It has been less than a year since Mingtong Digital City, which opened the first imported food zone, and it remains to be seen whether the new label can stand.
Editor’s note: This article from the micro-channel public number “noise GlitchTech” (ID: timetech2020), of: Wang Liang, Edit: history into super, Head image: Photo by GlitchTech,released with authorization.
In the eyes of Huaqiangbei merchants with a keen sense of smell, “food” is becoming a new label here.
On March 2, GlitchTech visited Huaqiangbei in Shenzhen and found that several major shopping malls here now have a new business transformation direction: imported food. In addition to the Bauhinia City Food Trading Center, which specializes in selling food, imported foods have been added to the third and fourth floors of Area B of Mingtong Cyber City, the third and fourth floors of Block B of Manha Commercial Plaza, and the second floor of Yuanwang Digital Mall. Special area.
Huaqiangbei first started out with electronic products. Since 2017, it has set off a wave of transformation to beauty. Mingtong Digital City first switched from electronic digital to cosmetics. In the following years, several major shopping malls in the vicinity also began to transform. Until the end of 2020, Huaqiang’s North American makeup market experienced an “earthquake”, which brought this transformation boom to an abrupt end.
In December 2020, the Anti-Smuggling Department of Shenzhen Customs and local police cracked a cross-border e-commerce platform smuggling case involving a total of 600 million yuan in Huaqiangbei, and seized a large number of suspected smuggling of imported cosmetics and skin care products. In the anti-smuggling case, many beauty stalls in shopping malls such as Mingtong and Manha in the Huaqiangbei business district were investigated.
On January 7, 2021, GlitchTech visited Huaqiangbei. In the two major shopping malls, Mingtong and Manha, which were mainly involved in the smuggling incident, almost all beauty stalls were closed.
At the same time, since the second half of 2020, major shopping malls in Huaqiangbei have opened their food specialties one after another. The official WeChat accounts and promotional materials of various shopping malls show that starting from August last year, the international imported food area on the fourth floor of Mingtong District B opened first; in September, the Bauhinia City (two floors) was completely transformed into a global food trading center.
In the Bauhinia City Food Trading Center. Image source: GlitchTech
Mingtong Digital City with a lot of people. Image source: GlitchTech
Since then, the newly-added food area has opened more frequently. In early November, the food area on the third and fourth floors of Tower B opened; in late November, the international imported food area on the third floor of Mingtong District B opened; December 8 , The imported food area on the second floor of Yuanwang Digital Mall also opened.
“Food is the transformation trend of Huaqiangbei”
From Exit B of Huaqiangbei Metro Station, the first thing you will see is Yuanwang Digital Mall. The signboard “Yuanwang Beauty Trading Center (Phase I)” has been added at the entrance. The second floor has become a beauty and import store. Special area for food/daily chemicals.
The staff of the Investment Promotion Department of Yuanwang Digital Mall told GlitchTech that the flow of people is not a lot now. The rent for its food stalls is a little lower at 5 to 6 thousand a month, and the higher is 10,000 to 20,000. GlitchTech noticed that most of the stalls on the second floor of the mall have not yet opened, and there are currently fewer than ten food stores.
Yuanwang Beauty Trading Center (Phase 1). Image source: GlitchTech
According to the staff of the Investment Promotion Department of Manha Commercial PlazaThe rental price of the food stalls on the third and fourth floors is 600 yuan per square meter, but it is already full. If you want to rent, you can help introduce subletting opportunities.
In Mingtong Digital City and Bauhinia City, food stalls are basically rented out. From the perspective of rent comparison, among the four shopping malls, Mingtong Digital City and Zijing City are the two higher ones, and they are also the two earliest food transformations, and their traffic is also larger.
There are still many empty slots in Yuanwang Mall. Image source: GlitchTech
The aforementioned investment-inviting staff of Manha Commercial Plaza said, “We do food here, and we can have one hundred thousand yuan (turnover) a day if we do a good job. He said that now food is the transformation trend of Huaqiangbei.
Foresight Industry Research Institute report analyzed that from “taste” to “normal”, imported food has become an important part of my country’s household food. Data show that the scale of my country’s imported food continued to grow steadily from 2009 to 2019. As of 2019, the scale of my country’s imported food market reached US$90.81 billion, a year-on-year increase of 23.4%.
GlitchTech noted that in Huaqiangbei, imported food types include candy, jelly, preserved fruit, bread, biscuits, chocolate, instant noodles, cooked meat, milk powder, wine, beverages, etc. The purchase areas come from all over the world, the most common are Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.
