On the one hand, it "suddenly collapsed" and "on the verge of bankruptcy", and on the other hand, it achieved periodic profits for the first time and had sufficient cash on the account.
Recently, magical and realistic scenes in the fresh food e-commerce industry are being staged frequently.
On the evening of August 12, the Beijing News Shell Finance reporter learned from the Dingdong Maicai performance conference call that Dingdong Maicai achieved revenue of 6.63 billion yuan (in RMB) in the second quarter, an increase of 42.8% over the same period last year; The net loss of the enterprise was 34.5 million yuan, compared with a net loss of 1.94 billion yuan in the same period last year.
The non-GAAP net profit was 20.6 million yuan, and Dingdong Maicai achieved a staged profit for the first time, with a net loss of 1.73 billion yuan in the same quarter of 2021.
Behind this performance leap, Dingdong Maicai's revenue increased significantly during the reporting period and the marketing cost and contract performance cost were significantly reduced.
However, Liang Changlin, founder and CEO of Dingdong Maicai, admitted that the company's second-quarter profit was partially affected by the epidemic.
Looking forward to the third quarter, Dingdong Maicai may experience a slight loss.
"But our loss rate is improving, and we are very confident that Dingdong Maicai will be fully profitable by the end of this year."
Industry experts said that Dingchudong Shopping has made great efforts to reduce costs and increase efficiency, and it has also paid off.
However, its profit in the second quarter is closely related to the supply guarantee business during the epidemic. The increase in gross profit in the second quarter was mainly due to the increase in commodity prices and the decrease in marketing expenses.
"It is difficult and doubtful whether it can maintain this gross profit or the same growth after the epidemic." Dingdong Maicai also closed its business in several cities during the second quarter.
China's fresh food e-commerce market has broad prospects and has also derived a variety of business models, but its profitability is always a problem. Some experts said that there are enterprises and models that have come out of the fresh food track, but for the field of agriculture, the entire track There are more "pits", longer chains, more complex management, and more time.
As of June 30, 2022, Dingdong Maicai's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were RMB 6.06 billion, compared to RMB 5.23 billion as of December 31, 2021.
Total revenue increased by 42.8% year-on-year
Operating costs were basically flat year-on-year
According to the financial report, the total revenue of Dingdong Maicai in the second quarter of 2022 was 6.63 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 42.8%, mainly due to the strong growth of the company's GMV (gross merchandise transaction) in the same period.
According to the financial report, Dingdong Maicai's GMV (gross merchandise transaction) in the second quarter of 2022 increased by 32.3% year-on-year to 7.12 billion yuan.
Dingdong Maicai's total revenue of 6.63 billion yuan is divided into product revenue and service revenue.
Among them, product revenue was 6.55 billion yuan, an increase of 42.4% from 4.6 billion yuan in the same period in 2021, which was mainly driven by the increase in the unit price of customers.
Service revenue was 80.4 million yuan, an increase of 88.1% from 42.7 million yuan in the same period last year, mainly due to the increase in the number of customers who subscribed to the Dingdong Shopping Mall membership program.
While the company's GMV (gross merchandise volume) grew strongly, its operating costs in the second quarter were basically the same as the same period last year.
Specifically, the company's total operating costs and expenses in the second quarter were 6.63 billion yuan, an increase of only 0.8% year-on-year.
Among them, although the cost of goods sold has increased along with the growth of total revenue, its sales and marketing expenses were 150 million yuan, down 64.2% from 410 million yuan in the same period last year, and the proportion of performance expenses to total revenue also increased from 36.5% dropped to 23.2%.
Dingdong Maicai said that the reduction in the performance cost rate was mainly driven by the increase in the unit price of customers and the improvement of the labor efficiency of front-line employees.
The decline in sales and marketing spending was mainly due to "product development capabilities becoming the main growth driver to attract customers more effectively.
At the performance conference call, Liang Changlin, founder and CEO of Dingdong Maicai, once again mentioned Dingdong Maicai's emphasis and determination on the construction of commodity power.
He said that Dingdong Maicai mainly improves its product power from five aspects: first, to firmly improve the quality of products.
Second, continue to increase its own R&D and production, and develop more Dingdong specialty products.
