Tianxia Online Merchants Ding Jie
Edit Li Danchao
Recently, a post on Xiaohongshu became popular.
An author took a set of street scenes of an old foreign building in Hangzhou in the 1990s, with the caption "Push open the window door, as if you see your parents when they were young", which attracted a wave of memories. Some netizens said: "I really want to go back to my mother's childhood and see her back then."
Everyone will age. When wrinkles climb up the corners of their eyes, cheeks, and neck, their skin gradually loosens, and finally they cover the bones thinly like a layer of light shirt, the eraser in their mind is also speeding up, and many pictures pass by one frame after another.
But there is such a small shop that is storing people's memories of the beautiful past. There, time seems to have never passed.
At 8:30 in the morning, Yu Fengxiang, a "century-old store" located at No. 403 Zhongshan Middle Road, Hangzhou, started business. The grandparents who had been waiting in line at the door were still talking about the new moves they learned during morning exercises, and then stepped into their "shopping center".
Because the temperature plummeted to single digits, this small shop ushered in a peak in business again. A group of elderly people went to the store to buy "three-piece set for winter" - snow cream , silk cotton shell, cotton sweater pants. While
is lively offline, Yu Fengxiang has also opened its "Next Century" online - in 2020, it opened a "minimal" style Taobao store, selling old objects that have been with it for decades. In a few days, it will usher in the Double 12 promotion.
In the "changing" Taobao block, Yu Fengxiang accepted the gaze and curiosity of young people, and also brought new colors and temperature.
People have two "silk cotton shells"
Many years later, Lu Hua still retains many "memory fragments" about his mother, Holland and Yu Fengxiang. Although her mother has been away for more than ten years, she always remembers that her mother likes to visit the department store most is Yu Fengxiang and Little Luzon. "Thermos bottle cap, snow cream, sleeve cover, Chang'e's napkin... She bought everything inside."
Now, Yu Fengxiang is still there, but Little Luzon has disappeared.
The "fatty" of old Hangzhou people towards Yu Fengxiang starts from 97 years ago. In 1925, Li Kuiguang's small grocery store "Yu Fengxiang" opened next to the second bridge of Doufu Bridge in Hangzhou. This small shop is only 10 square meters and mainly sells candy, cigarettes and daily necessities. This dedicated little businessman and his wife spent 20 years operating this small store into a medium-sized daily necessities department store integrating velvet, cotton weaving, cosmetics, food, etc. In the past century, this time-honored brand welcomed successors one after another. It was like an "old man" and a landmark, witnessing the changes of the city of Hangzhou.
here carries the memories of generations of Hangzhou people, among which the Netherlands.
Born in the 1930s, he was a technical female worker at the Hangzhou cable factory. After retiring at the age of 50, he worked as a cake maker at the Wanghu Hotel in Hangzhou. In the eyes of the whole family, she has a pair of skilled hands, "to go all over the world, and to do everything." With the birth of her granddaughter, she transformed into a nanny and tailor. Every year, winter is approaching, which is her busiest time. What are you busy with in
? Busy of the old traditions of Jiangsu and Zhejiang people, sewing silk cotton clothes: the family of six people, from old to young, each with two pieces, one of which is a vest to resist the upcoming cold winter.
Lu Hua remembered that day, my mother tied a favorite silk scarf in the Netherlands. She walked from the home of Gulou in the Netherlands to buy silk cotton shells from Yufengxiang Department Store 1.5 kilometers away. For young people today, silk cotton shells may be an uncommon word, but most people born in the 1980s and 1990s still remember this childhood baby - put cotton into silk cotton shells to make cotton jackets to resist the wet and coldness in winter, and the effect is great.
At that time, Yu Fengxiang was still in Yangbatou.In the Song Dynasty, Yangbatou was the commercial center of Hangzhou. During the Republic of China, there were many shops and the market was prosperous. Now, this is a famous internet celebrity check-in place in Hangzhou. Countless internet celebrity shop owners who walked down from Porsche took this as a street view to take photos of their online shops.
The purpose of the Netherlands that day was clear, and it was straight to the silk cotton wardrobe. For the old shop she is familiar with, she doesn't like to bargain, but buys it as fast as possible. This order was placed for her son-in-law, who was used as a salesperson. He went to the three eastern provinces every winter. "One pot of braised chicken feet and two silk cotton clothes are the travel equipment my mother has to prepare for him every time." Lu Hua recalled.