A variety of snacks. Image source: GlitchTech
A variety of snacks. Image source: GlitchTech
However, food stalls do not only sell imported food, but will be mixed with products produced by domestic manufacturers, such as a preserved fruit called “California Prunes”, which is produced in Shandong. A stall owner introduced that this is a popular food item last year. When it comes to what is circulating in the market, most businesses will sell it. In addition, some stalls will sell milk powder, daily chemicals and other foods together to increase the types of goods in the store.
GlitchTech found that the food at most stalls is similar, but the prices vary greatly. The price of the same food, such as instant noodles from Hong Kong, ranges from 16 yuan to 23 yuan, with a price difference of up to 7 yuan.
“This business is not easy to do”
Niu Heng, who opened a shop in Manha Commercial Plaza, was engaged in the red wine trade. He has his own company in Longhua, Shenzhen. Because he wants to do retail business and open up more channels, he also sees that Huaqiangbei is transforming and has a certain amount of passenger flow. Just settled here.
His stall rent is about 14,000 yuan, and the store houses wine imported from Chile and food at the same time. Niu Heng said that throughout China, his company is the exclusive agent of this wine brand. His idea is to mainly sell wine, and small food is an incidental business, because in terms of turnover, wine still occupies the bulk.
Red wine in Niuheng’s stall. Image source: GlitchTech
He told GlitchTech that there are currently hundreds of people patronizing the store a day, which is not too much. Now it barely meets expectations, and the income and expenditure can be balanced. There are more than a dozen liquor sellers in the entire Manha Commercial Plaza.
He also mentioned that many bosses moved from Hubei Road in Luohu. Previously, there were many imported food markets on Hubei Road. Because of the demolition and reconstruction, many bosses moved from there.
Wu Mingming, the owner of another smaller stall, also wants to sell alcohol. He has his own winery in Shantou, which is health-preserving wine such as ginseng and medicinal materials. He is planning to ship the wine from his hometown.
Wu Mingming’s stall. Image source: GlitchTech
His stall rents are lower, 5,000 yuan a month. There is a small amount of food on one side of the shop, and the other side is still vacant, and the space is reserved for alcohol products. Wu Mingming said that it was his brother who opened a store here before. His brother opened several stores in Huaqiangbei, selling mobile phones and beauty makeup, but the business was not ideal, so he let Wu Mingming take charge.
This store has very little traffic. He said that the current turnover can not pay the rent. He was thinking, “Can you break some inherent thinking and continue to operate.” He felt that the traffic in Bauhinia City is relatively large and talented. Keep going.
Advertising before the Spring Festival. Image source: GlitchTech
Wu Mingming said that the food sales were very good at the end of last year, especially before the Spring Festival, when many people came to buy New Year goods. Nowadays, advertisements for the opening of the food area of these shopping malls and the Spring Festival shopping activities still stand in a prominent position, but it is already the off season. “If you only rely on retail, you can only make a few bucks for goods worth more than a dozen yuan. To increase profits, you still need to rely on wholesale wholesale.”
On the Internet, Bauhinia City has become a landmark of some local self-media attention in Shenzhen because of the sale of food. In the shopping strategy, low prices and rich varieties are its biggest characteristics.
In the Bauhinia City Food Trading Center. Image Source: GlitchTech
However, even in the “treasure place” that opened as the Bauhinia City, known as the “Global Food Trading Center”, many bosses are not optimistic-now the store is deserted and the flow of people is not as good as it was when it opened last year.
On the first floor of Bauhinia City, Zhou Li’s stall is located in the innermost part of the mall. The rent is 30,000 yuan a month. He used to be in the memory card business, and when his business failed, he turned to food. When he came to Bauhinia City in December last year, all the stalls had been rented out, and he sublet the shop from others.
He felt that the peak season before the Spring Festival caused a lot of misunderstandings. Looking at the larger stalls in the mall with more expensive rents, Zhou Li felt that the food business was not easy to do. He said, “One The monthly rent is 60,000 to 70,000 yuan, where do you make it back?”
For newcomers who are new to food sales, finding a source of purchase is also a doorway. He said that his family does not have a direct purchase channel, they are all purchased from their peers, and whoever gets more goods, he will turn a little bit from the other.
An owner of the stall on the second floor of Bauhinia City said that Mingtong Digital City was very popular after the transformation of beauty, and many shopping malls were also undergoing transformation, but Bauhinia City transformed directly from clothing to beauty after a month or two. It has become a food product. Nowadays, many shopping malls are following the trend.
In Huaqiangbei, many people still come by the wind. Even from the Mingtong Digital City, which opened the first imported food zone, it has been less than a year. It remains to be seen whether the new label can stand.