In the memory of Shanghai people, if you buy rice, oil, and sauce, you have to go to the grain and oil store at your doorstep. In the 1980s, there were more than 100 grain and oil stores named after numbers in Lao Jing'an alone. As the "flagship store" of that year, the "Sixth Grain and Oil" with a history of more than 60 years has been operating until now. Under the "double-team" competition among supermarkets and convenience stores, how have the development of time-honored grain and oil stores?
Red clean water wall
Floor-to-ceiling glass lattice window
A branch of "Sixth Grain and Oil"
is located on the old-fashioned professional street in North Shaanxi Road
Near noon, the old customers Aunt Tian and Aunt Zhang came to the store and went straight to the pastry area next to the counter. Not only did they buy it themselves, but they also helped the neighbors bring goods. The clerk took off the glass cover with gloves, grabbed some skins and noodles and weighed them on a scale, three pounds of wonton skin and two pounds of noodles, which cost less than 20 yuan.
"It has chive noodles, Yangchun noodles, Longwu noodles, and vegetable soup noodles. I have eaten cold noodles in season for a summer. It is so convenient to put sesame paste, peanut butter, and mung bean sprouts in it! It tastes chewy and the price is very reasonable." Aunt Tian held a bag full of praise.
Aunt Tian has been buying things with his parents in the "Sixth Grain and Oil" since he was a child, and now it has been 60 years in a flash. In the 1970s and 1980s, the "Sixth Grain and Oil" was opened next to Commander Kai on Nanjing West Road. The store was called "Sixth Grain and Oil Store in Xincheng District, Shanghai". It was the largest grain and oil retail store in Shanghai at that time. Lu Guanghua, director of operation of
, was once the old store manager here. He recalled that since then, the sales of alkaline water cutters produced by his own factory have been very popular. Before the store opened at 6 a.m., customers lined up until after lunch. At that time, one pound of food coupon could buy one pound, two and a half taels of noodles.
"Our skin does not have any additives, so the people are relieved to eat. They have to sell two or three thousand kilograms a day. The cheapest time is 27 cents a kilogram, but now it is sold for 3.5 cents a kilogram. The profit is still relatively thin, but we think that the people have needs and trust us, and they are also serving the people."
With the relocation of old houses, many residents moved to Qingpu and Jiading, and they still miss the things here and are coming back every now and again. Today, traditional grain, oil and sauces still occupy the main position on the shelves. Cheng Dongling, a young post-80s store manager, took out a self-produced and sold "Gusi" brand glutinous rice sweet wine from the refrigerator. It has little moisture and is very rich. It tastes particularly refreshing in summer. 250 grams is only sold for 4.50 cents.
"We also have glutinous rice flour, wheat flour, and some grains of big-headed dolls. We still maintain those old products. The noodle products are basically sold for about 200 kilograms a day. On New Year's Eve, it has to be several times more. There are long queues at the door of the store, which is the busiest time of the year." Cheng Dongling said.
On the basis of maintaining the tradition, although the "Sixth Grain and Oil" does not see snacks and fast foods often sold in convenience stores, according to the needs of white-collar workers in the nearby Nanjing West Road business district, they launched a meal replacement rice dilute, and also set up a small bar to introduce sheep milk tea and coffee.
Lu Guanghua said that the "sixth grain and oil" can break through the siege of more than 100 grain stores and oil sauce stores at that time to open five stores now. The key is to keep pace with the times and make many attempts along the way. "After the chain business is launched, we will adjust it in time. According to the characteristics of consumer groups in different regions, 'one store, one policy'." After the main store of
moved from Nanjing West Road to the current Wanhangdu Road, because it is relatively close to the residential area, they have successively introduced Sanlin cooked food and made steamed buns, rice dumplings, and mooncakes by themselves. Later, because there were no vegetable markets and supermarkets around, a vegetable store was introduced.
follows the old tradition, and the "Sixth Grain and Oil" has more than 300 services to the community every year, from the three-wheeled yellow croaker truck in the past to the small vans now, delivering celebrity products to the last kilometer.
The predecessor of this store on Shaanxi North Road is also full of memories. Cheng Dongling said: "When I was a child, I passed by here first. I first made Chinese and Western fast food for a while. The first one was here for drinking coffee. Later, I rented out the store." Because the surrounding residents still reported that they still had the need to buy grain, oil, rice and flour, the "Sixth Grain and Oil" returned in 2017 and became a sign on the renovated professional street of Shaanxi North Road.
"My father is also an employee of old grain and oil, so I know that time-honored brands need innovation and must keep up with the pace," said Cheng Dongling.
"In the future, you may also order online. We will help the elderly solve the delivery problem. In the end, it is about people's livelihood. What kind of needs do the people have and where can we improve. Old brands can also have a new look, right?"
