1、Strategic Imperative to Advance Category Management&Private BrandsDecember 2025A Study of Category Management Practices in China Strategic Imperative to Advance Category Management&Private BrandsForword031 Executive summary052 Overview of category management decisions163 Study of category management

2、 practices in China294 Category management and private brands for The New Consumer415 Conclusion and recommendations49Contact us542ContentsStrategic Imperative to Advance Category Management&Private Brands3ForewordFierce price wars between on-line platforms competing in“instant retail”.The high spee

3、d delivery of goods in under an hour.The growing popularity of membership club formats and discount stores.All of these have exerted great pressure on retailers and restaurant operators.Instead of expansion,almost 60%of the Top 100 chain stores in China either stood still or actually reduced their n

4、umber of stores in 2024,according to the China Chain Store&Franchise Associations 2024 Chinas Top 100 Chain Stores.Category management and private brands expansion have become a strategic imperative,offering a way for businesses to sustain themselves in a dynamic and crowded consumer market.Accordin

5、g to our study of category management practices in China by twelve grocery retailers covering 159 stores in six cities and across four product categories,Chinese retailers are behind their western counterparts.Firstly,western retailers have stronger relationships with manufacturers.Secondly,they hav

6、e mature private brands.In China,private brand penetration is in the low single digits.Although there has been progress in recent years,more resources and leadership attention is required to significantly grow the private brands portfolio.Thirdly,western retailers rely heavily on category captains,w