Last Tuesday, the news that “ Mixue Bingcheng is open for franchise applications in towns and villages across the country” attracted the attention of many peers.
Mixue Bingcheng, which has more than 20,000 domestic stores and thousands of overseas stores, is planning to target the rural market.
Is the rural market with “few young people, poor consumption power, and low ceiling” a market worth investing in?
interviewed more than ten brands that have opened stores in townships, and I discovered 8 truths about township markets.
Turnover has tripled in 4 years
First and second tiers are declining, while townships are growing against the trend
The news that Mixue Bingcheng is opening up township franchises made me pay attention to the township market again.
This year, the first- and second-tier markets have declined due to the epidemic, and competition in the third- and fourth-tier markets has intensified. Townships that were ignored by New Tea Drinks have instead grown against the trend.
"Our Shuiye Town store's sales increased by 50% year-on-year this year and last year, and have basically tripled in the past four years. The maximum daily cup volume of this store has reached 2,200 cups." Lu Zhiwei, the founder of Lu Xiaoge, told me.
Lu Xiaoge is a chain brand born in Shuiye Town, Anyang. Because the turnover of the founding store has increased year by year, Lu Zhiwei saw the opportunity of the rise of the township market.
In 2019, Lu Xiaoge decisively bet on the rural market and opened nearly 100 stores in central towns.
"The average monthly turnover in summer is about 90,000, and in winter the average monthly turnover is 30,000 to 40,000. So far, we have not closed a single store." Lu Zhiwei said.
html The county brand Cha Fu Cha Ke reported by Kamen in June also ushered in a highlight moment this year. “This year’s turnover has increased by 60%, and 35 new stores have been opened in 4 months, which is more than the whole of last year. It almost covers us.” Every town under the county seat."
Many chain brands
have already taken an early step to lay out the township market.
Compared with the central and northern regions, the towns on the southeast coast have risen earlier, and chain brands have settled earlier.
throbbing burning grass . In 2018, towns with good economic foundation will be selected to open the franchise. At present, more than 300 stores have been opened in towns in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places. "The average monthly revenue of township stores is about 100,000, and the store survival rate is 90%." Meng Fanwei, vice president of Throbbing, said.
Tianlala and Yihetang have also laid out their presence in county towns and township markets. Both brands have almost 1,000 stores, and they have opened in more thoroughly settled areas.
Yihetang Sanjiang Town Store, Meilan District, Haikou City
Just last week, Mixue Bingcheng couldn’t hold back anymore.
"It has been opened on a small scale in some towns before. With the development of the market, is now more suitable to open more township markets and serve more young people in small towns.
We do not have the goal of developing many stores, as long as The business district is mature and suitable for opening a store, and the store will be opened after preliminary review to ensure that it is profitable enough," said the public relations manager of Mixue Bingcheng.
The unique "Three Low Model"
has allowed tea shops to find market space
When it comes to the township market, many people will frown: This is a market dominated by the elderly and children. There are few young people and poor consumption power.
But it is also here that a unique "three low" tea drinking model is formed.
"The wages of our township stores are at least 1,000 RMB lower than those in the county. The rent for a 50-100 square meter store is generally 20,000-40,000 yuan a year. The investment in opening a store is low and the risk is also very low." Lu Zhiwei said.
There are already 300+ stores of Throbbing Xiancao in southern towns. Meng Fanwei analyzed: "Overall statistics, rents in towns will be 30 to 60% lower than in cities, and labor costs will be reduced by at least 20%.”
More importantly, compared to those who start businesses in cities, township entrepreneurs do not have high profit expectations. Most of them are locals and do not have high rental costs. They basically have houses, cars and no loans, and the cost of living is low. Extremely low.
“As long as I can earn three to five thousand a month, I will be satisfied. "This is the original intention of many township entrepreneurs. In fact, in towns, a salary of more than 3,000 a month is considered a high salary.
It is rare to see a hot scene of queuing for 2 hours here, and it is difficult to open a business in a year. The myth of thousands of shops, and few people get rich by opening milk tea shops. Some people just have the simple idea of "finding a decent livelihood for their wives"
This may form the fundamentals of rural tea drink entrepreneurship
Ultimately, . The "three low characteristics" of low investment, low cost and low profit expectations have allowed township tea drinks to find the soil for growth.
Winter and summer vacations are the highlight moments of township stores.
