Access to the convenience store for a long time, summed up the best way to run a small convenience store. With the gradual lifestyle changes, people go in large supermarket shopping habits have been evolving. Supermarket advantages, convenient shopping process on its prices, continue to impact on the survival of some small convenience stores. In order to correctly understand and analyze the current real problems and simply to other shops nearby for a visit and compare:
1, this shop has been open for many years? Owner: Looking back, head and tail about nine years.
2, your shop has been opened in this position do? Owner: No, I used to be open across the street, about five years ago, right across from the rent due, spent 32 million to buy this store. until now
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3, You can talk about the details of the years shop it? Owner: No problem. Probably the first half of 1993, I was 500 yuan monthly fee rented across the store, began operating convenience stores, was due to the band's official residence has not yet delivered, in front of the farmer's market has not officially doumen put into operation, it does relatively deserted, business is not very good, but I do not know how long this will certainly be lively. Opposite soon opened a lot of stores, farmers' markets are open for business, the band suddenly swelled, my business also booming for quite a while, people will buy food home through here, a little something back. But not long before, the opposite also opened a convenience store the same nature, though knock influence, but the old customers still prefer to buy me something. The first half of 1997, my rent was due, before I had spent 32 million to buy a little more of the store opposite, which is now this, before I compete with that is also home At the same time closed, my business was red for some time. But did not last long, due to the farmers' markets across the supermarkets continue to be accepted, awareness later also had some changes, supermarket cheaper prices to attract a large number of customers, there is the nearby farmers opened a convenience store about three Since the house is not assessed their rent costs, and then slowly lower the prices of some goods, is to keep the business has been up to now, there is 2000, you give me some ideas, then you are basically clear.
4, you mean I suggest you overnight delivery services and to some extent is it? Owner: Yes.
5, then you can explain to me in detail a little time after the implementation of changes in the business do? Owner: In fact, not be regarded as the true sense of the night, my shop is substantially closed around 4:00, which is near the stalls closing time. During this period a lot of coming home, like a late night out people will come to buy cigarettes, drinks, snacks and so on, thus increasing the store a good income, and sometimes it can Maihao hundreds. As for the food delivery Well, in fact, store overall revenue despite some improvement, but not great, because we are sending some old customers near them if we do not send it, usually will buy down, I think but this is not very cost-effective.
6, oh, so, ah, then please tell us about some of the very specific additional costs? Owner: here can cost much more. First, taxation: There are tax land tax, business management fees, as well as in front of three charges, residential area of green fees, health costs, a few years ago what security costs, with more of.
7, then you are all of these costs are considered expenses in the store it? Owner: Yes, we will have a settlement once a month, all the costs are assessed for clearing.
8, you can then talk about specific deliver? Owner: Good. We are only responsible to send a radius of about 200 meters, therefore there is a certain increase in business, next to the store to buy the original people, sometimes because of some reason to call us. But this situation is not as much or as basic as I said earlier, the majority of the old customers.
9, since the vicinity of the store's business also point to how much you pull over, why not other stores delivery? Owner: The question I also do not understand, sir my family is half of the class system, will be free to the store, so you can give some people need to provide door-to-door, while the other stores I know of only one person, it is difficult implementation of home.
10, they also include yourself why not hire a number of people dedicated to providing a wider range of delivery services? So that may better reflect the advantages of this mode of operation Oh. Owner: We have thought about this, but also not dare to try. Because there are more stores, one can not take too many road can go to the store, so I'm afraid of taking care of the people, and the business but will not be much better.
11, Do you want me to help you doing to try ah? Owner: Well, if you have time. The second part of the experiment recorded delivery service summary before I visit a convenience store would have been considered a small way home delivery convenience store, in order to further prove my idea that home delivery is a small convenience store competition advantage, I made a bold attempt. February 3, for the convenience store I printed 500 copies of the delivery service price list, but also directly stated free delivery, distributed to 500 mailboxes residential areas. I became responsible for delivery of the work. February 3 day delivery service to complete 7, cash income of 488 yuan. There I was in charge to send two, three is not previously sent through an object, send a box of goods is Wang Zi milk, a box of bottled beer Deer, and three bags of toilet paper. This does not prove that 500 parts price list played a role in how much we take a look at this day serve households and sales income of 13 February. We can see that there is a delivery service object slowly rising trend, the number of home delivery has been demonstrated for small convenience store is worth a try, and people react quite good. Because of the involvement of the New Year, our experiments the effect is not very obvious, but the owner of the Dictation that this lively delivery or not there have been previous cases, and in early August after being three days, according replied that every day delivery households an average of about 10, and the area is a bit constantly expanded and price list to the shopping people have a certain amount of increase. And because the price list is sent to make the visibility of convenience stores has improved a lot, more distant people begin to focus on convenience stores. By recording detailed experiments and observations during this time, and coupled with the previous understanding of the convenience store, the dominance of small convenience store is small, there is its flexibility, how to use this flexibility to become successful or convenience store failure, whether the key long-term development and growth.
