In an industry that has experienced feng shui and capital baptism, how can we get out of our own path?
Editor’s note: This article is from WeChat public account “Linked Network Information” (ID :lingshouzixun), author Liu Guozheng.
In May 2019, the China Chain Store & Franchise Association released the list of top 100 convenience stores in China in 2018, of which no more than 20 brands were developed across regions, and 80% of convenience store companies focused on the local market. Today, Let’s talk about the majority of the industry: the regional convenience store.
About regional convenience stores, especially single-city convenience stores, those who are optimistic have a deep understanding of a city, a region, a better understanding of consumers, and a better understanding of the market; Faced with various kinds of rents, artificial pressures, and on the other hand, facing the double pinch of national chain convenience stores and new entrants, as a regional convenience store operator, in the industry that has experienced the enthusiasm and capital baptism, how to get out of their own What about the road?
1,Opportunities and Challenges
Many people are accustomed to comparing our convenience stores with Japan and South Korea, comparing the industry market penetration rate, per capita convenience store consumption and other indicators data, and concluded that the overall growth of convenience stores is huge.
What is the future of the convenience store industry? We don’t discuss it here, but I personally think that when the convenience store is just starting and developing, our entire society, market, consumption environment, channels, etc. have undergone tremendous changes, possibly Japan. The development process of convenience stores and even some historical practices do not have absolute guiding significance for us, so we don’t have to be blindly superstitious and imitate. Of course, this does not mean that it is simply negated. If it is applied, it has been proven to be effective. It can completely improve innovation and continue to work hard.
Where is the biggest opportunity for a regional convenience store?
Concentration, easy management, promotion, cost sharing, standardization and differentiation balance are better… These are the advantages and opportunities of regional convenience stores, but personally think that the biggest opportunities are:
The depth of understanding of the city and consumers.
ThisKind of understanding can not be solved solely by chain, standardization, capital, etc. What is more needed is:
Grounding gas, living gas, time accumulation.
Many operators like to learn Japanese convenience stores. This is fine, but there is an old saying in China:
It is better to have a book than a book. For example, at the commodity level, many convenience stores in the past few years were cooking in Oden and making sushi. In the past few years, many practitioners have adjusted and started to make some local foods, such as meat sandwiches, fritters, burritos, hot and sour powder, etc. I think more thanks to the regional convenience stores, thanks to their understanding of the local market, research on consumers, and in-depth study of the region.
The ready-to-eat fresh food from the non-standard products to the standard, and then to the differentiation of the standard, the localization of the standard, this action, the regional convenience store has a natural advantage, of course, this is only a point, In the same way, other business, marketing, and regional convenience stores are also better able to penetrate the local area, and the city can provide services that are more in line with local consumers’ preferences.
Where is the biggest challenge for regional convenience stores?
From the outside, the challenge of industry consensus comes from competition and cost pressure. Many people think that convenience stores are a low-key and easy-to-use industry, which also leads to a large number of entrants, large and small. The competitors are Lin Li, but in fact, convenience stores are easy to enter, and it is difficult to survive. As for living well, many convenience stores may not be able to walk this step and die. 
If you want to ask me where the biggest challenge is, my answer:
The constant change in consumer perceptions and needs is also a challenge for the entire industry.
2,Respond and break
First, provide two points of view. If the operator is not aware, the more likely it is to do, the more mistakes there are.
First, don’t expect to pass a class, a book can solve all your problems.
I have seen many retail industry entrepreneurs who like to listen to classes and like to participate in a lot of training, which will definitely help the business, but more importantly, these thingsThe most important role is to open our thinking and optimize our philosophy. As for the specific approach, it is based on the concept, the product under the thinking, can learn, can refer to, but can not be copied, in the convenience store operation, no application A versatile tool for all businesses.
Second, your own problems, your own pain, you know clearly, you just want to see if you are willing to see, willing to admit.
No matter how far it develops, any company will have its own problems. For various reasons, we can modify it a little, but for the operators themselves, they must be clear at any time and place. The problem can be seen, the existence of the identity problem, this is the starting point of our growth, avoiding good words, telling more, and I believe.
So, how can regional convenience stores play their own advantages and continue to develop more well? Providing personal views and expecting to play a role in ignoring jade:
I love, have temperature
Whether it is a business or an individual, if you don’t like the retail industry or the convenience store, you don’t have any feelings, and all the upgrades are impossible. Almost all successful retail operators, when talking about how to do this industry, will mention words like love, love, and enthusiasm.
Love is the root of everything. Of course, there are two kinds of love for the industry: innate love, love the day after tomorrow. One is because I like to enter the industry, the other is more and more like after entering the industry, I belong to the latter.
