How to Distribute to San Francisco

San Francisco is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. With a 2020 population of 896,047, it is the 4th largest city in California and the 16th largest city in the United States. San Francisco is currently growing at a rate of 0.72% annually, and its population has increased by 11.28% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 805,235 in 2010. Spanning over 232 miles, San Francisco has a population density of 19,104 people per square mile.

San Francisco is one of the wealthiest and most expensive cities in America. San Francisco’s high cost of living is due to its booming tech industry and proximity to Silicon Valley. The Bay Area could become even more expensive, given the high number of tech companies expected to go public soon.

San Francisco is quite upscale, and it is a big market for items within this range. Everyday commodities also sell, of course, in this area. To enter this market, a manufacturer can either go directly or indirectly. However, this is largely dependent on the type of products for distribution.

To fully understand product distribution in San Francisco, it will help to look at distribution in the areas that make up San Francisco.

Distribution to Anza Vista

Anza Vista is a neighborhood in the Western Addition district of San Francisco, California. It is located between Geary Boulevard to the north, Turk Street to the south, Masonic Avenue to the west, and Divisadero Street to the east. Some of the surrounding areas between The Presidio, Golden Gate Park, the Panhandle, and the Western Addition may sometimes be referred to as part of the Anza Vista neighborhood.

Distributing to this area could be done directly or indirectly. Most manufacturers prefer the indirect method as they get to outsource all the distribution work to the distributor. This can cause a little markup in the product, but it consumes less time, effort, and resources.

Distributors understand the factors that affect product sales in a particular area – as long as they make product distribution to the area. They can use the data gathered from a particular area to know what products do well in that area.

More, distributors know the distribution network well enough to get products to hundreds of stores. The manufacturer can work with distributors to understand these markets. The manufacturer can also understand the competitiveness of other brands in the area.

All these ultimately depend 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.

On the whole, using a distributor to enter the Anza Vista area of San Francisco will bring many benefits, but it has its shortcomings.

Distributing to Bayview

The Bayview stretches along Third Street south of Evans Avenue, west of the Hunters Point neighborhood. The Bayview is known for its friendly and diverse residents, warm weather and inviting vistas, community gardens, independent businesses, artists’ community, and rich history as an African American and working-class neighborhood.

Just like a manufacturer can enter an area through a distributor, the manufacturer can also directly penetrate an area like Bayview. This can be done through retailers association. Retailers’ associations present an opportunity to network with retailers who are the major members of these associations.

These retailers are mostly geographically-based. The California Retailers Association is the largest retail association in California. From here, you can increase your targeting to the Edmonton area.

Going directly has its benefits. First, you get direct data on consumer reaction to the product. Second, you can get real-time inventory data from the stores. Third, it’s easier to know what the problem if demand or shipping be slows down. Tesla has successfully built his strong brand on going directly to the consumer. Though this is still a little different, it goes a long way to show how proximity with the final consumer can help.

Distributing Products to Bernal Heights

Bernal Heights is a neighborhood perched on a hill between the Mission district, Bayview, and the Portola district. The neighborhood is known for its community feeling and progressive vibe. The majority of the neighborhood is white, but there are significant Southern Italian, Latino, and African American populations in the area. The main shopping area in Bernal Heights is Cortland Avenue, with a variety of storefronts that include a health food store, a community center, a yoga studio, bars, bakeries, and restaurants.

Penetrating this community through either of the distribution methods will do a lot to improve the brand in that community. As long as the manufacturer can weigh each method’s cost and benefits, a decision best-fitting for the brand can easily be taken.

Things to Note When Distributing to San Francisco

Upscale

The proximity of Silicon Valley to San Francisco does the city a lot of good – a lot of money flows in the city. This means that upscale items have a large market here. Due to obvious factors, things are a little more expensive in San Francisco than in many parts of the United States.

Large Market

San Francisco has a population of almost 900,000 people, and it is the 16th largest city in the United States. A lot of manufacturers are competing for this market. Your surest bet is projecting your brand in a way that will fascinate and get people’s attention. And you put in a lot of work into marketing. Your marketing messages need to be echoed over and over.