At the beginning of the new year, Leerle, a local affordable supermarket brand in Hunan, announced that it would open up its national franchise and would "do a big job". In the second half of 2023, Hunan Supply and Marketing Group will begin to build a supply and marketing supply and supply parity supermarket, focusing on township areas, and aiming to reach 300 stores by the end of this year.
At the same time, traditional big-name supermarkets such as Hema and Yonghui outside the province have also begun to deploy affordable supermarkets.
The rivers and lakes of affordable supermarkets are becoming more and more popular, how can "Hunan Zihao" stand out from the encirclement?
The market size is more than one trillion yuan.
Kan Caijun has been to Leerle supermarket.
To be honest, the first feeling is dirt. The door seems to be in the style of the last century, the goods are compact, a little messy, and the experience is not good.
But it does not prevent Kan Caijun from "sweeping" inside.
For no other reason, it's cheap.
The price of the general supermarket is more than 80 yuan, and the price of the box of brand chocolate is 12 yuan here, and the price of the well-known brand milk powder with a unit price of 37 yuan is 24 yuan, and even the fresh milk of a single bottle is a few yuan cheaper than the outside......
Cheap is king. At present, Leerle supermarket has opened nearly 3,900 stores nationwide.
Why can cheap supermarkets become popular?
From the perspective of the consumer market. In recent years, consumers have become more and more rational and cautious, and cost-effective goods have become the first choice.
According to Kantar Worldpanel's China Shopper Report 2023, China's FMCG industry has seen a modest recovery in the first three quarters of 2023, with growing consumer interest in healthy, cost-effective and unique products.
According to the "2023-2028 China Discount Store Industry Competition Analysis and Development Prospects** Report" released by the China Research Institute of Puhua Industry Research Institute, in 2021, the market size of China's discount retail industry will reach 162 trillion yuan, CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 4% in the past five years.
Optimistic about the market prospects, Hema reacted quickly. On December 30, 2023, the affordable version of Shanghai Hema Ole Pinghu store opened, and business is booming, both in terms of the number of visitors and the unit price of customers, which is much higher than that of the downtown store.
It is reported that in 2024, Hema outlets plan to enter Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Beijing and other provinces and cities, and are expected to open 500 new stores.
Different brands have their own "killer features".
The concept of a cheap supermarket is not new.
Costco in the United States and ALDI in Germany are the pioneers of European and American countries. The former is now the largest membership-based supermarket chain in the United States, and the latter is a "century-old store".
Among them, Costco entered the Chinese mainland market in 2019, and the first store opened in Shanghai, which immediately triggered a shopping wave with affordable **.
Whether it is a foreign Costco and ALDI, or a domestic Hema Outlet and Leerle supermarket, the best is a unified note, but the ways and means of achieving it are not the same.
Costco's goods are often a box, a dozen, a barrel, and the volume is very large, similar to wholesale. At the same time, a procurement system with OEM production and OEM production as the core has been established to create a vertical chain and reduce costs.
Domestically, Hema Outlet has also adopted this model.
Leerle supermarket relies on a strong ** chain, which is directly connected to Leerle warehouse distribution by the manufacturer, and then shipped to stores and franchise stores, saving a series of operating costs such as shelves, bar codes, and authorization.
At the same time, Leerle supermarket vigorously reduces costs in rent, decoration and other links, and invests less if it can be less, and does not invest if it can not invest.
This is also the direct reason why Leerle supermarket looks earthy and low-grade.
Cheap is the last word, but you can't just rely on cheap.
Can you have the last laugh if it's cheap?
Cheap is the last word, but you can't just rely on cheap if you want to survive.
The reason why Costco is popular, in addition to being affordable, is that it is of excellent quality, does not sell fakes, and has good service, and can be returned if you are not satisfied.
How to survive in the fierce competition, the "old mouth" supply and marketing supply and affordable supermarket is taking another road.
Relying on the strong supply and marketing system and platform procurement, direct supply effectively reduces costs. Not only that, but they went out of the city and attacked the township, which can be regarded as a "corner of safety", avoiding the main battlefield with the most fierce competition.
On January 3, the supply and marketing supermarket Ningxiang City Huaminglou Town store, consumers were choosing goods. Photo by Hunan **Quan** reporter Fu Cong).
Supermarkets like Costco or Hema Outlet will probably never bother to go to the towns and villages to do business. The supply and marketing cooperatives originated in the countryside and took root in the countryside, and have a "golden signboard" in the hearts of the majority of farmers, which are deeply liked by local consumers.
Compared with the supply and marketing of excellent supply and marketing to the countryside, Leerle supermarket focuses on the city, although it has the advantage, but it is inevitable that it will be criticized in terms of shopping environment.
If Hema Outlet had also opened a store nearby, I probably wouldn't have gone to Leerle. A resident who lives near a store in Leerle said.
In the face of more fierce competition, how to improve the shortcomings and find other competitiveness outside the first will be the key to the sustainable expansion of Leerle supermarket in the future.
Kancaijun is happy to see the cheap supermarket "on fire", after all, it will be the people who will benefit.
Welcome to pay attention to the new Hunan client's "ecological and environmental protection through train" topic, and supervise and report the environmental protection problems around you. Scan the *** below to "get on the bus"!
Author |Wang Liang.