China's supermarkets have ushered in transformation and upgrading

Reporter Wang Xiaoxuan

Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the consumption psychology and consumption behavior of Chinese consumers have undergone profound changes
.
In the face of the diversification and fragmentation of omni-channels, as well as the rise of emerging channels such as front-end warehouses and instant retail, how should the retail industry develop in the future? On November 27, the "CCFA New Consumption Forum - 2022 Supermarket Development Strategy Summit Forum" hosted by the China Chain Store and Franchise Association was held in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, and the participants conducted in-depth discussions on the theme of "Adversity, Transformation, and Upgrading".

Leverage the transformation and upgrading of Internet technology

Regarding the hot topics such as digitalization, omni-channel, private label, and pre-made dishes that the industry has paid attention to in the past two years, Hou Yi, CEO of Freshippo, said in his keynote speech on "New Retail Goes to Deep Water and Opens the Era of Retail Transformation" that digitalization is only an effective means to improve retail efficiency, which cannot solve the value of core customers of enterprises and the core competitiveness of the retail industry
.
In terms of omnichannel, the business structure of retail itself needs to undergo fundamental changes in order to bring new value
.
Hou Yi believes that there are some systemic problems in the current physical retail, and in the future, physical retail needs to make efforts in fresh goods, room temperature FMCG, brand goods, and learn to use Internet technology and methods
.
In addition, it is necessary to upgrade the category structure and give full play to the advantages of
physical stores.
Enterprises should also huddle for heating, carry out brand alliance and procurement alliance, and quickly carry out market penetration
.

According to reports, from 2023, Freshippo will aim to "one trillion sales to serve one billion consumers" for ten years of investment and capacity building
.
"With the advent of a new era, some enterprises in China's retail industry may age and die, but the new retail based on the Internet and technology will definitely flourish and eventually win its due market position
.
" Hou Yi said
.

Zhu Jun, Senior Vice President of Walmart China and Chief Purchasing Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Walmart Hypermarket, said that Walmart Hypermarket has been committed to reshaping the value chain of goods, maximizing value, and allowing customers to feel the commodity power
of Walmart more intuitively.
At the end of September this year, the global shopping business of Wal-Mart hypermarket was upgraded again, relying on the advantages of Wal-Mart's global supply chain and efficient centralized procurement and fulfillment mode
.
In addition, Wal-Mart hypermarkets are currently deeply implementing standardization reforms
.
These difficult but correct things all point to the goal of relying on digital tools to achieve end-to-end efficiency improvement in the supply chain and increase the output
of single products.

In terms of upgrading and transformation, Wal-Mart and Dada YouPicking pioneered the crowdsourced picking model, which has covered most hypermarket stores across the country in May this year, achieving double-digit improvements in picking efficiency, improving the performance efficiency of store O2O and creating flexible employment opportunities
for 35,000 people.

Discount stores may become an industry trend

In the past two years, discount stores have been a hot outlet in the industry, at the forum, Professor Chen Liping of Capital University of Economics and Business shared his in-depth exploration of the discount store model with the participants through video link, and introduced the case of Japanese discount stores representing enterprises in terms of differentiation strategy, and the case
of Japanese discount stores representing enterprise business supermarkets in terms of low-cost strategy.

Discount stores are not a retail business that only relies on selling goods at low prices, but an innovative format
in the development of supermarkets.
From the industry's accepted definition, a discount store is the continuous provision of low-priced goods
to consumers.
Chen Liping believes that the core of the format innovation of discount stores is how to create a low-cost operation system and system
.
"The sustainability of discount stores is most reflected in
continuous competition.
In the next few years and even ten years, discount stores will become the development trend
of China's supermarket industry and even the entire retail industry.
Chen Liping said
.

Multiple measures to achieve profit growth

Despite the impact of the epidemic, some regional retail enterprises in China have achieved profit growth
through a series of measures such as focusing on operating cost management, finding business increments, and building commodity power.

At the forum, Wang Wenhua, Deputy Secretary-General of China Chain Store and Franchise Association, shared his work on building a sustainable fruit and vegetable supply chain, saying that in order to actively respond to the national rural revitalization strategy and the requirements of green cycle and low-carbon innovative development, and better play the channel advantages of chain retail enterprises and consumer goods platform enterprises, in August this year, under the witness of supermarket enterprises and representatives from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the European Union Mission in China and other institutions, the association launched the "Sustainable Development Project of Agricultural Product Circulation"
.
At the kick-off meeting, the association and nearly 20 enterprises jointly issued the "Action Proposal for Sustainable Development of Agricultural Product Circulation"
.
Since the launch of the project, the association has carried out a series of research and preparations, based on the research and feedback, the association will then carry out special training, and retailers will act as first-level trainers to continuously transmit relevant information
to agricultural cooperatives and farmers.

In the dialogue session of the forum, Wang Hongtao, Executive Deputy Secretary-General of China Chain Store and Franchise Association, Shen Shiquan, General Manager of West Asia and Mei, Li Dexiang, Chairman of Guizhou Heli, Lin Yongqiang, Chairman of Fujian Guanye, and Du Xiaoyi, Chairman of Hubei Yasi, conducted in-depth discussions
on the topic of "Where is the road to supermarket transformation".

Shen Shiquan said that this year, business owners will focus on operation and sales, grasp full profits, and do not do promotions
.
At the same time, it makes the store more beautiful and more scene-like, thereby increasing the unit price of customers and bringing about a year-on-year increase in profits
.

Li Dexiang said that Guizhou Heli mainly focuses on three aspects: good products, good display and good experience, and has achieved growth in sales and net profit
.

Lin Yongqiang revealed that the epidemic has had a huge impact on shopping malls, so Crown Supermarket has brought about an increase
in sales and gross profit by looking for incremental business, focusing on online and paying attention to group buying and To B business.

Du Xiaoyi said that this year, Hubei Yasi opened 10 stores, the scale increased by 25%, sales increased by 12% year-on-year, and profits increased by 20%
year-on-year.
He believes that the core of competition is the culture and team
of the enterprise.
"Commodities are also important, but the most important thing is people's spirit, faith and confidence
.
"

In addition, in response to the hot topic of instant retail in the industry, Lu Guangyuan, head of Meituan flash sale IT empowerment business, delivered a keynote speech on "'Instant' Transformation of the Retail Industry"; Yan Jingyao, Senior Group Account Manager of Ecolab Group's Retail Business Unit, shared the topic of "Implementing Main Responsibility: Reducing Costs and Increasing Efficiency, and Winning Trust with Food Safety
".

China Food News(Version 02, 02.
12.
2022)

(Responsible editor: Luo Chen).