Brick-and-mortar stores in decline? These two "foreign-owned supermarkets" are all the rage in China
2023 is a cold winter for the department store industry, with about 700 supermarkets and convenience stores closing across the country in the first half of the year alone.
The long list of closed stores includes household names such as Carrefour, Wal-Mart, Zhongbai Group, China Resources Vanguard and Yonghui Supermarket.
Many people say that with the rapid development of e-commerce platforms, people are shopping online, and offline stores are becoming less and less popular.
It is also said that the current one"Tide of store closures"It shows that there were more stores opened before, and these supermarkets sold homogeneous products, which did not need so much.
However, there are two"Foreign supermarket"But they went against the current and became popular in China, and they are Sam's and Costco.
In 2023, Sam's will open 5 new stores in China, and the total revenue is expected to exceed 80 billion yuan; Costco doesn't release data, but every new store opening is lined up"Long dragon"。
Why in the same competitive environment, these two"Alien monks"What about a higher level of chanting?
In August 2019, the first Costco store in China opened in Shanghai"The red flag is displayed, and the crowd is crowded"。Less than an hour after opening, hot items are already in demand**.
Five years later, the same enthusiasm was played out again in Shenzhen, where the queue lasted at least three hours to enter the store, and the Moutai and Hermès bags were bought in ten minutes.
Why people are so"Crazy"？There is only one reason - very cheap.
The Hermes bag, which costs 180,000 yuan abroad, is priced at 14 at Costco60,000 yuan; The Samsonite bag, which costs 1,300 yuan abroad, costs 799 yuan at Costco.
Best of all, Costco not only sells ordinary goods at low prices, but also lowers the ** of major international brands.
The basis for this is:"Less but finer"Costco has about 4,000 SKUs, while traditional supermarkets have about 20,000.
Due to the small quantity, Costco makes sure that every item is"The best of the best"。Costco has a global team of top buyers who are always on the lookout for products that have the potential to be blockbusters.
On the other hand, the size of a single sale is also a bargaining chip with **. In 2023, Costco's total sales per SKU will be 594280,000 yuan, while Walmart only has 2 million yuan.
Finally, Costco's in-depth knowledge of market trends may also be one of the reasons for its success.
On January 12 this year, the first branch in South China opened in Shenzhen, and 10 out of 10,000 membership cards were from Hong Kong compatriots.
Since the reopening of customs between Hong Kong and the mainland last year, spending in Shenzhen every weekend has become a must-have leisure and entertainment activity for many Hong Kong people.
As Costco's old rival in the United States, Sam's Club has adopted a similar business mindset, with a strong emphasis on quality and quality, but Sam's Club has another advantage, which is more convenience.
To date, Sam's Club has opened 47 locations in Chinese mainland, and Costco has less than a fraction of the number of Sam's Club outlets.
In"Online and offline integration"aspects, Sam adopted"Store + cloud warehouse", the stores are basically located in the suburbs to provide an offline shopping experience; The cloud warehouse is located in the urban area, which is convenient for consumers to place orders.
Just imagine, don't know to go on the weekend"Walking the baby", and then take the whole family to Sam's house.
Try it at any place you want, and you can also pat the ** on the card, wander for most of the day, eat and drink enough to fill your bag and go home.
If you find a snack delicious and want to buy it again, don't worry about SAM being too far away, as you can also buy it on the mobile app and have it delivered to your door immediately by Speed.
Again"Membership"Model, unlike Costco's 199 yuan unified card fee, Sam's Club fee is divided into two grades: 260 yuan and 680 yuan.
In addition, Sam's Club pays more attention to the repurchase rate and renewal rate of members. If a member has a membership card but hasn't been to Sam's Club for a long time, the staff will call ** and ask if they need help returning the card.
Exactly"Increase consumer loyalty"Sam's Club sales have remained steady, with new stores opening one after another.
In the face of the onslaught of Costco and Sam's Club, the big national brands didn't stand still.
So, Hema came out"Knock-off price", Meituan is out"See-saw price"Since consumers care more about **, then do not integrate these false direct price reductions.
It turned out that Hema also walked on"Membership"After all, who doesn't want a steady income every year?
However,"The mountain rain is coming, and the wind is full of buildings"Soon after, Hema announced that it would not support it for the time being"Hema x member"The opening and renewal of the fee, it is widely speculated that Hema may give up the membership system in the future.
If Box Office can really provide the same thing as SAM'S is the same**, and there is no membership fee, and the number of stores is more than Costco or SAM's is several times more, then this battle still has to be fought.
After all, families in China's first- and second-tier cities are generally less than four people, and many young people work alone. 12 boxes of Swiss rolls, while no longer cheap, are also a waste if you can't finish them.
In terms of the basic specifications of the product, Hema Fresh and Yonghui have chosen"Non-stock", continue to have a certain consumer group.
How should Costco and Sam's Club respond to this situation in the future?
Written at the end: In fact, neither Costco, Sam's, nor Yonghui consider themselves to be this one"The New Retail War"of losers.
What is really affected are the traditional hypermarkets, which are neither hot nor hot.