Weaknesses and potential solutions for small convenience stores exist since the emergence of large retail supermarkets, shortcomings and disadvantages of small convenience stores very obvious exposed. Here the main two points:
1, the price is absolutely no advantage, whether it is from the purchase channels, sales are still unable to compete with them, so the price is unlikely to be flat or lower and supermarkets. To win at low prices is simply impossible.
2 species richness on small convenience stores can not do large-scale supermarkets such as silver, only taking full account of geographical differences, the difference on the basis of people's lifestyle, people buy the most frequent choice of goods, and some unique merchandise sales.
3 is the most important, is that he is small. Mainly because of the small defects caused by the previous two points. But his small, also constitutes its advantage. This is described in detail below. So it is impossible to small convenience stores and large supermarkets in the same, take the same or similar sales and management methods, should have its own unique, full play to their advantages of small, flexible response. Here convenience store gave us a good inspiration:
1, since the species is not abundant in the selection and the way sales of goods, it should have a very unique side. Convenience store was well mastered the trick. For example, in sales of bulk biscuits, convenience stores full use of the asymmetry of information business customers, can reach 50% of the profits. Some small packets of biscuits bundling, the price is about the various biscuits sold together, calculate the most profitable way of selling. So customers can eat a variety of flavors of cookies, businesses and earn maximum profit. No brand also sells a lot, but the unique flavor cookies, biscuit into the lowest on the market less, you can have great profit margins (which is established on the basis of special channels).
2, the best shop is a small convenience store in a residential area, and as far as possible away from the farmers market close, the more your guests through the convenience store, the better. Convenience store in this area accounted for a large advantage, just in Doumen most prosperous residential streets and relatively close distance from the farmers market, but alone this point, there are two stores is an advantage , just go through the intersection in the market. Nearby farmers concentrated residential areas of two-thirds of the entire small convenience store (in my visit scope of the investigation).
3, overnight service is a magic small convenience store, he truly reflects its small flexibility. But to truly be able to overnight service also have a certain objective conditions in your area if there is the possibility of overnight business services, its elasticity overnight cost is small enough, or simply overnight service is really beneficial to be made. Convenience stores are able to do their shop where overnight service is inseparable from the above visit, we had clearly know, there are many nearby shops overnight run stand, which is its fundamental.
4, take a flexible delivery service is a small convenience store competitive advantage is reflected. Which we do further analysis. We have already seen that there is a certain delivery performance, here we are comparing from both horizontal and vertical angles, to see home delivery service for small convenience stores is not a good way of selling.
The first is the horizontal comparison: During this period I also visited several nearby convenience store more representative, yet to hire a home delivery service life, only seven do wholesale grocery store nearby with a tricycle and responsible Health service delivery. So long as this simple comparison can be seen home delivery advantage. General convenience store in the New Year period are in place in front of the shop of a large table, covered with a relatively bright fabric to set off the festive atmosphere, and customer-friendly action. And because of my experiment, convenience store with a standard delivery process simple data show that sales of convenience store a day about 150% of other convenience stores, which is reflected in home delivery advantage, fully tap potential customers.
Second, do a longitudinal comparison, sales in the New Year at this stage in the past few years, compared to sales in the same time period, there is a great increase, and substantially increase in the beer, soft drinks, and home delivery of key commodities It is beer, beverages, cigarettes, and bulky items. On both counts we can easily see that effective means of delivery is a small convenience store to carry out competition. However, the convenience store has several very fatal problem: First, I've visited a convenience store are family, and the family unit, this approach is not necessarily bad, but the convenience store has done very well here mainly reflected in the cost of his money management rather chaotic, cost issues mentioned in the interview, not the fees and expenses of the family convenience store treated separately, for example, will not tax, land tax, business management fees with health costs, security costs residential and other administrative expenses distinction record, but to be counted on the expense of convenience stores, although these costs are not very high, and currently does not have much effect, but if these costs will increase once the store cash management generated great confusion. So the cost difference between the store and the family expenses of treatment is very critical, and this is one such family-style management that must be addressed.
Secondly, the information received relatively slow, like on beer sales this year, a convenience store in the New Year after year, only to find Budweiser beer is hot, and the Blue Ribbon almost unsalable, but he was already at the end into a large number of Blue Ribbon beer. This grasp the extent of the information too, it is a big shortage of small convenience stores. Can be a good grasp this message will not appear if it can purchase at the end of this situation.
Finally, in the way of service, convenience store can be very cheap price sold to old customers, and new customers are the first to test the higher price point, after doing a strain that price transparency is low. This will be difficult to grasp new customers, new customers is not easy to make sense of trust. How to grasp the advantages and overcome weaknesses and seek new and unique mode of operation is the key to the development of small convenience stores, to learn to use new technological tools. I also found that brand for small convenience store is also very important, a good brand image, attract more new customers, but the impact is huge.
