Model business school attribute

Both Alibaba and JD.COM have launched renovation plans for "mom-and-pop stores": Ali announced that it would open 1 0000 "Tmall stores" within1year; JD.COM announced that it will open 100 convenience stores with JD.COM brand in the next three years.

Start-ups such as Convenience Bee and Scarlet Convenience also received financing of 1 billion yuan in the past year, opening at the speed of dozens of stores a year.

……

Crazy horse racing, crashing together, for a time, China's "Jianghu" in the convenience store was filled with smoke. However, is this a vent or a virtual fire?

At present, the so-called "regular army" of traditional convenience stores and the "new power" of new e-commerce giants are all based on quantity, and rely on short-term viral replication to achieve rapid expansion.

Recently, the "20 18 China Convenience Store Development Report" jointly issued by China Chain Store & Franchise Association and Boston Consulting said: in 20 17 years, the growth rate of convenience store industry in China reached 23%, the market scale exceeded19 billion yuan, the number of stores opened and the same-store sales both increased, and the market space in first-and second-tier cities was huge.

However, there are huge hidden dangers behind the rapid growth: the same-store growth rate of department stores, hypermarkets and other formats has gradually fallen to the negative growth range, and convenience stores, as a small format, are rare physical retail formats that are still growing.

Convenience stores that are close to consumers and have many outlets have become a breakthrough for online landing and solving the last mile problem. Therefore, it is no accident that convenience stores are targeted by capital giants, and JD.COM convenience stores are typical representatives.

It is understood that there are two types of convenience stores in JD.COM. One is to "merge" into the mom-and-pop store like Alibaba; The other is to cooperate with the company, that is, the company chooses a place to open a shop, and JD.COM gives it a title, which is higher than the couple's shop in grade. Both forms are provided by JD.COM, and the owner shall bear the decoration expenses. Then the shopkeeper ordered the goods from a platform called Zhang Baobao in JD.COM, and the goods were delivered to the door by the distribution system in JD.COM. So, in fact, JD.COM did a B2B thing, but did not directly participate in the operation and management.

Obviously, this cooperation, JD. The wishful thinking of COM is to expand the entrance of offline traffic and make increments. So what benefits does this bring to the store? A shopkeeper in JD.COM convenience store told China Foreign Management that most shopkeepers still have brand awareness and want to be high-end and famous. Joining 7- 1 1 may cost hundreds of thousands of joining fees, but cooperation with JD.COM does not require joining fees, which also improves the level and popularity of the store. In the owner's view, the store only used JD. Buy goods from JD.COM, that's all, no JD. COM's participation.

Zhou Yong, a professor at Shanghai Business School, told China Management: On the positive side, the "small shops" made by JD.COM, Ali and many other giants are all around B2B, that is to say, the big point is to do supply chain, and the practical point is to do supply and wholesale, wholesale with retail. Because big companies have the advantages of supply chain, price and logistics distribution, it is understandable to do this business. Through such integration, from the beginning of supply, the existing traditional small shops will be gradually transformed to make them more standardized, credible and tangible, and even become the hub of all channels. This is a matter of infinite value.

A big difference between China retail and foreign retail is that although these small shops are efficient, their overall image is relatively backward. Through the empowerment of Internet companies, these small stores have realized the transformation from traditional formats to modern formats through the transformation of Internet, mobility and digitalization. This is also one of the important contents of new retail.

However, Zhou Yong said that there is another side to this story: small shops have their own calculations, they are practical and flexible, they are price-sensitive, and cost control is more effective than large convenience companies. Therefore, their principle is simple: do what is advantageous and do what is unfavorable. I won't be fooled by big companies. If I can't see it, I'll turn around and go it alone at once, and I'll still have a good life.

Well, actually, JD. COM's stickiness to small shops, or the loyalty of small shops to JD.COM, is not very high. However, JD.COM will never be satisfied with being a convenience store only as a retail terminal. It always likes to make dishes bigger, and it is no exception in the field of convenience stores.

Actually, JD The "convenience" concept of COM has the meaning of imitating Japanese one-stop service. However, most local convenience stores have a common problem-"the shape is similar to the spirit", learning the external skin of Japanese brands, but not the real core. Compared with foreign brands, these local brands are more like the upgrade of traditional grocery stores. Not only the homogeneity of products is serious, but also the service attitude and quality are difficult to compare with those of Japan, China and Taiwan Province Province. In this regard, Zhou Yong said that from the perspective of commodity climbing and business climbing theory, it is good for both customers and businesses to extend the content of brands, sales and services appropriately.

However, consumers in China have steelyard in mind. They have different brand preferences for different service needs and will not agree that one merchant can meet all needs. Therefore, the idea of becoming a "convenient one-stop train" and doing all the business is often a failure.

Seeing the broad market prospects, they have repeatedly accelerated the opening of stores, but the fast opening of stores does not mean that investment enterprises can grasp the essence of convenience stores. They must understand consumers, and whether they can make a profit is another matter.

