There are still hidden worries after Xiabuxiabu's "broken arm"
About to close 200 loss-making stores, Guangdong accounted for two
Yangcheng Evening News reporter Sun Qiman and intern Liang Yaqi
"That bite of sesame sauce really made me miss it, but apart from that, it's hard for me to find new memory points." Zhao Jia, a post-90s graduate who graduated from a university in Beijing, told reporters that Xiabuxiabu used to be her university. When I was shy, I was one of my monthly hopes: "At that time, I went to eat with my friends, and I could eat very full for less than 100 yuan. It was really satisfying for us as a student, but after graduation, we came to the south. , Almost never eaten again."
The Yangcheng Evening News reporter learned that Xiabuxiabu founder and chairman He Guangqi, who recently re-appointed CEO, said that after more than two months of market visits, it was discovered that some Xiabuxiabu stores had serious site selection errors, which led to losses.
In response, Xiabuxiabu decided to close 200 loss-making stores, including loss-making stores in many cities across the country.
Two stores in Guangdong are about to close
The reporter combed Xiabuxiabu's 2020 annual report and found that as of the end of 2020, Xiabuxiabu Group has a total of 1061 Xiabuxiabu restaurants and 140 Coucuo restaurants.
In 2020, the group opened 91 new Xiabuxiabu restaurants, but due to various commercial reasons, 52 Xiabuxiabu restaurants closed in the same period.
Judging from the restaurant network of Xiabuxiabu Group, most of the restaurants are located in the northern region.
So will the 200 stores closed this time affect the Guangdong region?
A reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News found that there are currently 11 Xiabu Xiabu restaurants in Guangdong, including 2 in Guangzhou, 7 in Shenzhen, 1 in Jiangmen, and 1 in Zhaoqing.
The reporter called the Xiabu Xiabu restaurant under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province in response to the closure of the store. The Guangzhou Xiabu Xiabu staff told the reporter that the two stores in Guangzhou will not be affected by the closing turmoil and will open normally.
The staff of Jiangmen and Zhaoqing stores said that they have not received any notice at the moment.
Shenzhen, which has the largest number of Xiabuxiabu restaurants in Guangdong Province, has closed stores.
Shenzhen Zhuoyuehui store, Shenzhen Yifangtiandi store, Shenzhen Vanke Yuncheng store also stated that the stores will not be closed, while the staff of Shenzhen Huangting Plaza store and Shenzhen Bantian Jiahua store informed reporters that the store will be closed on August 31 .
In addition, as of press time, no one answered the phone number of Shenzhen Houlang Xintiandi store.
Xiabuxiabu’s annual report shows that Xiabuxiabu has more than 12 million members in 2020. At the same time, “the group encourages customers to increase dining benefits through recharged consumption, and the total recharge amount in 2020 will increase by 70% compared to 2019”.
If the loss-making store is closed, will the use of Xiabuxiabu's stored-value cards be affected?
In response, a reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News called the Xiabuxiabu staff. The staff said that the stored-value card can be used in Xiabuxiabu stores across the country, and a refund can also be applied for in the membership card package.
Claiming to retake the mass consumption route
Historically, most of Xiabuxiabu stores were concentrated in the northern region, resulting in an imbalance in the operational layout.
Xiabuxiabu stated in its 2020 annual report that this year it will focus on developing markets in East China and South China. In the next three years, East China and South China will be key areas for expansion.
Zhao Jia also felt that unlike Xiabuxiabu, which can be seen everywhere in Beijing, after returning to Guangdong, he rarely heard of this restaurant, and even many locals have never heard of it.
Today, Zhao Jia has lost her loyalty to Xiabu Xiabu. Zhao Jia said that after Xiabu Xiabu opened in Guangzhou, she once went to the store to spend, but found that the price was not as good as it was in the past.
"I don't know if the price of the Guangzhou store is higher or the price has risen. When I was in college, I and my roommate could eat a lot for 70 or 80 yuan, but now it costs 160 yuan for both to eat." As a consumer, Zhao Jia feels that there is a "price band" choice for catering consumption. There are not many restaurants to choose from when the per capita price is less than 40 yuan, but when the per capita unit price is more than 80 yuan, the range of choices is wider: " There are too many options to eat for 160 yuan, why should I eat Xiabuxiabu?"
