The popularity of instant alcohol consumption has increased sharply. Can the new retail of alcohol usher in the "second spring"?

　　Author: Luan Li

　　Although the new wine retail model has been in existence for a long time, the traditional wine circulation model still accounts for 95% of the market share in the domestic wine circulation field. However, the reporter learned at the recently held wine circulation industry forum that due to the impact of the epidemic, domestic wine Consumption has been greatly impacted, but the popularity of "instant retail" of alcohol has increased sharply. This change has also brought new opportunities for the development of new alcohol retail that has been hindered.

　　Changes in instant consumption of alcohol during the epidemic

　　At noon on October 3, Mr. Zhang, a 65-year-old Beijing citizen, turned on his mobile phone, placed an order for himself 2 bottles of "Wulianchun" from an e-commerce APP, and completed the payment with WeChat.

Before the epidemic, Mr. Zhang was always used to going to the supermarket to buy wine, but in order to reduce the number of visits to public places during the epidemic, Mr. Zhang asked his children to teach himself to use mobile phones to shop. After several operations, he has become very proficient.

　　A situation like Mr. Zhang's is not an exception. Under the epidemic, with the gradual increase in online consumption of wine, some new changes have taken place in the traditional distribution channels of wine.

　　"At present, the arrival rate in the Shanghai market is less than 20%, and 80% are online orders." Yang Lingjiang, chairman of 1919 (830993.NQ), a new alcohol retailer, said that the epidemic is prompting online consumption, and the current national market of 1919 The online sales segment is growing at a rate of 100%, and individual stores in individual provinces even reach 300%.

　　This is completely different from the market environment faced by the new retail of alcohol in the past few years.

　　After 2015, the new retail of wine entered the first round of rapid growth, and a number of new retail companies of wine have sprung up. Appears to be "stuck".

　　According to data from the China Alcoholic Drinks Circulation Association, although Internetization has been going on for many years, in China's total liquor sales of 1.5 trillion, all liquor e-commerce + liquor new retail market share is less than 5% of the entire industry.

In the first half of 2022, the leading companies 1919 and Huazhi Liquor (300755.SZ) earned 2.34 billion yuan and 5.38 billion yuan respectively.

　　In Yanglingjiang's view, the epidemic is bringing a continuous impact on the alcohol retail industry, because 80% of the consumption scenarios of alcohol consumption come from party drinking, and 80% of them belong to business gatherings. However, under the epidemic, cross-regional exchanges, The party scene has been greatly reduced, and alcohol consumption has also been affected. After all, under the epidemic situation, it is difficult to drink a few boxes of liquor.

However, the market demand for alcohol retail has not disappeared, but a silent change has taken place in consumption scenarios, consumption habits and consumption patterns.

　　It is understood that in the past, 1919 also spent a lot of money on consumer and market cultivation, but the final online orders were only about 20%, and the proportion of online orders in some county-level markets was even less than 20%. Now it has exceeded 50%. %.

　　Cai Xuefei, a wine industry expert, told the First Financial Reporter that the epidemic is an opportunity for new wine retail companies. Although the epidemic has a great impact on offline wine consumption, the leading wine retail companies have relatively complete online sales and distribution systems. And after many years of operation and high brand awareness, the epidemic has instead promoted the process of online drinking and drinking.

　　Changes in the game between old and new channels

　　From the perspective of the industry, the low overall penetration rate of the Internet of alcohol and new retail is closely related to the game between old and new alcohol sales models.

　　Due to the wide range of China and the large differences in consumption levels and habits, wine companies have adopted a multi-level distributor system to strictly control the market by sub-regional classification. As of the beginning of 2022, there will be about 2.95 million tobacco and alcohol hotels across the country, and the market is severely fragmented.

　　When the new wine retail industry was emerging, it also tried to break the ice with a low-price model, and hoped to quickly establish an advantage to increase its market share, but it was suppressed by wine companies, especially the leading liquor companies that control scarce famous wine resources. In the first game, it is obvious to take the initiative. In order to obtain the support of the resources and products of the leading liquor enterprises, the new liquor retail enterprises have to go back to the "old way".

　　In addition, because the industry is too traditional, traditional distributors in various regions still have a strong voice in some regions by virtue of the accumulation of customer resources, the control of distribution channels, and the long-term relationship with the upstream. layout, but under the old rules of the game, the new model does not show the advantage of "dimension reduction and strike".

　　And for new alcohol retail companies, with the development of the industry, the number of offline stores and the scope of the market have become the key to the next development, but the asset-heavy store model makes them feel under pressure.

　　A company insider told Yicai that the new retail business is mainly in the 1st and 2nd tier markets, but to achieve a certain density requires a considerable number of stores, but currently opening a store in a 1st and 2nd tier city requires millions of yuan at every turn. Funding, which also slows down the expansion of new alcohol retail companies with smaller scales.

　　Around 2019, most new alcohol retail companies put expansion opportunities above the integration of traditional tobacco hotels, but the integration effect is not good.

According to the above-mentioned sources, most of the sales of traditional tobacco hotels rely on group purchases. The store owner controls customer resources, and the value of the store is not as great as imagined.

　　Under the epidemic, the acceleration of online consumption of beverages and the shrinking demand of traditional beverage consumption channels have broken the balance of the market.

　　During the visit, some owners of small and medium-sized tobacco hotels revealed that the epidemic has slowed down the sales of alcohol, decreased sales, and took up a lot of money in inventory.

In contrast, although the growth rate of revenue and net profit in the semi-annual reports of new alcohol retail companies in the first half of the year was affected to varying degrees, the overall growth remained healthy.

　　In Yanglingjiang's view, consumers' shopping and alcohol consumption habits are changing under the epidemic. For example, with the rise of instant retail, consumers' requirements for the waiting time from placing an order to getting the product are becoming shorter and shorter. , so the fast delivery to home has gradually become the mainstream, which also makes the traditional wine sales stores re-display and in-store sales models must be adjusted.

　　At the forum, 1919 also announced its recent store strategy adjustment plan, further transforming into instant retail. The original 1919 chain stores gradually turned into 1919 fast-drinking stores, gradually forming "1+4" and "1+5" central stores. +Satellite store model; the store has shifted from heavy asset investment to light asset investment, offline from shelf display to front warehouse, and adopts the distribution model of 1919's own shared riders + third-party riders.

This is very different from the function of traditional liquor chain stores.

　　In addition, 1919 will also open a bistro called MOJT BAR to seize the consumption scene of light gatherings and drinks under the epidemic. While providing consumers with pre-mixed wine, low tide drinks, beer and other alcoholic beverages and light food, the bistro will It will also become a front warehouse to meet the distribution needs of nighttime beverage consumption.

　　However, from the perspective of the industry, it remains to be seen whether the new retail of the wine industry will usher in the "second spring" under the changing of old and new channels.

　　Cai Xuefei believes that the current trend of online wine purchases is sinking and infiltrating from first-tier cities to second- and third-tier cities. For China's new alcohol retail enterprises, relying on network technology to break the blockade of offline channels has positive significance, while in the short term There will be price and product conflicts between new and old channels, but they should tend to converge in the long run.

　　Qin Shuyao, secretary general of the China Alcohol Circulation Association, also said that since 2013, domestic alcohol circulation has gradually shifted from the channel era to the consumer era. Compound form, instant retail also represents an important form and mode of wine circulation in the future, and will also affect the situation and pattern of competition and development of the wine market.

The popularity of real-time wine retailing is increasing, which is a new change in the industry, and it still needs to be further explored in terms of professionalism, fidelity and experience.