Many cities are striving to "first store economy" to seize the "top stream" of offline commercial retail

go! Go to the "first store"

　　Suning Carrefour's first restaurant in the country landed in Shanghai; MUJI China's new-generation store debuts in Beijing; Yamamoto Yoshi's first brand flagship store in mainland China landed in Chengdu... Nowadays, online sales are hot, but various offline physical first stores are still frequent Many of them made their appearances as popular online celebrities “punch cards”.

　　From Xintiandi in Shanghai and Sanlitun in Beijing to Chunxi Road in Chengdu and Yan'an Road in Hangzhou, the popularity of many popular business districts in the city is inseparable from their ability to attract the first store tide brand. On the other hand, many cities have also made efforts to "first store economy" and "first start economy", trying to seize the "top stream" of commercial retail.

　　Why is the first store economy blooming everywhere? What kind of market changes are reflected behind its rise? Through the layout of the first store, what kind of regional economic map can be seen? Our reporter conducted a visit.

The first store premiere "can't stop"

　　——Not only the gradient transfer of commercial enterprises, but also the connotation of transformation and upgrading, business model innovation and process innovation have become the focus of attention

　　What does the first store mean? The first is the landing of new brands.

　　Not long ago, the Lavazza coffee shop jointly operated by Italian coffee brand Lavazza and Yum China opened in Shanghai. As Lavazza's first overseas coffee flagship store outside Italy, the opening can be described as "a hard to find". "We have been looking for opportunities to enter the Chinese and Asian markets, this is an important start." Lavazza said.

　　Although the impact of the epidemic cannot be ignored, many brands have chosen to launch their first stores this year. According to statistics from China Business, in the first quarter of this year, Shanghai opened 61 stores of various types. Among them, there are 13 brands, 3 brands, and 45 brands in overseas brands, Hong Kong and Taiwan brands, and mainland China brands; the first store in Asia, the first store in the country and the mainland, the first store in East China, and the first store in the city respectively , 13, 3, 44. Japanese cultural and creative life grocery LoFt, British Harrods department store, Israeli high-end skin care brand ELEVATIONE, etc. are the first time to meet domestic consumers.

　　At the same time, familiar brands also debuted in the form of first stores.

　　The first "Digital Intelligence Theme Salon" store, Maybelline New York's world's first Chaowan concept store, and Saint Laurent Beauty's first perfume theme flagship store in China... Recently, several brands under the L'Oreal Group have opened their first stores. The functions and features are refreshing.

　　"The first store strives to cover new brands, new products, new technologies, new content, and new retail channels to provide consumers with more diversified products and intelligent experiences." L'Oreal China President and CEO Fei Bo Rui reported to this reporter The introduction and opening of the first store reflect the pioneering spirit of the starting economy. Not only is it committed to bringing consumers a richer full-scene consumption experience, but it can also help consumers improve quality and further unlock the potential of consumption.

　　For the first stores of all kinds of flowers, Dong Chao, director of the Institute of Circulation and Consumption of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, concluded: The first store originally meant the first store opened by a well-known brand or chain company within a certain geographic range, such as the world’s first Stores, Asian first stores, national first stores, regional first stores, city first stores, etc., and then further extended to new stores of innovative development of existing brand companies, such as concept stores, new species stores, experience stores, flagship stores, customized stores, etc. . "It can be seen that the first store economy includes both attracting gradient transfers of commercial enterprises and transformation and upgrading of commercial enterprises. The focus is on business model innovation and process innovation." Dong Chao said.

Early experience drives consumption upgrade

　　——In the future, retailing in the Chinese market will not only be limited to products, but also be guided by experience and service. The development of the first store will enrich the supply of brands and services.

　　In recent years, online sales have been hot, why are the first offline stores still rushing to launch?

　　In March 2018, China Business Data carried out the first research on the "first store brand" in China. Subsequently, they found that "first store economy" has gradually become the key word for urban commercial development. Li Jingya, vice president of China Business Data, analyzed to this reporter that a major background for the rise of the “first store economy” is that consumption occupies a more important position in the national economy, driving domestic demand and upgrading consumption to become a macroeconomic hot spot. At the same time, in order to attract consumption backflow, all parties have expressed a strong willingness to introduce first-store brands, especially overseas first-store brands.