"Dingdong Maicai is already a food company with R&D and innovation capabilities. In the second quarter, there are 217 SKUs of Dingdong specialty products that "have no one but me"." Third, Dingdong Maicai has strengthened the research on user consumption trends With the help of Dingdong's data capabilities and loyal user groups, the success rate of product development has been improved.
Fourth, develop more consumption scenarios, perceive new demands more efficiently, define new products and cultivate new brands.
Fifth, strengthen infrastructure construction.
Including the largest existing high-standard semi-automatic warehouse, more than 10 food factories, and three large-scale 3F factories are under construction. In addition, the company has invested a lot in the construction of food R&D and quality control.
During the reporting period, the gross profit margin of Dingdong Maicai was 31.6%, a significant increase from 14.6% in the same period last year.
In addition, the company's general and administrative expenses were 150 million yuan, down 49.9% year-on-year, mainly due to a decrease in share-based compensation expenses.
Product development expenditure was 260 million yuan, an increase of 23.7% year-on-year, mainly due to increased investment in product development capabilities, agricultural technology, technical data algorithms and other infrastructure.
The company's net loss in the second quarter was 34.5 million yuan, and the net loss in the same period in 2021 was 1.94 billion yuan.
Under non-GAAP, the net profit of Dingdong Maicai in the second quarter of 2022 was 20.6 million yuan, a significant improvement from the loss of 1.73 billion yuan in the same period in 2021.
The non-GAAP net profit margin also increased from -37.2% in the same period of 2021 to 0.3%, an improvement of 37.5 percentage points.
In addition, in the first half of the year, the revenue of the Yangtze River Delta region increased by 47.9% year-on-year, achieving profitability, and the positive operating profit was 3.7%.
The company's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments in the second quarter were 6.06 billion yuan.
"Dingdong Shopping has made great efforts to reduce costs and increase efficiency, such as identifying sub-categories (Bao Ma's strict selection) for product innovation, and using the scale effect of terminal demand to improve the certainty and quality of upstream agricultural production In the end, it can be reflected in the increase in the unit price of customers and the control of loss.” According to Cui Lili, executive director of the E-Commerce Research Institute of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Dingdong’s business strategy for grocery shopping is in the right direction, and it has also achieved initial results.
However, Liang Changlin also admitted that the profit in the second quarter was partially affected by the epidemic. Looking forward to the third quarter, Dingdong Maicai may suffer a slight loss.
"But comparing our post-pandemic and pre-pandemic data, in addition to revenue growth, the loss rate is constantly improving. We are very confident that by the end of this year, Dingdong Maicai will be fully profitable," Liang Changlin said.
The dilemma of friends and businessmen raises concerns about the model
Liang Changlin: Firm belief in the front warehouse model
Recently, Daily Youxian has fallen into operational difficulties, massive layoffs, and even rumors of the company's dissolution.
The company denied the rumors of dissolution, saying that it only closed the front warehouse and the speed delivery business, and the next day delivery, smart vegetable market, retail cloud and other businesses will not be affected.
However, at present, its APP and small programs are unable to place orders normally, and many suppliers and employees are also collecting debts and wages against the company, initiating lawsuits or arbitrations.
In an interview with the media, the relevant person in charge of Daily Youxian said that Xu Zheng, the founder of the company, has been in contact with investors recently, looking for new financing, and is also trying to find buyers. "I am trying very hard to find a way."
The "sudden collapse" of Daily Youxian has aroused a new round of concerns and concerns about the fresh food e-commerce industry and the pre-warehouse model.
However, Liang Changlin said that even in the same industry, the differences between different companies may be worlds apart, "Dingdong grocery shopping is different from every company in the industry. We have been focusing on one thing and paying more attention to users' needs. Demand and product strength have made us more and more loved by users, and a company that is loved by users is a promising company."
When asked about his views on the pre-positioning model, Liang Changlin said that Dingdong Maicai has continued to improve its loss rate for 10 consecutive months, excluding the three months when the epidemic was severe, and the company is very confident that it will achieve comprehensive and sustainable profitability by the end of this year. .
So I am full of firm belief in the front-loading mode.
