How to change the traditional stores in the new consumption era when many brand hypermarkets have closed in recent years?

Carrefour Fangzhuang store suspends business on July 25, and many brand hypermarkets have been closed one after another in recent years

　　How to change traditional stores in the new consumption era?

　　As a large-scale warehouse-style supermarket that used to be a benchmark in Beijing's South City, the Carrefour Supermarket Fangzhuang store located in the northeast corner of Fangzhuang roundabout in Fengtai District will be closed on July 25 for upgrading after accompanying residents for 22 years.

A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily noticed that in recent years, online new retail has continued to develop, and the public's consumption habits have also changed. As well as the rise of local supermarkets such as Hema and fudi, "foreign" supermarkets, which used to be in the limelight, are experiencing new changes. Development bottlenecks brought by consumption scenarios.

　　Carrefour Fangzhuang Store Clearance Sale

　　"Because my store is about to be upgraded and renovated, it will be closed on July 25, 2022..." Recently, many residents in Fangzhuang area found that the Carrefour Supermarket Fangzhuang store posted an upgrade and renovation notice.

A banner was also hung in the supermarket: "Leave a short time for a better reunion".

The clothing area next to it also posted the words 28% off two pieces of the big clearance.

Before the suspension of business, all the goods in the supermarket will be discounted, attracting many surrounding citizens to snap up.

A reporter from Beiqing Daily noticed that many goods in the supermarket were almost sold out, leaving only empty shelves.

　　"More than ten years ago, I came to Carrefour to buy things when I was in school. It was very popular. At that time, the most common complaint about Carrefour was that the checkout queue was too long." Ms. Wang, a resident of Fangzhuang, said with emotion, "Fangzhuang area The business form is single, and Carrefour has effectively improved the lives of nearby residents. In the past few years, I went there once or twice a week at least, and as many as 3 to 4 times a week.”

　　"I saw the news that the business was going to be suspended in the community group, so I came to see it today, to find the memories of the past." Mr. Zhang, a customer in his 30s, recalled that the oversized containers of the Carrefour Supermarket back then were filled with a dazzling array of goods, imported Food, shopping carts that are big enough, and free shopping shuttles that pick up and drop off customers in several communities in Fangzhuang area are the first places to bring fresh experience to the people of Nancheng in Fangzhuang area, where commercial facilities have always been slightly weak.

　　Multiple brand hypermarkets closed one after another

　　As the "godfather of hypermarkets", Carrefour has opened the era of "one-stop shopping" since its entry into China in 1995.

However, with the rapid development of China's retail industry and escalating consumer demands, the retail giant has also encountered bottlenecks in its development.

　　A reporter from Beiqing Daily noticed that as early as March 31, the Carrefour Zhongguancun store, which had been in business for 18 years, officially closed its doors. This store was once Carrefour's largest flagship store in Asia.

Last year, Carrefour closed at least 20 stores across the country.

This year, Carrefour has announced the closure of at least four stores across the country, all of which have been operating for nearly 20 years.

　　According to the data released by the China Chain Store and Franchise Association, the number of Carrefour stores in China in 2016 was 319, and in 2020, it was reduced to 228.

Suning.com’s announcement in response to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s letter of concern in February this year showed that Carrefour China closed seven hypermarkets in the second half of 2021 alone, and Carrefour China’s overall operating income in 2021 will drop by more than 10% year-on-year.

The announcement explained that Carrefour China’s main business has been affected by many unfavorable factors such as the expansion of community group purchases at low prices, the slowdown in consumption growth, and repeated epidemics.

　　In fact, Carrefour’s store closure is not an isolated case. The traditional supermarket that once developed rapidly has now shown insufficient stamina. The Beijing Metro Wanquanhe store, which has been open for 16 years, officially closed on April 10 this year; at the end of February, it is located on Zhichun Road, Beijing. The China Resources Vanguard supermarket closed its doors.

In fact, in the past ten years, the hypermarket brands that were once well-known to the public have closed their stores one by one.