As the entrance to test the "new retail", Zebra Capital invested $300 million in the entrepreneurial project "Convenience Bee", which was defined as a technology-driven innovative convenience store enterprise. The so-called innovation is reflected in the fact that Convenience Bee has built a "store +App" dual-line operation structure from the very beginning. There are four choices in shopping experience: online payment, door-to-door delivery and online payment, and offline self-lifting; There are two options online: self-service shopping in the store and traditional checkout at the cashier after picking up the goods. Among them, home delivery seems to be the convenience that more people think. In fact, only a few shop assistants deliver goods, and the transportation capacity is definitely not enough, but it is difficult to build a self-built logistics team in the short term.

Convenience Bee mentioned in the company's vision: "Convenience Bee will improve the existing retail model through the Internet. Use big data and intelligent software and hardware to break through the inherent convenience store shopping experience, take users as the center, and provide exclusive services around each individual user, so that users can get practical convenience. "

It is the convenience bee that wants to break through the inherent shopping experience, which seems to run counter to the business logic of convenience stores, leading many people to understand convenience bees directly. In fact, the so-called internet mode of convenience bee is just an additional App, but it is different from traditional convenience stores in terms of checkout method and product recommendation. Moreover, convenience bees have not formed enough competitive differentiation with other convenience stores through an App. After the initial subsidy stops, how to attract customers to stay on the App may be a problem that needs to be considered after the convenience bee.

Zhou Yong said that to be an enterprise, we must have an insight into the real needs and hit the pain points and demands of consumers, and we must not fantasize, let alone fantasize. The result of fantasy and fantasy will only regard "false demand" as "real demand" Therefore, what is "logical" may not work, and what seems to work may not be valuable. If innovation cannot make consumers "happily accept", everything is "no use". In fact, the fundamental attribute of convenience stores is to meet the basic convenience needs of consumers, that is, to sort out the goods, which is a "basic skill." As for other technological innovation, model innovation or IP innovation, it is only an empowerment after "basic skills".

Comparatively speaking, as a regular army of traditional convenience stores, Beijing "supermarket sends Rosen" (the result of cooperation between supermarket and Rosen) has a more accurate grasp of consumer demand.

The convenience store format of the supermarket really started with the cooperation with Rosen. Last August, three convenience stores named "Supermarket Rosen" appeared in Haidian, Beijing, which became an instant hit. At present, 9 supermarkets have opened Rosen. The speed of opening a store is not fast, but it is worth noting that the "atypical" characteristics of supermarket Pai Rosen pay attention to the compound format according to local conditions-every store is different.

Take Beijing Sidaokou Rosen Store as an example. This convenience store is a typical compound format, and the combination is very bold. It is a model of "convenience store+book bar+tribute tea+flowers". In addition to buying commodities needed for daily life, consumers can also order a drink at the book bar to rest and read. This layout consideration is related to the unique geographical location of Sidaokou Store. The store is located in Xueyuan South Road, Haidian District, surrounded by many famous schools such as Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing Normal University, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and Central University of Finance and Economics. Therefore, the combination of this book bar and tribute tea is also very targeted, so it is more popular. Daily sales can reach more than 20 thousand yuan, which is a good result in domestic convenience stores.

Li Yanchuan, chairman of Supermarket Development, told China Foreign Management that apart from policy support, the most important thing is the influx of capital, which leads to disorderly opening of stores. For example, the cost of opening some convenience stores is too high, and the rent for one square meter is twenty or thirty yuan a day. Of course, all the money has been spent, but it is doubtful whether this store can make a profit now. "The most important thing to open a shop is that you have to identify your customer base, so that you can know what kind of goods you want to organize and what kind of environment. Everyone wants to occupy land and everyone wants to open a shop. The key is to calmly consider this format. " Li Yanchuan thinks.

10 years ago, the physical business in China had a stage of frantic staking and opening stores, and the ending is now very clear. A large number of shops are either closed or closed. In this regard, Zhou Yong concluded: China businessmen have a kind of "hubris" and "imperial complex". Before 15, when I was a little older, I was arrogant and wanted to be an "industry emperor", and the result was "zero"; And our current "businessmen" have a kind of paranoia, talking to themselves, that is, they don't have a deep insight into the real needs of consumers.

In fact, the overall profitability of the convenience store industry is not optimistic. According to public information, there are only a few convenience store brands that can achieve profitability at present, such as Familymart and Rosen. Even the well-known 7- 1 1 can't make a stable and sustained profit in China. Earlier, it was also reported that the largest convenience store chain in Beijing was forced to seek acquisition because of operational problems.

Convenience stores are hot and deep, which not only requires a lot of capital investment, but also is influenced by many external factors. Zhou Yong believes that the convenience store industry is not fun, and convenience stores all over the world are supported by big groups. Convenience stores are not well run, even people who lose money will be afraid of "burning money without a bottom line" Therefore, it is considered that convenience stores are investors, many of whom will become "cannon fodder" and have no income.

After all, Ito Yokado took 40 years to make a 7- 1 1.