axis of lagos as my location.

Kind Regards.

Karin001:


Good Lagos, Which part? Topo, Badagary; Poka, Epe; or Imota. Ikorodu? Specifics please!

Hello Karin.
Top of the morning.
I can cover ojo metropolis down to agbara.

Closely following.

Rapt attention!!!

Weldone Karin001, ever since I came across this thread and also read about ur other threads, I av searched them out and av digested t them from 1st page to the last. God bless u real good.

Please am representing transamadi port harcourt. Not only abuloma pls take note

Good Talk

I have spent a lot of time thinking through our take-off programme especially as it regards products. I do not intend to expose on this platform the things that we can and will sell as a group but I assure you that my mind has already narrowed down on some of them.

Today I had to visit Aba from Port Harcourt and on my way back, I noticed very unusual heavy presence of Policemen on the ever busy Port Harcourt – Aba Expressway causing a serious snarl. On inquiring I was told that the Vice President was in Aba for a made in Aba exposition. This got me thinking. One of the few things that I have sold in my trading spell and which gave me a lot of profit and gratitude/referrals from the buyers was a made in Nigeria product which I used to order in their dozens while I resided in Lagos and actually resold them in within Lagos. It was a beautiful crafted product and I sold about Eighty pieces (or more) within a three month period (though with a lot of help from my hubby).

The profit margin was about 70 percent and there were zero overheads. This realization hit me like a ton of bricks and I there and then decided that I would introduce this product for each participant of the whatsapp group. With an investment of less than 25,000 Naira each, they should be able to smile home with about double that amount within thirty days without a fuss . And this is just a small aspect of the busines on the side. When we launch the whatsapp group next week I will send pictures of this as one of the very first items that will be considered.

Karin001:
I have spent a lot of time thinking through our take-off programme especially as it regards products. I do not intend to expose on this platform the things that we can and will sell as a group but I assure you that my mind has already narrowed down on some of them.

Today I had to visit Aba from Port Harcourt and on my way back, I noticed very unusual heavy presence of Policemen on the ever busy Port Harcourt – Aba Expressway causing a serious snarl. On inquiring I was told that the Vice President was in Aba for a made in Aba exposition. This got me thinking. One of the few things that I have sold in my trading spell and which gave me a lot of profit and gratitude/referrals from the buyers was a made in Nigeria product which I used to order in their dozens while I resided in Lagos and actually resold them in within Lagos. It was a beautiful crafted product and I sold about Eighty pieces (or more) within a three month period (though with a lot of help from my hubby).

The profit margin was about 70 percent and there were zero overheads. This realization hit me like a ton of bricks and I there and then decided that I would introduce this product for each participant of the whatsapp group. With an investment of less than 25,000 Naira each, they should be able to smile home with about double that amount within thirty days without a fuss . And this is just a small aspect of the busines on the side. When we launch the whatsapp group next week I will send pictures of this as one of the very first items that will be considered.

Back to the Aba thoughts. Within your environment if you search closely there will be something that your location has a comparative advantage over other places which you can mobilize and dispatch to other places for a profit.

Earlier in life I had dabbled into the sales of used items(clothes, bags and shoes) and I couldnt but marvel at the dynamic nature of the used items trade. Even though the more popular seaports were in Lagos it never ceased to amaze me that certain items were cheaper in Aba than in Lagos. Used towels and bed sheets had better prices and quality in Aba than in Lagos. Generally, Aba has been the home of all manner of imported fabrics for a very long time. Even in Lagos, the headquarters for very good used footwear and other leather products like bags and belts was a market in Badagary more popularly known as Vespa.

Then there was this location in Orile, just opposite one of the Eleganza Factories where fresh bales of used shirts (great brand names) were opened three times weekly. I can tell you confidently without fear of equivocation that many houses have been built, school fees paid and cars bought from the multilayered profits made from the sales of used clothes in this country.

The question here is, what positive signals can we draw from Prof. Yemi Osibanjo's visit to Aba in his capacity as the 'Ag' President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

(Please also note that he could transform into the substantial President in the immediate or remote future, so do not take lightly his thought patterns, words and actions. You do this to your very own peril. I must confess that I looked at him closely today 'pictures online' and he does appear as serious minded with underlying good intentions. This is my personal opinion though)

I can tell you that this is a very epochal event and some serious people will be spending this night and the coming days to think of how to re-position themselves in the light of the purport of this visit. There will be super significant ramifications.

Are we in preparation mode or we are still complaining about the recession. My whatsapp group-mates, I promise you we will revisit this event in detail next month with a view to uncovering the potential benefits stacked beyond the appreciation of the regular eyes.

We have to benefit from this visit.

The BIG question is how?

Interested candidate, Nnanna, I am based in Kano ( Sabon-gari). Let's hit the road.