There are many problems behind the blowout development, and the reporter's investigation found that -
Miscellaneous Brand Masters in Temporary Food Stores
"Global Goods", "Ultra-low Prices", "Cabbage Prices! Cheap and crying"... Not long ago, various temporary food stores have sprung up.
The reporter's investigation found that on the shelves of all stores, there are few well-known brands and many unknown brands.
At the same time that the concept is hyped and capital is entering the market, the "fire" in the impending food industry may be cooling down.
Customers shop at a temporary store in Wangjing SOHO.
Develop a shopping mall and squeeze into three temporary stores
In the evening, there was a crowd of people in a temporary food store in Changyingtian Street Mall.
At the entrance, a large slogan of "half the price" attracted many customers to enter the store one after another.
Jiaduobao herbal tea is 1 yuan a box, Evian mineral water is 2.8 yuan a bottle, and a large bottle of Pepsi is 2.9 yuan...This store with an area of about 80 square meters mainly deals in hundreds of snacks, beverages, wines, toiletries, cosmetics, etc. Kind of commodity.
"Our store's impending products account for a part, but not all of them are impending. Because the prices are cheap and they sell quickly, they will be replenished almost every day." The clerk said.
There are at least 3 stores with similar shapes and functions in this mall alone.
It is understood that these three stores only opened for business in the past three months.
Among them, two opened in May this year and the other opened in June.
And such scenes also appeared in other popular business districts in Beijing.
The reporter searched the life service software with keywords such as "provisional food" and "food discount" and found that there are many similar stores in areas such as Sanlitun and Wangjing.
Offline brick-and-mortar stores quickly "came into the city", but the online war has already ignited.
On various e-commerce platforms, as long as you search for keywords, you can pop up many shops related to temporary food.
A piece of data shows that the number of temporary food stores currently on the e-commerce platform has exceeded 3,000.
Behind the popularity of temporary food stores is the rapid increase in the size of the market.
Relevant data show that the total output value of China's snack food industry in 2020 will exceed 3 trillion yuan.
Even if calculated based on 1% of inventory precipitation, the market size of the temporary food industry is expected to exceed 30 billion yuan.
In addition, the reporter also found in the survey that compared with offline storefronts, most of the companies in the industry are also "newcomers"-the search results of a business query website show that the current nationwide company name, brand, There are about 113 companies with the keyword "provisional food" in their business scope, and only about 47 companies directly include "provisional food" in their names.
Among them, 45 companies have been registered after 2020, and 39 companies have been registered since this year alone.
Operate third- and fourth-tier brands to support profit margins
At present, the main business models of companies involved in temporary food on the market are direct sales and franchising.
When it comes to franchising, the competition among various brands in the temporary food industry is also quite fierce-some require tens of thousands of yuan in franchise fees, some require deposits, and some do not require franchise fees and deposits.
The lowest pick-up price can be as low as 10% off.
"One-stop assembly of regular, impending, online celebrities, inventory, tailings, and specials." A company in Guangzhou, which had been dealing in imported food all year round before, has changed to a temporary food franchise business this year.
"We are not like a certain company, which requires an initial fee of nearly 60,000 yuan. We mainly focus on the material costs for decoration and design and the cost of getting goods." A staff member introduced that the company has its own purchase channel with more than 20,000 products. Mainly domestic products.
"Generally, you can get two or three discounts on the price of goods, and the lowest can achieve a discount of one discount. The benefits are considerable. The overall gross profit is between 40% and 50%, and the net interest rate is 30%."
A temporary food company in Jiangsu has opened three physical franchise stores in Beijing since last year.
The person in charge of its investment promotion said that joining the brand mainly involves three expenses-deposits, which are based on the store area of 18,000 to 68,000 yuan, equipment and materials costs of more than 10,000 yuan, and the price of the purchased goods.
“Under normal circumstances, a square meter area has to be piled up with goods worth 900 yuan, otherwise it will look sparse and the customer experience will not be good.” The person in charge said that after joining, there will be someone to help guide site selection and marketing.
"The location is very critical. Our store in Beijing can achieve an average daily turnover of 8,000 yuan and an average profit of 35%."
In many temporary food stores, there are more or less first-line brands such as Uni-President, Pepsi, Evian, etc., but the proportion is generally very small.
More impending food brands are relatively unknown in the market.
Industry insiders said this is a business rule-"first- and second-tier brands have thin profits, and third- and fourth-tier brands have more profits."
"If you put so many first- and second-tier brands, you lose money to make a lot of praise, and you must have more third- and fourth-tier brands!" The person in charge of the investment promotion of a temporary food brand is even more straightforward.