　　The data shows that for many first-time brands, entering the shopping mall is a common choice. From the perspective of the shopping mall, introducing the first store is also a good way to highlight the uniqueness of its brand. "In recent years, the number of urban shopping malls has increased significantly, and the subsequent problem is that the brand repetition is too high. Therefore, the shopping mall hopes to introduce more new brands, and the first store has a significant effect on driving passenger flow." Li Jingya said .

　　For brands, the first offline store creates more opportunities for interaction with consumers. In the first "Digital Intelligence Theme Salon" theme store under the L'Oreal Group, the "AR virtual hair color test application" exhibited at the second Expo will be presented with in-store intelligent services, bringing consumers an extraordinary Hair care styling experience.

　　"We want to be able to upgrade the offline channel from sales to experience, so we have integrated many digital, online and offline models in the first store, many of which were first created in China." Faberui said that in the future China The retail market will not only be limited to products but also to experience and service. It is hoped that the emerging consumer experience and ideas will be brought to Chinese consumers, and the market will see more positive signals, which will in turn drive the entire market to upgrade.

　　In Dong Chao's view, the first store economy as a business innovation, its focus is to make up for the shortage of brand consumer supply. Chinese brand construction started later than foreign countries. Regardless of high-end brands or mass brands, the market's main brand cultivation and market control capabilities are weak. Many companies are constrained by capital and lack of human resources, and brand construction is lagging behind. The introduction of foreign brands or the development of local brands through first stores and new product launches will help enrich the supply of branded goods and services.

New Layout of Refractive Area Vigor

　　——Shanghai opened an average of about 2.7 first stores last year. One out of every four is the first “entry”. Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and other cities are favored by the first stores

　　Xintiandi in Shanghai, Sanlitun in Beijing, Chunxi Road in Chengdu, Tianhe City in Guangzhou, Vientiane City in Shenzhen Bay, Chinatown in Sihai, Xi'an... Many consumers are aware of the popular commercial districts with their first stores. Looking at the country, which cities do the first store prefer? Behind its layout, it presents a map of urban fashion.

　　In 2019, many cities have summarized a transcript of the first store brand entry. Statistics show that in 2019, Shanghai opened 986 first stores, Beijing opened 878 first stores, and Chengdu opened 473 first stores. For Shanghai with outstanding performance, it is equivalent to an average of 2.7 first store launches every day. According to statistics from China Business Data, among the first stores opened in Shanghai in 2019, the world's first store and Asia's first store, the nation's first store and the mainland's first store accounted for a total of 24%, which is equivalent to about one in every four first stores This is the first time to meet domestic consumers.

　　Compared with the regional first store, the nation's first store is a concentrated expression of a city's comprehensive strength and commercial charm. According to another statistics from China Business Data, the top ten most densely populated cities in the first half of 2019 are Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Xi'an, Wuhan, Nanjing, and Changsha. Central city or provincial capital city.

What factors do you think about the location of the first store?

　　In the past year, many of the first stores launched by L'Oreal have settled in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. "After years of reform and opening up, these cities have solid business backgrounds, rich business systems, high acumen and maturity. They are among the international consumer cities. Consumers here are happy to embrace new things, and the radiation effect of first-tier cities can be better. Drive the national consumption upgrade." Faberui said.

　　The increasingly optimized business environment and the continuous deepening of opening up are also important reasons for the selection of many first-store locations. Fibre introduced that taking Shanghai as an example, in 2017, L'Oréal obtained the nation's first non-special cosmetics registration certificate in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. Thanks to this, the market for imported products is constantly refreshing, which makes it possible for more and more new products to be launched worldwide in Shanghai.

　　"The location of the first store not only depends on the consumption strength of the landing city, but also attaches importance to its ability to radiate regional markets with points and areas, as well as a reasonable and scientific business circle and urban space planning. The center city where consumption is better." Li Jingya said.

　　It is worth noting that more and more cities are beginning to exert their strength, trying to leverage the "first store economy". Beijing, Shanghai, Jinan, Nanjing, Xi'an and other cities have successively introduced policies to encourage the development of the "first store economy", including opening a "green channel" for the first store service, promoting brand site selection, and providing financial support of up to millions of yuan. These measures are also accelerating the process of brand's first store entry and opening. Many brands said that the consumption potential contained in cities in different regions was quickly stimulated, and that the “sinking” of marketing and channels has become the focus of development of more and more physical brands.

　　"If the time is right, we will also consider opening more first stores in other cities to provide consumers across the country with a richer experience and scenes." Fibre said.

　　Li Jie