Coexist from a single form to multiple modes
This convenience store boom in 2018 is mainly reflected in two aspects.
First, the expansion of the expansion, driven by capital, the major convenience stores speed up the run. Not long ago, Rosen opened the 1000th store in East China. Gu Guojian, a retail expert, commented that this is the end of an era and the beginning of another era.
The second is the connotational “deformation”, including the whole family, Rosen, every day, TODAY convenience, Meiyijia, good neighbors, 24 fresh and many other convenience store brands, which have undergone changes in commodities, formats, models, etc. Water cross-border management, exploring new models and developing new convenience store operations.
Upgrade to the traffic portal of the service platform, or go to the "small supermarket" back?
Convenience stores are superimposing new models in the transformation process. One key point is worth noting whether they can break the physical space constraints. This is related to the convenience store + format, is the application of Internet thinking, transformation into traffic portals; or mechanical overlay business, into the embarrassing situation of the reduced version of the supermarket.
The so-called "physical space" restriction refers to the convenience store brand in a system, breaking through the scope of the store, using data, services and other aspects to provide consumers with more consumer scenarios. At this time, the convenience store is equivalent to WeChat, and a variety of additional formats are equivalent to mobile games, take-outs and other plug-ins. WeChat is not a game platform, but it can become a login port for mobile games. It can gain traffic and deduction points while increasing service.
For example, domestic cleaning, pre-purchased ingredients and other services can not be achieved in the traditional convenience store scene, but consumers can choose the required services through the convenience store as a link platform, which is a kind of convenience store business innovation that drives the supporting industry.
On the contrary, it is a blind addition, and may eventually turn into a "shrinking supermarket." This will lead to indiscriminate competition between convenience stores and standard supermarkets and hypermarkets when the home platform approaches the consumer purchase path.
To this end, convenience stores should pay attention to three key points in the innovation of the business. One is whether the sharing of passenger flow can bring about sales growth, that is, whether the two formats can have complementary space, thus bringing new passenger flow to the convenience store format. . The second is whether it can achieve short-term complementarity and cost reduction, thereby improving operational efficiency. The third is the new added value added after the innovation, otherwise the new value will not be felt for the customer, and will be abandoned immediately after the fresh energy is passed.
The difficulty of operation has led to a lot of convenience stores “deformation” becoming a gimmick, and also let the capital view the convenience of the convenience store to be calm. An investor who focuses on the retail sector said, “It’s not a big deal to try the new business. If the performance is not good, there is no need to pay attention.”
However, in the long run, some convenience store traders said that the cross-industry operation to supplement the traditional convenience store format is worthy of recognition. The difference is that the incubation form should be chosen. For the convenience store + coffee that the whole family hatches, it aims at the mid-range coffee market between 10 yuan and 20 yuan, which is effective in improving the number of visitors. According to data from DT Finance, the family sold more than 10 million cups of coffee in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 140%.
However, for the new brand to be hatched and the coverage is expanded, the adaptability of the whole family coffee is relatively weak. Because most of the outside world only knows 7-eleven, the whole family runs coffee, but it is not difficult to remember its coffee brand. Once it is independent of the store, to expand the closed space such as the office, consumers may buy a well-known Starbucks, but will not be attracted to the "hacker" coffee (the whole family).
Some retail executives therefore tend to create new brands and gradually lock in consumer cross-border consumer demand. The convenience store is used to connect the platform to collect data and open the system, which ultimately leads to the “deformation” of the convenience store model.
"The third eye to see retail" learned that giving up the creation of innovative brands is actually a side effect of the company’s cost assessment. Any innovation must be first added to the cost, and then tap the profit point. This puts forward different requirements for the development status of convenience stores. Gu Xing, founder of 24 Fresh Convenience Store, told “The Third Eye to See Retail” that all innovations should be based on the size of the store and the size of the turnover, and it is possible to obtain synergies from a wide range of pushes.
Fresh Life also recognizes the above point of view. When it remodeled its neighbors, it gave a solution of upgrading to a “convenience store + fresh + online” store based on its store base that has been deeply rooted in Beijing for many years. However, in the face of regional enterprises such as Tang Jiu convenience, fresh life will focus on upgrading conventional products, starting from compressing supply chain costs and improving online sales.
Brand development tends to be diversified, convenience store concept is being refactored
Whether it is superimposed goods, innovative formats or changing business models, it is reflected that the tide of change in local convenience stores has arrived. Previously, traditional chain convenience stores imitated the development path of the Japanese convenience store model and gradually came to an end. This can be seen from the localization strategy of Japanese brands such as Rosen and the whole family. The development of convenience stores in China tends to be diversified, and the core competitiveness is explored from the back level, stores, and users.
A month ago, Rosen celebrated the opening of a 1,000 store in East China in Shanghai and announced that it is expected to achieve profitability next year. Gu Guojian, director of the Shanghai Chain Management Institute, commented on "the end of an era." He believes that Rosen’s future in the Chinese market, especially the "big join" policy launched in the past two years, indicates that Japanese convenience stores have abandoned the old model and found the right development path in China.
In comparison, local convenience store innovations are more relaxed, and they are "savagely growing" in a variety of brain-opening modes.
The local convenience stores that are mainly loosely joined have not been eliminated by the market at present. Instead, they rely on B2B and gradually turn to the supply chain. For example, Furong Xingsheng divided its business entities into three orders: store order, commerce company, and fresh supply, and gradually transitioned to the B2B e-commerce platform.
The chain convenience stores that insisted on close-knit franchise were no longer limited to strengthening standardization management and improving the profitability of single stores. For example, as an industry integrator, launching a brand merger, building a convenience store solution empowerment platform, etc., it is a growth space for brand mining.
An investor who switched from an Internet company to a convenience store told the third eye about retail. "Convenience stores are at the forefront of the moment, welcoming capital and other concerns. But the traditional development model is difficult to achieve qualitative changes in the short term, so proceed Diversified innovation is not only an important way for convenience stores to obtain differentiated competitiveness, but also a necessary move to introduce capital and seek more room for development."
Although according to the development path of Japanese convenience stores, local convenience stores are developing at a speed that is invisible. But this may mean that the convenience store concept is being refactored. Who can capture the “pan-consumer” demand that consumers have not yet met, it is possible to develop a super-community service platform with unicorn potential through the convenience store, the physical contact closest to the customer.
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