How to Distribute to Fort Worth

Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 932,116, it is the 5th largest city in Texas (after Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin) and the 12th largest city in the United States. Fort Worth is currently growing at a rate of 2.03% annually, and its population has increased by 25.76% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 741,206 in 2010. Spanning over 354 miles, Fort Worth has a population density of 2,697 people per square mile.

Fort Worth is home to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and several world-class museums designed by internationally known contemporary architects. The Kimbell Art Museum, considered to have one of Texas’s best art collections, is housed in what is widely regarded as one of the outstanding architectural achievements of the modern era.

Fort Worth is the location of several university communities: Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan, University of North Texas Health Science Center, and Texas A&M University School of Law.

All these show that Fort Worth is not only a large city, but it is also a big market for a lot of commodities. Also, the city has a considerable level of prosperity. The average household income in Fort Worth is $79,480, with a poverty rate of 16.03%.

To understand product distribution in the city, it will help to look at the areas that make up the city of Fort Worth. With this, we shall also look at the direct and indirect methods of distribution.

Distribution to Eastern Fort Worth

Eastern Fort Worth is the area that comprises Eastchase, Eastern Hills, Eastwood, Echo Heights, Ederville, Haltom City, Handley, Meadowbrook, Parker Essex Boaz (PEB), and Polytechnic Heights (Texas Wesleyan University is located in Polytechnic Heights). This area still includes Sagamore Hill, Stop Six, White Lake Hills, and Woodhaven.

The East is a large area, and a manufacturer who would want to take on the area with its resources will have to put in a lot. This is why manufacturers prefer the indirect method of distribution. This is through the use of distributors.

Distributors, experienced and established ones, often forge long-term relationships with retailers. They understand the market. They know what will sell and what won’t. If you’re a manufacturer looking to expand into the area, using distributors might be a good way to go.

This ultimately depends on the type of products for sale. The downside to going indirectly is the loss of useful data in the distribution chain. As much as the distributor may gather data, it may not be satisfactory to a manufacturer. Maybe consumers would like a particular feature – the manufacturer may not get to know this.

Distributing to Northern Fort Worth

Northern Fort Worth comprises Diamond Hill, Northside, River Oaks (River Oaks is a separate, incorporated city.), Rock Island, Sansom Park (Sansom Park is a separate, incorporated city.), Stockyards.

A manufacturer can penetrate an area like Northern Fort Worth directly. This is through the use of retail associations. Some of the retail associations in Fort Worth include Dallas-Texas Retail Executives Association and the Texas Retailers Association.

The advantage a manufacturer gets with retail associations is that it is easy to network within these associations to reach actual retailers. With this, the manufacturer can pitch the products to retailers. And there is hardly anyone who knows a product better than the manufacturer. So, with this, there is a higher chance of getting the products on the shelves.

More, it is easier to keep track of inventory and always have the products on the shelves. It also makes it easier to keep track of customer reactions, opinions, and interests.

Distributing to Southern Fort Worth

Southern Fort Worth comprises areas such as Bluebonnet, Camelot, Candleridge, Colonial, Bellaire, Greenbriar, Hallmark, Hulen Heights, Highland Hills, Morningside, Overton South, Overton West, Overton Woods, Park Hill, Rolling Hills, South Hills, Stonegate, Summer Creek, Tanglewood, TCU area, University Place, University West, Wedgwood, Wedgewood Central, Wedgewood East, Wedgewood Middle, Wedgewood South, Wedgewood Square, Wedgewood West, Westcliff, and Worth Heights.

This is a large area with a lot of communities under it. For a distributor who wants to penetrate this area, either of the distributor methods will work. But in looking at the large area, it may help to consult a distributor first. They understand how communities like these are. More, they can give an analysis of what type of products will do well in this area. This is a major advantage they have.

The manufacturer can also use niche retail associations to get products into this area. However, every move at distribution must come after brand awareness. This is what informs the community of your products.

Things to Note When Distributing to Fort Worth

Large City

Fort Worth is the 13th largest city in the United States. And this means it is a big market. It also means the competition for the market will be fierce here. This is why you must distinguish your brand. You must have a unique selling point that will make consumers identify your products.

University Community

Fort Worth hosts a couple of university communities. This means a big market. It also means that you need to understand how different it is to do business in a community like that. As much as there is a lot of money to be made, you should study them well to know what gets their attention.

Marketing

This is as vital as the product. This is what pushes the brand messages out to the prospects. Being a very large community, it pays to study the behavioral patterns of your prospects and pitch to them directly.