Distribution Strategies Toward Nanostores in Emerging Markets: The Valencia Case

In many megacities in emerging markets, customers typically buy products for their daily needs from small retailers (nanostores). Distributing these products, such as water, soap, and cooking oil, to the nanostores is a challenging task, mainly because the nanostores have limited cash availability and they make decisions randomly. In this paper, we compare the performance of two commonly used distribution strategies: the presales strategy and the van sales strategy. Our analysis is based on a study we conducted in Casablanca in collaboration with Valencia, a fruit juice manufacturer. The study reveals several insights that are useful to manufacturers who face challenges in distributing goods in large cities in emerging markets.