"outlets" of white-haired people
looks all over the country, and there are not many century-old shops like Yu Fengxiang that are still evergreen. In Hangzhou, a small Jiangnan city, Yu Fengxiang, who sells old objects, has almost no rivals.
Seven years ago, 51-year-old Sheng Haimin took over Yu Fengxiang from his previous manager and became the new general manager. Before that, he worked as a clothing salesperson in this store for more than 20 years. He said he had feelings for the store, including the creaking ceiling fan in the cramped office, the handwritten documents that have been preserved to this day, the mottled wooden storage cabinets, and the products that are popular among middle-aged and elderly people.
Here, it can be called the "outlet" of the white-haired man.
Although it grows in the fashionable Hubin business district in Hangzhou, Yu Fengxiang still maintains his own style and smell. "We only sell old things, and many of them cannot be bought outside." Sheng Haimin said.
Yufengxiang General Manager Sheng Haimin
store is old but popular products are frequently released. In Yufengxiang, some products have been in the process of time for thirty or forty years, such as the Liulang brand silk cotton shell that the Netherlands once must buy every year.
As soon as winter begins, the silk cotton shell counter is the most popular. Silk cotton clothes, cotton vests, and cotton sweaters are neatly "nailed" on the wall, becoming an advertising wall. Liulang brand is Yu Fengxiang's own brand, and the inspiration for the name may be from , one of the Ten Scenerys of West Lake, Liulang Wenying. Many elderly people like to buy Liulang brand cotton sweaters and pants. Different from the trendy tight styles of young people, the elderly like to loose underwear, which makes Yu Fengxiang differentiated. In the clothing category of
, anti-crack socks are Yu Fengxiang’s new internet celebrity. The anti-crack socks sold in the store actually add two plasters to the soles and heels to protect the cracked parts on the feet. Sheng Haimin recalled that seven years ago, a manufacturer in Hebei called him and said that he had been acquainted with him for a long time and hoped to sell his own good products in Yufengxiang. With a try-out mentality, Sheng Haimin gave this pair of socks a small counter to try it out. Unexpectedly, this "expensive" sock that costs 28 yuan per pair was sold out. "At least a few thousand pairs were sold, and people have been ordering one after another since September every year."
In addition to clothing, another popular category is beauty makeup. Shanghai Jahwa's Yashu , Kong Fengchun white jade cream, pearl cream, Haiou Shampoo and other products that are hard to find on the market are all very popular here.
"White Jade Frost used to be bought with portions. Everyone used the bottle of snow cream to pack it. We can short 4-5 cans of a day, and a can of five kilograms per can." Sheng Haimin said that he might not be able to sell one can in other stores a month. The packaging of white jade cream is more hygienic and is divided into small bags, 50 grams per bag, and the price is 5 yuan.
In addition to these hits with extremely high click-through rates, Yu Fengxiang also hides many memories of the post-80s and post-90s. For example, everyone had a pair of white sneakers when they were students, as well as enamel cups, spittoons, hot water bags, and a Triangle brand pressure cooker arranged overall on the counter.
"It can be said that we understand the elderly the best. Many things are placed in Jiebai and Yintai Shopping Mall. They may not be able to be sold for ten years, but we will sell them at once because we are accurate." Sheng Haimin said.
In recent years, raw material prices have been rising, but most of Yufengxiang's products have remained as much as one dollar for ten years, "the maximum increase is not more than five dollars."
74-year-old cabinet sister and 90-year-old buyer
are the key roles in connecting customers and products. They are the gold medal sales: 8 older sisters with an average age of over 50 years old. These older sisters have been in the mall for decades and have strong business capabilities. A older sister at the clothing counter can immediately find the right size model by looking at the customer's figure.
" Several older sisters have been at the counter of Yufengxiang Station for more than 20 years. Several of them have entered the store earlier than me and continued to work after retirement. "For Sheng Haimin, it is better to leave these experienced retired sisters than to find some newcomers.