He said that the supply and sales system of the first- and second-tier brands is stable, and the risk of production is well controlled. Therefore, there are relatively few impending foods entering the market; in addition, the market prices of the first- and second-tier brands are very transparent, and the third- and fourth-tier brands are relatively vague. "In this business, if you do not have an advantage in the price of first- and second-tier brands, putting them on will make customers feel less affordable and affect the store image. Therefore, more third- and fourth-tier brands must be laid."
Test the unstable supply and increase the risk of product quality
Whether the supply of the temporary food industry is stable and reliable is very important.
According to industry insiders, many companies in the industry have their own channels to get goods directly from manufacturers.
However, there is also the phenomenon of dumping and scrapping goods from dealers and wholesalers at all levels in the market.
"We have warehouses in Beijing and Tianjin. No matter which manufacturer comes from, they will be put in batches for safekeeping." A staff member of a temporary food company in Guangzhou said that with the development of the industry, market demand has increased rapidly.
In the initial stage, many first- and second-tier brand products are the target of the market. "But how can they have so many impending products? More demand forces more purchase channels. Therefore, do they have their own stable supply and warehouses? It becomes a test."
He revealed that the company has been cooperating with many domestic and foreign brand manufacturers to obtain goods all year round.
However, there are also companies on the market that do not have their own stable supply and channels.
Once the following franchisees are out of stock, they will temporarily dump, scrape, and even transfer goods from supermarkets, food retail distributors, wholesalers, etc., and even transfer goods between different places. "This method is stressful, time-consuming, and the source of the product is impossible. Assurance brings risks to the product quality that is already on the horizon."
"It doesn't make sense to ask me the source of the food and whether it is genuine. The contract will state that any product has quality problems such as spoilage, decay, or overdue. I am responsible and I will pay you back." The person in charge of a temporary food company said, The brand got involved in temporary foods in 2013, and it has really opened up a channel for cooperation with large and small enterprises to obtain goods.
However, there are also temporary food companies that do not have their own warehouses and stable sources of supply. "They don’t want to, and don’t dare to show you warehouses and sources. They just "cut leeks" to earn initial fees. We call it a "capital gambling" approach. ."
The reporter found that many of the products in the impending food store are not really impending production dates, and most of them are even shipped out in July and August this year.
In this regard, the shop assistants generally explained that "sells quickly and the goods are fresh."
However, in the eyes of industry insiders, this is not only a marketing tool, but also a signal that brands in the food industry are gradually seeking change as the market evolves.
"In the past, we mainly talked about'provisional', but in fact there are not so many foods in the period. Some of them have been digested by the market, and some have been recycled. Now we mainly talk about discounts, discounts, and special sales." An industry insider introduced It is said that as the market evolves, some industry brands are gradually diminishing the "provisional" label, and concepts such as "discounts", "offers", "promotions" and "special sales" are more likely to arouse consumers' buying psychology. The eyeball and psychological impact are more intuitive and easier to reach.
sound
The "provisional" market needs the survival of the fittest
"The epidemic has affected the supply of many traditional physical channels in the past. The number of people doing impending products has increased, and the discounts and profits for consumers are very large. A large number of merchants want to enter this field." Lai Lai, executive vice president of the Beijing Business Economics Association Yang said that similar to impending and special foods, there are also established and mature business models abroad, but they still need to be cautiously optimistic at home.
Lai Yang believes that the current domestic temporary food industry has a foundation, but there are also certain chaos and risks.
"Not all impending items are easy to sell, and not all impending foods are cost-effective. It needs to be observed whether the quality, taste, food safety and service can be guaranteed." He said that there are actually quite a few chain stores. The headquarters may not have sufficient supply guarantee capabilities and the ability to support the development of stores at all levels at low prices.
Therefore, the risk of the merchant is also great.
"In the end, either the capital will pay the bill, or the small and medium-sized franchisees will pay the bill."
"People with all kinds of ideas are entering the game. Some brand headquarters really want to develop the temporary food industry; some are to speculate concepts, mixed financing and listing, and then cash out; some are to earn franchise fees, etc." Lai Yang said, the temporary food industry. Who will win in the food industry depends mainly on three points: first, whether there is core competitiveness; second, whether there is a stable and high-quality supply guarantee, and a relatively mature corporate philosophy; third, whether there is professional modern management Technology.
Including location selection, product category planning, product big data management and analysis, how to reduce costs, improve turnover efficiency, etc.
"Achieving these three points will enable the company to develop steadily for a long time. The new business format of temporary food requires the survival of the fittest in the market and the scourge of the sand."
Photo by our reporter Li Songlin