Retail & Distribution: how the sector works
how retail works: the model from sourcing to shelf to checkout, omnichannel, the economics of footfall and format, and the retail-vs-supplier balance of power.
Retail and distribution runs on thin margins, high volumes, and tightly choreographed movement of goods from manufacturer to end consumer. This block gives you the operating logic of the sector: how products flow through sourcing, distribution, and channels to the shelf or screen; who controls pricing, shelf space, and terms; which regulations govern trade, labor, consumer protection, and data; and the numbers that define scale, health, and performance. You will leave able to read the sector like an operator, not a shopper, understanding where margin actually sits, who holds negotiating leverage, and what benchmarks separate a well-run retail business from a struggling one.
What you'll master
- Map a retail value chain end to end and identify where margin and risk concentrate at each step
- Assess the relative bargaining power of retailers, suppliers, distributors and platforms in a given category
- Identify which regulations (trade, labor, consumer, data) apply to a given retail business model and their practical compliance demands
- Calculate and interpret core retail metrics such as same-store sales, inventory turnover, sell-through and gross margin to benchmark performance