Consumer goods and retail

‘Consumer goods always sell’ – this is the conventional wisdom of the sector. If you look more closely, however, an enormous change has taken place in the last 20 years. This is particularly true for retail, especially through the increase of online commerce and discounters. Online retailing is not only a relatively new form of distribution but also comes with several benefits: direct contact between the manufacturer and the end consumer, analysis of purchasing behaviour and buyer motivation (big data) as well as a 24/7 shopping experience. Internet retailers, above all Amazon, are now successfully operating worldwide and, accelerated by best-of-class logistics concepts, are displacing stationary competitors to a large extent. Stationary and mail-order retailers, who do not have a competitive online offering, will disappear from the market in the long run. And what about consumer goods manufacturers? Here, too, a change is taking place: medium-size brands are being ousted by top brands and private labels. But even small brand suppliers can open up and establish new segments through innovation. In the less dynamic markets of industrialised countries, successful consumer goods manufacturers are growing through the development of new customer groups, product innovations, differentiation of the product offering, brand extension into new product categories and loyalty management. It is important to maintain a brand’s freshness, as well as that of its products, in order to be perceived by consumers as current and worthy of purchase.

Moreover, new and extremely large sales markets have emerged in recent years, especially for luxury goods in Asia – and above all in China. For investors’ portfolios, the stability of the consumer goods sector does much to compensate for investments in cyclical sectors.

CODEX Partners has extensive experience in supporting manufacturers and retailers (online, mail order, stationary and multichannel) of consumer goods (e.g. food, pet food, toys, consumer electronics, furniture) and luxury goods (e.g. jewellery, watches, art) in strategic and operational projects. From customer segmentation by sales potential, the development and optimisation of online channels and cost optimisation to transaction support, we cover the main issues and apply our knowledge from diverse categories.