How to Distribute to Chicago, IL

Chicago is a major world financial center, with the second-largest central business district in the United States. The city is also an international hub for finance, culture, commerce, industry, education, technology, telecommunications, and transportation.

With all these, it is expected that Chicago will be one of the most populous, busy, and expensive. However, it only checks two on that list – populous and busy. It turns out Chicago is not as expensive as many people think. According to BizJournals, a person can survive alone on $2,500 a month in the city. And much of this goes to rent. However, it has to be said that even though it doesn’t crack the top-ten of the most expensive cities in the US, it is still quite expensive to live in.

Chicago is the most populous city in Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States. It has a population of almost 3 million people.

To understand how retail distribution works in Chicago, it may be important to look at some of the areas that make up Chicago. This is done in no particular order, and it is just to highlight distribution possibilities in each area.

Distributing Products in Andersonville

Probably one of the smallest areas in Chicago, Andersonville is a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, with a population of 6,873. Andersonville is in Cook County and is one of the best places to live in Illinois.

Chicago happens to have a lot of retail associations. Thus, even if you’re not looking at distributing to Andersonville alone, you can expand your network by connecting with retailers in the Chicago Retail Merchants Association, Illinois Retail Merchants Association, the Illinois Branch of the National Retail Federation, Illinois Food Retailers Association,  and many others.

These associations allow you to introduce your products to the retailers themselves and the benefits of selling your products.

You can also work with experienced distributors who understand the retail market in Chicago well enough. Experienced distributors are the best go-to when it comes to introducing a new product in a particular area. They understand the consumer pattern and behavior and know how best to present the products to the retailers.

Distributing Products to Lakeview

Lakeview is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois, in the city’s North Side. In contrast to Andersonville, Lakeview has a population of well over 100,000 people. This makes it a large market and to draw the attention of manufacturers and distributors.

Lakeview is home to the popular Boystown, also known as Gay Village. The yearly Gay Pride draws many people from different parts of the world, which makes it a huge market area around June.

Working with retail associations is one of the best ways to enter new markets. And as Chicago has many retail associations, it could be a good place to start for any manufacturer or distributor new to the area and looking for a way to enter the market. And also forge long-lasting relationships with the retailers.

Distributing Products to Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park is one of the wealthiest and most expensive communities in which to live. While the average single-family house is priced around $1 million, many homes in the area sell for more than $10 million. Nevertheless, this community has a population of about 70,000 people. This makes it attractive for upscale and everyday commodities.

And as expected, the neighborhood contains many upscale national retailers, boutiques, bookstores, restaurants, and coffee shops.

Many experienced distributors have worked in this community for a long time, and they understand how to get to the markets and the peculiarities involved. It is to the advantage of the manufacturer to work with this kind of distributors, as they can help to launch the product in the neighborhood. Of course, this is to be coupled with precise and well-targeted marketing messages in places where the people in this community will see them.

Distributing Products in North Center

North Center is considered a vibrant neighborhood with an eclectic mix of retailers, restaurants, live music, live theater, and service-oriented businesses. It has a population of over 35,000 – this puts it between a little populated and just okay.

Still, it is a great spot for retail. Looking at the fact that there are still millions of dollars that go down in sales daily in the community, it is still a point of attraction for manufacturers and distributors.

To enter the North Center market, you can choose to go through the retail associations or use experienced distributors. Well, this may depend on your products. However, it is essential to use a distribution method to ensure that your products are always on the shelves.

Many manufacturers lose their spots by not keeping track of inventories, and a distributor with a lot of products to distribute gives another product as a substitute. This is vital, at least till you build brand loyalty with the consumers.

Things to Note When Distributing to Chicago

Large Market

A large population may not translate into a large market all the time, but it does most of the time. As much as there is a lot of potential for sales, there are competing products. Thus, it is crucial to have a unique selling point that will always resonate with the consumers. They must have a reason to prefer your products to others.

Marketing

A lot of manufacturers don’t do much for marketing. They somehow expect their products to be noticed. It hardly works that way.

It is important to send marketing messages to consumers on both the internet and mass media. Your uniqueness is communicated to them here. And if you focus on their needs and what they stand to benefit, you might as well have stood out in the market.