More than students, they are probably looking forward to winter and summer vacations. It’s the owners of township tea shops.
The two peak sales periods of the year are concentrated in these two or three months. College students and middle school students who rely on milk tea have returned to their hometowns during the holidays. , they need to socialize and kill time, and milk tea shops are one of their favorite places to go. "
" Unlike those in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, these rural stores are often full of customers during winter and summer vacations, as well as during holidays. "A boss told me.
Wang Wei, founder of Tianlala , also shared in an interview, "During the Spring Festival last year, the business of more than 20 hometown stores exploded, and the best stores were open every day from the first to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Well, more than 19,000. "
is sold cheaper than Mixue
Folks "one cup a day doesn't hurt"
I thought that the price of Mixue Bingcheng was "as low as dust", but in the rural market, I found more "extreme value for money" "case.
I thought Snow King's 3 yuan/bottle of Motian Crispy is already very cheap, but in many rural milk tea shops, ice cream only sells for 2 yuan. For the same product that sells for 3 yuan, they will sell it better than Mixue Bingcheng. More affordable, such as Cha Fu Cha Ke’s yogurt Big Mac ice cream.
Brother Lu’s Cui Ya Jasmine is sold for 10 years. It is the most popular item of this brand with the highest order rate.
This is a hot product. The aunts in the town don’t need to decide the price.
“The aunts and uncles in the town, and the middle-aged uncles in their forties and fifties, whenever they come to town to buy something, they will buy a drink when they pass by. "After all, mineral water also costs 2 yuan, and this product is 700 ml and is freshly made.
The most difficult winter
They also found a way to crack it
For rural stores, every winter is particularly difficult. Especially in the north.
Some stores can only sell a few hundred yuan a day in winter, or even less. How to survive the winter has always been a pain point for township tea shops, but in the past two years, they have gradually found a solution. The store has added fried yogurt product line. Fried yogurt with peanuts sesame raisins is perfect to take home as a snack.
Some stores sell grilled pears in winter, and also add burgers and fried chicken to go with it. Hot drinks are sold together.
Some stores even offer Malatang and Malatang + milk tea in group purchases in winter, actively creating consumption scenarios for customers
Creating demand for customers even in the most basic towns. , the milk tea shop business is growing vigorously and vigorously.
Downward penetration is the trend
But national brands should be cautious when entering the market
The consumption of tea drinks in big cities has been upgraded, and it is only now, a few years later, that it has entered the towns.
Around 2015, a cup of fruit tea could only cost about 5 yuan. "If it was a little more expensive, no one would buy it."
Because of the market education of new tea drinks, "new county residents" also have a willingness to pay. But this does not mean that any brand can enter the game.
Townships are definitely opportunities, and downward penetration is also a trend, but for national brands, the threshold for penetration is particularly high.
Sweet Lala Yousuo Town Store, Eryuan County, Dali City
“A city can open hundreds of stores, but a town can only have 2 stores at most, which is destined to have extremely low logistics efficiency, because it is impossible to carry out a dense cloth store strategy, and more stores will be produced. There are many hidden costs, such as management costs and operating costs.”
“Moreover, store operators in rural areas do not have the good management of big cities. They must strengthen offline supervision, but because the stores are scattered, it is difficult to patrol the stores. ." Analysis by Meng Fanwei.
The rise of the township market
is an important opportunity for regional brands
Compared with the national big brands, the rise of townships is an opportunity worth seizing for regional brands.
The regional brand itself is rooted in one city and one place. Warehousing, logistics, and supply chain itself are all built around the region, sinking downwards. The hidden management costs and supply chain costs will not be too high .
To give a simple example, in Junxian Guoji Bingdian, many franchise stores in the town, when need to replenish goods, many store owners drive their own small three-wheelers to the headquarters warehouse to pull goods.
In towns and villages where big brands are still unable to reach well, it may be a new incremental market for regional brands to accelerate their development.
Townships are connected to the city on one end and the countryside on the other.
It is understood that there are 41,636 township administrative units in the country, and tea consumption in this market has just awakened.
There are more than 40,000 township-level administrative divisions in the country. They need Mixue Bingcheng and more specialty tea drinks of different categories.
More attention will bring competition and divert customer groups, but it will also make the market more lively. More consumers will accept new tea drinks and make tea drinks a daily routine.