For example, South Korea's Lotte Mart, Spain's Diatian, France's Auchan, and Britain's Tesco have all withdrawn from the Chinese market. Thailand's Lotus has withdrawn its stores in China on a large scale and has been delisted from Hong Kong. Carrefour and Metro were taken over by Suning and Wumart respectively, and Walmart was also closed. Over 30 hypermarkets.

In addition, traditional supermarket brands such as Yonghui, RT-Mart, AEON, and China Resources Vanguard also have related stores... Although online distribution and digital operations have been added, the traditional supermarket format represented by the store model is no longer available. delicious.

　　New consumption gives hypermarkets no advantage

　　The entire Fangzhuang area has a large population. Carrefour, located in the Fangzhuang residential area, has never lacked passenger flow. Why is the supermarket still more and more deserted?

Many residents near the Fangzhuang area said that people's consumption habits have changed, and visiting hypermarkets means higher time costs.

For example, the fresh food area and the department store area are on different floors, and it takes a lot of time to buy only a few items at a time.

In addition, consumers have more choices in shopping channels and can buy daily necessities at a higher cost.

　　Ms. Dong, who lives in the East Third Ring Road, also told the Beiqing Daily reporter that she had not gone to the hypermarket for a long time. She usually buys vegetables in the "vegetable basket" downstairs and the community supermarket. To buy fruit, you can place an order online, or go to Fruit stores, community group buying.

"In the past few years during the epidemic, the number of times I went to the supermarket was very small. The main reason is that the large supermarkets are large, and it is too troublesome to go to the supermarket for at least 2 hours at a time. It is better to shop online and go directly to my home. Moreover, the goods in the hypermarkets are too old and cannot inspire purchases. want."

　　For consumers, a few years ago, the biggest attraction of traditional department stores, including hypermarkets, was the complete range of products. Consumers could buy all the products on the shopping list at one time, and these products were affordable and quality guaranteed.

However, with online consumption so pervasive today, these advantages have been lost.

　　Photography / reporter Fu Ding

　　Video/Our reporter Zhang Jingya

　　expert's point

　　Transformation of traditional stores

　　Not a way to a member store

　　According to Lai Yang, chief expert of the Beijing International Business Center Research Base, "In the era of cloud consumption, after consumption breaks the barriers of time, space, and location, the radiation ability of hypermarkets has also weakened, especially in first- and second-tier cities. With the development of the city, many business districts often develop within the city, and each business district gathers a wealth of shopping malls, supermarkets and other consumer places, and now the radiation capacity of a hypermarket has been reduced from 3 kilometers to 5 kilometers to less than 1.5 kilometers. Congestion has also caused The radiation capacity of the store is further reduced, and the sales volume naturally declines. Various categories that support the profit of the hypermarket are also diverted by other channels.”

　　Under the development of new retail, do consumers really need physical supermarkets?

The Beiqing Daily reporter found that many netizens still share the fun of shopping in the supermarket on social platforms, and these punch-in destinations are mainly emerging warehouse-style membership stores.

For example, in May last year, Beijing’s first local fresh storage-style membership store, fudi, became an online celebrity store after its debut on the East Fourth Ring Road. Data disclosed by the company in July this year showed that the number of members in the two stores in Beijing has reached 100,000.

Beginning last year, Wumart also transformed its hypermarket in Caoqiao into a Metro membership store, announcing its entry into a new track.

Sam's Club is also accelerating the opening of stores. The new Sam's store in Xihongmen has begun to recruit, and a new Sam's Club will be added to the Yongfeng business district in Haidian.

The advantages of personalized products such as fresh food in warehouse-style membership stores have become the secret to attracting consumers.

　　Lai Yang said that the characteristics of fresh products in hypermarkets are not outstanding, and the needs of consumers are solved in small and medium-sized supermarkets at their doorsteps, and they will not waste time going to supermarkets.

Therefore, the business model of the comprehensive category of hypermarkets is declining, but the transformation of traditional supermarkets cannot just chase the momentary popularity and become a member store. own development path.

　　This group of articles / our reporter Li Jia