The unsung heroes of distribution channel
By Felicia Nwosu
It is often said that the channel of distribution is never complete until goods and services get to the final consumers. The distribution channel in recent times has been enlarged beyond the traditional Producers-wholesalers-retailers spectrum to include more middlemen. It is in this space that street trading finds its locus. Street trading has endured and continues to thrive despite the denigration and castigation it suffers because it is filling a void in the distribution chain-.fast-tracking the meeting of goods and the end consumers.
Although the quest for survival amid unemployment and the Nigerian resilient instincts have propelled many to engage in hawking to make a living and advance the distribution of goods even at great risks.
Made up of an army of poor, indigent people, young and old, who despite their economic state, did not take to prostitution and begging but chose to earn an honourable living through street trading, these people have not been given required support to become meaningful contributors to the economy. In most cases, rather than assist and empower then, they are vilified, harassed, harangued and exploited by government officials under the guise of implementing government regulation on street trading. Yet, these unsung heroes of commerce will always draw from their unending reservouir of resilience and doggedness to persevere and trudge on.
In an apparent recognition of the importance of these yeomen of the distribution channel, rand owners/marketers and wholesalers have been developing hawkers’ to ensure their products are readily made available to hawkers who help in pushing them to end users. Experiential marketers have also keyed into this innovative way of goods distribution. Hawkers as informal traders have become one of the biggest marketing channel of various brand, though there are restrictions and limitations to what they can sell on the street. In a city like Lagos, where residents spend three to four hours in traffic, street-selling comes in handy, as they ensure products’ proximity to their end users.
Just as consumers are evolving, hawkers have also evolved in their mode of operations and services by devising various means of reaching consumers in a trendier manner. These new changes exist in the means of conveying their goods aside from the traditional head portage to include wheelbarrows, table-tops and mobile kiosks among others. This reality is also dawning on both large and small businesses that unorthodox method of selling such as hawking is a viable means of marketing and selling to more consumers
One of the leading lights in the Nigerian marketing space, Nsima Ogedi-Alakwe, the Principal Consultant, Gotcha Communications Ltd, while giving her views, noted that though hawkers play a critical role in last mile distribution, she however said government cannot bend the arm of the law to please them, which is the major reason why some big brands will not like to identify with hawkers. She although expressed concern and worry over their safety.
“This is Lagos, there are places in Nigeria that you get almost everything such as vegetables, meat, yams and other products all in the traffic, so they play a critical role. However, I need to speak about safety, because many at times, I worry about the safety of the people that are doing this amazing job. The way they run in between vehicles, is not safe. Lagos state at some point had banned selling in traffic, so many brands, especially companies that are law abiding, will be careful to identify with them because they don’t want to run foul of the law. An unknown xyz brand can get T-shirt for example to hawkers and go scot-free, but let one big brand do it, they will come after it. Because if it is not lawful for them to be in traffic, it becomes difficult for brands to actively identify with them.
Mrs. Ogedi-Alakwe suggested that professional marketers can help in educating and encouraging skill acquisition that can take them out of the streets and reinstate them for better future.
“One of the things that I believe marketers or professionals could do is just, once in a while, take these people that have got great skills, invest in them in terms of training and education. My belief is that nobody really wants to live on the street if they had better options, at least, they would chose them. they are doing those things to survive and thrive. Maybe organisations can, periodically, get them off the street, and enlighten them about safety, their appearance, and some of the habits that they have picked along the street. They are really the unsung heroes but I say, please prioritise your safety.”
The quintessential marketer advised that those involved should see the trade as a short term business and get engaged in a more secured business. “I am sure you would have witnessed sometimes, the law enforcement agents bundling them into their trucks. And they would have to bail themselves out, Sometimes, their goods are spilled on the road while running from arrest. It is not an easy life. They are only doing it as the last honourable option, if they have any other option, they wouldn’t be on the street to survive. see it as a very short time frame and plan for something better.”
Emmanuel Adebisi, a marketing and fashion expert, reaffirmed how important street traders are in the channel of distribution in putting the products in the faces of consumers especially to those who are non-consumers. He said they should also be appreciated for demonstrating and believing that there is dignity in labour.
“These people (street traders should e appreciated as critical thinkers and solution providers. They’re like the bridge between most of these major organisations and the ordinary people on the streets. They find out that people can easily reach out for bottle water and some other things on the road and they make them available. The funny thing is, they sell them almost at the same retail price. So for me it goes a long way and they are doing so much. They are really unsung heroes because fine most of them found themselves in those predicaments, not out of their volition, but out of the will to survive. It takes a lot of guts for you to go out on the streets every day.
He urged both government and bigger companies to go beyond just caring for their safety, to complementing it with action by empowering and supporting them either by giving instalment and commission privileges through selling of their products.
“I am not against the government trying to take them off the road, but I believe they are more humane ways to do those things. As a brand, if you see someone who has taken the time to get your products and sell, there should be some guarantee for some special privileges that comes when they make sales for brands. Government on its part should look out for people like that and try to see where they can help. I believe we have institutions that have been created to look out for people like that, but I just feel they are just names and they’re not really doing so much. But of course there should be government bodies that will really take time to deal with this issue because it is a big market. It is a world on its own.
The young entrepreneur also noted that the informal trading sector of the economy needs urgent interventions from concerned stakeholders especially in championing the safety of the under-aged hawkers whose lives are exposed to various societal vices in their quest for survival.
“The painful part is that it is densely populated with under aged people. People who have a lot of potential, dreams and aspirations. If there’s a proper structure in place that the government can use to help these set of people, because I am very sure they would have been bridging a gap because what they do is basically affiliate marketing. These companies can also teach and enlighten them on how to be more advanced, how to do things the proper way. They are putting so much energy in what they do, so if we have an avenue to help them polish their skills and the fact that they are passionate about it, they are not necessarily passionate about the fact that money is involved.
For you to get up and go out to think of a legitimate way to make money. I believe they are real heroes.”
Mrs. Eunice Okere, a marketer with a hair product company, said street traders have become an essential part of consumer’s life, especially in a city like Lagos where people spend hours in the traffic. Their presence has continued to help many consumers tremendously.
“Honestly, I wish some of these companies can help them get mobile carts or stalls where they can place their wares, especially those ones who carry heavy iced drinks on their heads running cross the busy roads. it is very risky. They really deserve to be recognized somehow by these brands. Though they are looking for survival, they are however, also promoting some of these products, because sometimes, it is through them that I get to know about some new products before seeing them in stores or markets.“
An admin executive, who pleaded anonymity, also applauded the efforts exerted in the course of trading by the street hawkers.
They are advantageous in the sense that you can easily get products from the street vendors around you, but in terms of hazards, they put their lives at risk because of the locale of their business. Government and brands can help them build stalls beside the roads, where they can do their petty trading, because they make shopping easier for consumers on-the-go especially for we Lagosians, who don’t always have time to get to the main market.”
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