"The most important point in judging the pros and cons of a model is: Does it really meet the needs of users? The choice of users determines the success or failure of a business model." He emphasized that the pre-warehouse model can better control fresh food The quality meets the needs of consumers for a better life. "Everyone thinks that the gross profit margin of fresh food e-commerce is low, and we improve it by thickening and strengthening the supply chain; everyone doubts that the loss is large, and we use large order density and forecasting and recommendation technology. To improve; everyone thinks that the quality control of non-standard products is difficult. By standardizing the process and increasing investment in manpower and technology, our quality control should be in the leading position in the entire fresh food industry. After seeing the needs of users, we will Push yourself to improve."
Yu Le, chief strategy officer of Dingdong Maicai, said that compared with before the epidemic, Dingdong Maicai's core indicators such as commodity power, user reputation, customer unit price, and penetration have been greatly optimized. The company believes that compared with the third quarter In the first quarter before the epidemic, the non-GAAP net loss will be optimized by more than 3 percentage points, and the subsequent fourth quarter will continue to optimize on the basis of the third quarter.
Talking about the further development plan of Dingdong Maicai, Liang Changlin said that Dingdong Maicai will focus on the business of fresh food and food. Sticking to fresh food and food, never wavering, eating is the career of Ding Dong’s life. Fresh food is not an ordinary consumer product. To make food full of inspiration and soul, only one team is determined to go all out. , it is possible to achieve this goal." At the same time, Dingdong Maicai will continue to improve the user experience, "We will reconstruct the logistics and warehousing system to achieve accurate location and inventory, and we will optimize service processes and continuously improve people. To serve more users, and to continuously improve the delivery speed.”
"From the perspective of cash flow, Dingdong's grocery shopping is safe for the time being. There are more than 6 billion yuan in the account, and the operating data in the second quarter is also good." In the opinion of Li Chengdong, the founder of Dolphin Club, if Dingdong's grocery shopping can be To maintain this growth, the future can be relatively stable development.
However, he emphasized that Dingdong Maicai's profit in the second quarter is closely related to the supply guarantee business during the epidemic, otherwise it would be difficult to have the current growth. "After all, it has also closed the pre-warehouse business in many cities before." Li Chengdong also It is pointed out that the increase in gross profit of Dingdong Maicai in the second quarter is mainly due to the increase of commodity prices and the reduction of marketing expenses.
"It is difficult and doubtful whether this gross profit or the same income growth can be maintained after the epidemic."
In June of this year, the news of Dingdong grocery shopping "continuously withdrawing from several cities" circulated on the Internet. At that time, the Beijing News Shell Finance reporter learned from the Dingdong grocery store that the cities involved in the closure of the business include Xuancheng and Anhui. Chuzhou, Guangdong Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Qingyuan and Jiangmen, and Hebei Tangshan.
The company said the closure of several city sites was a "regular adjustment of the platform."
Li Chengdong believes that Dingdong Maicai's move at that time was mainly due to the consideration of losses and profitability. "Dingdong Maicai has been losing money all the time, and the financial pressure is relatively large. It is necessary to cut down the urban business that has no hope of making profits."
In addition, "the platform also has competitive considerations."
Cui Lili also believes that whether Dingdong's mode of grocery shopping works well depends on the after-effects.
"In terms of time, the Yangtze River Delta region was affected by the epidemic in the second quarter, which may not be the norm. In addition, from a geographical point of view, the Yangtze River Delta region has always been a region with relatively strong purchasing power and consumption power, which may have something to do with geographical distribution. , I'm not sure it can be applied in other regions." She emphasized that the success of a business model involves many factors, organizational management, industry, market and even the socio-economic environment.
"The front-end warehouse model still has rigid demands in areas with obvious demand for instant delivery (such as the core areas of first- and second-tier cities), but it is necessary to grasp the product demand stratification of these groups and stabilize the output of products and performance. Cost reduction and efficiency increase in upstream links.”
There are many "pits" on the entire track
"The chain is long and takes more time"
China's fresh food e-commerce market has broad prospects.
According to the "2022 China Fresh Food E-commerce Operation Big Data and Development Prospect Research Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") released by iiMedia Research, the market size of China's fresh food E-commerce industry in 2021 will be 311.74 billion yuan, an increase of 18.2% year-on-year. .
