From Unilever PLC to Colgate-Palmolive Co, consumer goods makers in India are facing distribution blues that have nothing to do with COVID-19 pandemic-induced shortages and bottlenecks. The trusted intermediaries that brands have traditionally relied on to reach millions of small neighborhood stores in 8,000 towns and 660,000 villages are in revolt.
It is a mutiny that the multinationals have invited upon themselves.
About 90 percent of what gets consumed in the continent-sized economy flows through a pipe known as “general trade”: Brands appoint third-party distributors who stock bulk inventory, dispatch goods in small quantities to shops in their area, collect cash and