The reporter looked through the Guangzhou Xiabuxiabu Gaode Land Store on Dianping and found that the per capita consumption of the store reached 85 yuan.
In the thousands of user reviews, comments on "price increase" are also everywhere.
Is today's Xiabuxiabu no longer "close to the people"?
A reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News came to Xiabuxiabu at Gaode Land Spring Plaza in Tianhe District, Guangzhou with questions.
It coincides with the golden meal at 7 o'clock in the evening on Sunday, and there are still many vacancies in Xiabuxiabu, and there are already long queues of diners next door who often come to meet up.
The Xiabu Xiabu store’s single set menu ranges from 58 yuan to 168 yuan, which include pot bottoms, vegetables, staple food, drinks and a meat dish, and the two-person set menu ranges from 148 yuan to 188 yuan.
Based on the lowest price of a single set meal of 58 yuan, plus the sauce fee of 8 yuan per person, two people need to spend at least 132 yuan.
He Guangqi also said frankly that in the past year or two, the location and business model of some stores have been deviated, and some of them have violated the original intention of the brand based on mass consumption.
He said that in the future, Xiabuxiabu will re-take the mass consumption route and keep the unit price of less than 60 yuan. The new generation of stores will also continue to focus on "single pot" and "bar" dining models.
In this regard, China’s food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng pointed out that Xiabuxiabu is originally a low-end positioning, with no differentiation in service, and general quality, supply chain, and brand tonality: “In the catering industry, it enters full competition. Xiabuxiabu’s high-end catering is difficult to achieve success. Xiabuxiabu lacks a clear understanding of its own positioning and shortcomings, which is a core reason for the poor performance of its entire high-end brand.”
“In the future, how Xiabuxiabu builds its sub-brands and how to meet the core needs of the new generation remains to be seen. The main brand of Xiabuxiabu should be strengthened first. The "five-more" strategic layout of scenarios, multiple channels, and multiple consumer groups will have a greater chance of winning. Otherwise, it will be difficult to make a good sub-brand if the main business is not strong." Zhu Danpeng emphasized.
One-person hot pot may lose competitiveness
While trying to retake the route of mass consumption, Xiabuxiabu did not forget to extend its tentacles to mid-to-high-end brands.
Xiabuxiabu's mid-to-high-end hot pot brand Coucou has developed in a "hot pot + tea rest" model, and has become the group's second growth curve.
As of July this year, the number of stores across the country has exceeded 150.
According to Xiabuxiabu's 2020 annual report, Coucou realized revenue of 1.689 billion yuan in that year, accounting for more than 30% of total revenue, an increase of more than 10% year-on-year.
Unlike Xiabuxiabu, which is declining, at present, Coucou has a strong appeal to young people.
Take the Coucuo store in Guangzhou K11 as an example. At around 7pm on August 21 (Saturday), the number of equivalent tables in the store reached 60 tables.
Li Xin is a fan of Coucou hot pot, but has never eaten Xiabuxiabu.
He told the Yangcheng Evening News reporter that in his memory, the small hot pot wind had blown for a while, but now he cares more about the social scene of hot pot.
When the reporter visited the shop, he also saw that the Xiabu Xiabu store had a bar counter design, creating an izakaya-style "food for one" atmosphere.
When the reporter was in the store, about four or five consumers in the store were consuming alone, and the content of consumption was basically set meal.
Single-person fast-food hot pot used to be the label of Xiabuxiabu. However, in 2017, Xiabuxiabu underwent reforms, reducing the number of counter seats in some stores and increasing the standard four seats.
After the transformation, Xiabu Xiabu seems to have fallen into an awkward position, and its original features have become increasingly blurred.
Zhu Danpeng said that the Xiabuxiabu-style "one person, one pot" model may have lost its competitiveness: "One of the biggest attributes of hot pot is social interaction. One person, one pot has actually deviated from the core needs of the new generation of consumers. This is also a sip. The reasons why Buxiabu is not sought after and favored by consumers are not outstanding enough in terms of quality, brand, scene, service system, and customer stickiness."