One of the oldest shopping guide aunts is 74 years old. Every morning, she has to walk more than 10,000 steps before coming to work in the store. She said that in Yufengxiang, most of the customers visiting 365 days a year are regular customers, and the customers buy quilts and bed sheets all year round in Yufengxiang. After retirement, she continued to work here, rest one day a week, and earn more than 2,000 yuan a month, "I feel very fulfilled. "
Yufengxiang's oldest 74-year-old cabinet sister
Here is like an "exchange hall" for an old Hangzhou people: many times, local shopping guides wear reading glasses , revealing the standard Hangzhou dialect , and following every regular customer who comes in to chat and talk about homely. Different from modern Payment method: In order to take care of the elderly, Yu Fengxiang still looks for banknotes and keeps paper bills.
is now the peak season for Yu Fengxiang. According to Manager Sheng, about 300 people enter the store every day, and many elderly people line up at the door of the store early in the morning to wait for 8:30 to open.
"Some time ago, a big sister came as soon as she opened the store and said she had a quarrel with her daughter. "Sheng Haimin said that the eldest sister's daughter bought her two slim-fitting cotton sweaters, but she felt that the size was not suitable and she was not comfortable to wear, so she came to buy one by herself.
Yufengxiang not only serves people with a radius of 3 kilometers, but also has many customers in Lao Yuhang, Linping, Xiaoshan , and Fuyang , 30-40 kilometers away from the store. Not long ago, a big brother rode an electric bike from Liangzhu, Yuhang, just to buy a Triangle brand pressure cooker. There were also customers who came from Keqiao, Shaoxing, "She came all the way. "
The shopping guide said that the consumption habits of middle-aged and elderly customers are different from those of young people. They enjoy the feeling of being able to touch the real thing with their own hands, and their purpose is clear. Therefore, even if they come from the bus thousands of miles away and buy a small item, they are very satisfied. Some customers will come to Yufengxiang frequently in autumn and winter to say that some snow cream will go home, and buy it for a month at a time, and the snow cream is also more "fresh".
Many people buy it for a lifetime. "A aunt in her 90s asked the younger generation to push a wheelchair before, but she hasn't seen her for a long time. "
The century-old store was on Taobao, and all employees operated
The epidemic in 2020 made almost all the elderly hide at home and not go out, and Yu Fengxiang's business ushered in a "cold winter". During those days, Sheng Haimin couldn't sleep. When he opened the account book and calculated, he found that he had been losing money for several consecutive months, which made him extremely anxious.
In terms of scale, this store covers an area of hundreds of square meters and has a wide range of products, but the profit is very thin when subdivided into each item. Sheng Haimin said that they do not have gorgeous decorations and do not have warehouses, and hope to maintain the price of single items with the saved costs. "If you buy enough 1,000 yuan from us, you must take a taxi home because you can't carry it at all. "
Looking at the former colleagues Zhang Yunsheng, Little Luzon, Jingfu Department Store and other department stores withdrew from the historical stage due to poor management, Sheng Haimin felt that he would survive no matter how difficult it was. "I thought in my heart that next year will definitely be better than this year, and it is normal to make money and lose money in business. "
In early 2020, Yu Fengxiang went to Taobao, and the store name was "Hangzhou Yu Fengxiang Department Store Co., Ltd.". Without the help of young people, a group of 50-year-old middle-aged people took photos of 114 products and uploaded them to the backend, entering titles and introductions one by one, enriching the details page of each product.
At the beginning, Wangwang in Sheng Haimin's mobile phone rarely rang.The early orders were ordered by the old customer to ask his juniors to place the orders, and then they spread to ten thousand. The online store has accumulated 6,846 fans, and online orders have increased. Sheng Haimin and several older sisters took turns to serve as store customer service, each one responsible for one day, and responded to customer messages when offline stores closed. The sales champion of
online store is still Kong Fengchun's white jade cream and pearl cream, and the second is anti-crack socks.
The Internet not only opened a new window for sales for this time-honored brand, but also gained more suppliers for them. Many factories found Yu Fengxiang through online stores and recommended old items to them.
It has even become the destination for many Douyin celebrities to visit the store. Young people dressed in fashionable clothes do live broadcasts in this store selling 1980s products, both traveling through time and breaking the dimension.
Not long ago, Dutch daughter-in-law Aping rode her bicycle to Yufengxiang to buy a set of three-gun brand underwear for a hundred yuan for her son in her second year of high school. The son born in the 2000s is already 1.9 meters tall. He speaks about Internet language, but he always wears an old brand that his mother has bought him since he was a child. Although grandma's Dutch outline was gradually blurring, he still remembered the warm silk cotton coat that wrapped herself into a ball when he was a child.
"I will keep buying it." Aping said.