During the epidemic, consumers have strong demand for online purchases of fresh food, and users' trust in the fresh food e-commerce industry has deepened. It is estimated that the scale of China's fresh food market will reach 419.83 billion yuan in 2023.
"In 2022, the epidemic will recur, and consumer shopping needs will increase. Fresh food e-commerce has become an important part of ensuring residents' daily life. The industry will continue to expand."
In 2022, the top three fresh food e-commerce brands commonly used by consumers are: Hema Xiansheng (49.8%), Meituan Maicai (39.4%), and Daily Youxian (32.8%). The top three preferred brands are: Hema Xiansheng (36.2%), Meituan grocery shopping (29.5%), Original Life (26.8%).
In the context of the vigorous development of fresh food e-commerce, there is also fierce competition among platforms, and some brands have gained user advantages.
Consumers are more receptive to fresh food e-commerce.
According to the "Report" data, 68.9% of fresh food e-commerce consumers are optimistic about the prospects of the fresh food e-commerce industry, and 86.7% of consumers are willing to recommend fresh food e-commerce to others.
Fresh food e-commerce users have experienced the convenience of shopping. Most users are optimistic about the future development of the industry and are willing to recommend them to others.
"The future prospects of the fresh food e-commerce industry are relatively optimistic, and everyone is mainly concerned about which model is better." In Li Chengdong's view, each model of the fresh food e-commerce industry has its own specific value, "for future winners In other words, there may be multiple forms of business coexisting.”
In fact, when analyzing the future development trend of China's fresh food e-commerce industry, iiMedia also pointed out that the fresh food e-commerce industry is currently in a situation where multiple business models coexist. Ma Xiansheng, RT-Mart Youxian, etc.) are mainly located in first- and second-tier cities, and the consumers are mainly white-collar workers in first- and second-tier cities, while community group buying models (such as Xingsheng Select, Duoduo Shopping, etc.) mainly meet the needs of users in sinking markets. The fresh food e-commerce model meets the consumption needs of consumers at different levels. It is expected that in the future, the fresh food e-commerce market will not have a "dominant" situation, and the coexistence of multiple business models will continue.
Zhuang Shuai, founder of Bailian Consulting, also pointed out that the current online formats of fresh food retail in China include B2C fresh food e-commerce, front-end warehouse model, O2O home platform, store-warehouse integration model and community group purchase model.
The two major formats of O2O platform and store-warehouse integration will become the most competitive formats of the front-end warehouse model. However, due to the limitations of serving online and offline user groups, when the two operating systems conflict with each other, the physical store will give priority to service. For offline user groups, online platforms cannot compete with front-end warehouses in terms of product quality, delivery efficiency and experience.
"In the next five to ten years, the pre-warehouse model will still be a supplementary format for fresh food retailing."
"The channel reform of fresh food will be a protracted battle. my country's fresh food retail is still dominated by more traditional farmers' markets, and there is still a lot of room for reform of fresh food channels in the future. However, it is subject to the long upstream links and scattered agricultural products. The supply and downstream complex city levels, the modernization of fresh food channels in the future, may continue for a long time." A securities analyst previously analyzed.
The profitability of the fresh food e-commerce industry has always been a difficult problem.
However, this did not stop the entrants.
According to previous statistics, among the more than 4,000 fresh food entrants, only 1% achieved profit and 4% achieved breakeven, while the loss of entrants was as high as 95% (including 7% huge losses).
However, the "Report" cited data that as of the end of April 2022, the total number of fresh food e-commerce-related companies registered reached 27,047, nearly three times the 10,315 in 2017.
Internal enterprises in the fresh food e-commerce industry have emerged with multiple business models, and external real estate, home furnishing and other enterprises have entered the market to grab market share, and industry competition has intensified.
At the same time, 65.4% of Chinese fresh food e-commerce consumers have increased their consumption times compared with 2021, and 51.6% of consumers have increased their consumption amount. The frequency and amount of consumers' online consumption have shown an upward trend.
"The fresh food track has established companies and models, but in the field of agriculture, the entire track has more 'pits', longer chains, more complicated management, and more time," Cui Lili said.
Beijing News Shell Finance reporter Sun Wenxuan