As an operator, you should be good at discovering the beauty of the industry, but also to drive the company, the team, the convenience store, and the convenience store.
There is temperature. I originally separated these two points, but in the end, the reason is that only the operators love this industry, the company and the store will have the temperature, and the temperature is convenient. The store is the only way to win in a regional convenience store.
Second, take advantage:Everything, people, and
The biggest advantage of a regional convenience store can be summarized in two words: location, people, and.
Familiarity, understanding of the region, city, understanding of customs, customs, and consumer preferences, operators must use this advantage, make great efforts, in-depth research, and create suitable systems, commodities, Service, do a convenience store with temperature, upgrade the location to the location and location.
As mentioned earlier, changes in consumer perceptions and needs are the biggest challenges we face.The natural advantages of regional convenience stores provide an objective condition and basis for answering this question. If we do not realize it and do not do it, it is definitely a waste of quality resources.
Three, do a good overall positioning, staged positioning
I have been in contact with convenience stores of different sizes. Some have just opened two or three stores just started, some have opened twenty or thirty stores in the same city, and of course there are hundreds of stores, for different scales and different developments. In the stage, we must do a good job in overall positioning and phased positioning.
The overall positioning of most operators is relatively stable and continuous optimization, but different stages of development must have different positioning, corresponding strategies, strategies and tactics, because of the different stages of external Environment such as competition, recognition, etc., internal conditions such as team ability, negotiation resources, etc. must be different. If you can’t make a matching position, development will have problems, and even survival will have problems.
Four powerful learning and improvement skills, creating features
Convenience stores are on the road of learning and improvement from the very beginning. At this stage, they should also add their own convenience stores. Relatively speaking, regional convenience stores are more likely to create local characteristics. A convenience store with its own characteristics.
We talked about standardization and differentiation for so many years. For regional convenience stores, the basic norms and standards are more and more standardized, but we must make full use of our regional advantages in goods and services. I have explored patterns and systems that are consistent with local consumption habits. In this respect, I encourage models and standards to differentiate.
Five, refined operation, efficiency first
Doing a good job and refining the operation is the only way for every industry and every enterprise. In addition to the refinement of the industry, regional convenience stores should start with local consumers and seize The mouth of local consumers, seize the heart of consumption, and seize the feelings of consumers.
Efficiency and convenience have always been one of the biggest advantages of convenience stores in the minds of consumers. Regional convenience stores should demand and upgrade themselves with higher standards than the industry.
Six, commodity system construction and product optimization
Convenience store has developed to this day. After many stages and multiple baptisms, the most fundamental connection point with customers is still merchandise. Only when the consumer first satisfies the consumer, can it be further generated with the consumer. More interactions and relationships.
It can be seen from the chart that the main business categories of convenience stores are different in different business categories, such as 7-11, fast food fast food sales account for nearly 50%, and overall food sales account for more than 90%. This data is for reference only. Not all convenience stores, special regional convenience stores must completely copy this category.
The creation and construction of the commodity system is the foundation of the convenience store operation. For the regional convenience store, it is essential to create a commodity system suitable for the region and the city. The system is completed and then based on the consumer’s likes. Demand changes continue to optimize.
As for how to create and optimize, the space is limited, not discussed here, the follow-up will be written separately.
Seven, new and old things, each useful
The current business environment, new things, new concepts, new ideas emerge one after another, how to face the impact of these new things, how to choose when facing new and old things, is the need for regional convenience store operators to think hard problem.
In the face of new things, do not blindly refuse, do not blindly follow, do not move hard, for the development of the enterprise, match to suit their own reuse, such as new media, not to say that we write a copy, make a video It is ok, and it is not necessary to have the same store standards. As a regional convenience store, you must make your own regional characteristics, considering the acceptance and preference of local consumers. If you directly imitate cross-regional chain convenience stores, foreign conveniences Shops are completely lost their own advantages, and toddlers; for example, community group purchases, regional convenience stores are definitely more in-depth understanding of the community, consumers in the community, from the goods, methods, services and other aspects to meet their needs.
For the old things, you should review their applicability and continue to optimize and improve, instead of blindly losing them. For example, members, membership system is really good for convenience stores, but I have come across regional convenience stores, and few personal judges have done a particularly good job in this area, which can impress consumers.
Speaking so much, in fact, for regional convenience stores, there is still no thorough talk, full talk, this industry seems simple, anyone can do it, but in fact, this industry is really not simple, for operators In terms of responsibilities, we look forward to more thinking, communication and communication.
Finally, give all convenience store operators ten words:
Deeply cultivate a city and love a city.
*This article is linked to the business network