Introduction: By following visible trends with down-to-earth execution, the market naturally responds.
On February 28, 2013, a chilly night just after Valentine's Day, a Weibo post about Chengdu's Jiuyanqiao went viral. According to the blogger, at Jiuyanqiao, Chengdu's famous bar street, a wild woman was seen pinning down a passing man while drunk, forcing him to submit. After a brief struggle, he gave in, and the two disappeared into the night with red faces. This became known as the "Chengdu Bridge Shock" incident.
The next day, thousands of men gathered near Jiuyanqiao, sitting on the ground and shouting, "Sister, come back!"
This marked the beginning of Chengdu's reputation as the "Chengsterdam" internet-famous bar city. Whether it was the "Four Great Matchmaking Temples" (Daci Temple, Shijing Temple, Puleihao Temple, and Sibei Temple) joked about by young people, or the subcultural bars hidden around the former US Consulate area, they all carried the emotional attachments and fondest memories of Chengdu's post-80s generation.
The glorious party came to an abrupt halt in the spring of 2020.
There were tears and confusion, and three years have passed. Now it's the bar owners who sit on the ground outside their doors, shouting, "Sister, come back!"
Chengdu is both a paradise and a hell for bar owners. With a net inflow of nearly 500,000 young people each year, this tourist city at the heart of internet trends not only boasts a thriving night economy but also makes Chengdu the king of bar competition. According to the "2021 China Bistro Industry Development Research Report" by NCBD (Catering Treasure), Chengdu ranks first in the number of "bistros" nationwide, nearly 300 more than second-place Beijing, over 400 more than third-place Shanghai, and almost as many as Guangzhou and Shenzhen combined.
In the past three years, if Chengdu's bar owners experienced a hellish college entrance exam, then the distributor we're introducing today has taken on a task as difficult as preparing for both graduate school and civil service exams simultaneously.
As a liquor distributor, directly entering the bar business.
They could have stuck to the thin margins of supply chain profits, but circumstances forced them to stand up and earn from both the storefront and the brand.
In one year, they opened 10 stores, all profitable, with an average payback period of six months.
This is Chengdu's phenomenal community bistro, "Ce Liang Bei Liquor Business Department."
Trend: What Young People Like
From 5 PM to 3 AM daily, countless young Chengdu residents gather at "Ce Liang Bei," either bringing friends, coming in pajamas to grab a few bottles, or ordering via mini-program from home, enjoying the best part of their day.
These happy kids may not realize that their needs are so precisely met thanks to the deep insight and thinking of a professional with years in the liquor industry—Mr. Chen Zhi, the owner of "Ce Liang Bei" and also the boss of Chengdu's renowned liquor distributor, Chengdu Zunrui Trading Co., Ltd.
Scrolling through Xiaohongshu and Douyin, we see the new generation's sense of ritual and atmosphere, their craving for relaxation between work and life, and their demand for both premium feel and value for money. From frisbee in summer to camping in autumn and tea-boiling by the fire in winter, everything hits the sweet spot.
These are the daytime joys of young people.
As night falls, their minds and bodies start to stir. After a lonely overtime shift and takeout dinner, they want to invite friends or family out for a second round—a chat over drinks. But where to go? That's the question.
They really don't want to go to the bar street. They don't want to wait in line for an hour to get a taxi home, or simply because who wants to drive when drinking?
Could there be a comfortable place near home? No fancy decor or music needed, no salespeople pushing card purchases or recharges, and most importantly, the drinks should be priced like at the supermarket, or even like online.
These are the consumption habits of the post-90s and post-00s in an era of increasingly rational consumption.
A community bar positioned as the "second stop of the night" was thus born.
The key word here is "comfort."
Comfortable location: The need for a second stop has always existed. After dinner, finding a place for a few drinks is a natural choice for countless young people. Previously, bar streets handled this, but a bistro near home means no need to drive after drinking—just walk home and crash.
Comfortable style: The most comfortable decor is no decor. This is one of Mr. Chen's most memorable quotes. Cloud, ruin, or industrial styles are not only relaxed and stress-free but also photogenic and atmospheric. Less is more.
Comfortable price: A Corona at 7.9 yuan takes the pressure off everyone. What impressed me even more was that Mr. Chen insisted on naming it "Business Department" despite opposition. It's a concept unfamiliar and fresh to young people, sexier than "bistro," and it doesn't stop them from instantly understanding the "big volume, good price" behind it. So at the 7.9 Corona place, they achieved an average ticket of 70-80 yuan. Youth means good drinking capacity—I envy that.
Cost: How to Operate Light and Reduce Costs
As a liquor distributor with annual revenue exceeding 100 million yuan, opening bars comes with natural resources, but there's much more to it.
First, labor: None of the staff at "Ce Liang Bei" come from the bar industry, significantly reducing labor costs.
Second, trade-offs: This may not be the first bar to allow outside food, but it's likely the first to encourage it. Over the past three years, labor costs have been the most fatal pressure, but "Ce Liang Bei" chose to stay light, keeping food sales below 20% and only offering simple cold dishes that don't require a chef. This takes courage and wisdom.
Finally, revenue expansion: By integrating online and offline, they overtake on the curve. "Ce Liang Bei" offers mini-program delivery within a 5-kilometer radius, greatly sharing the burden of rent and labor.
Business: Excellent Community Marketing
On revenue expansion, I'm glad I didn't hear empty phrases like "online+offline matrix strategy," but real business wisdom.
Mr. Chen admitted it was built through community marketing. He first gave some numbers:
Average ticket 70-80 yuan: Each store attracts 1,000 new customers per month, forming a stable community of 3,000-5,000 people in about six months.
Repurchase rate 60%-70%: As someone very sensitive to numbers, I quickly calculated:
Average ticket at 75 yuan, community at 4,000 people, repurchase rate 60-70%, so about 1/3 new customers and 2/3 repeat customers.
Among repeat customers, assume 20% are "heavy drinkers" who buy once a week, 30% "moderate drinkers" every two weeks, and 50% "light drinkers" once a month.
So monthly customer counts: 1,300 new, 540 heavy, 810 moderate, 1,350 light.
Calculation: 1,30075 + 540475 + 810275 + 1,3501*75 = 482,250 yuan.
Then Mr. Chen said monthly revenue is around 400,000-500,000 yuan.
I gave a mental thumbs-up—the numbers match. This is a boss who has calculated his business to the last detail.
As for profit, it's confidential for now, but higher than the industry level I know.
This isn't complicated; the challenge is execution—consistent execution from day one.
Conclusion
This is one of the few distributor bosses who thrived during the past three years, and it's why we're starting this column—to spark ideas and inspire discussion.
My takeaways from this interview:
Cognition is the biggest barrier: Without years of industry experience, deep understanding of liquor, and continuous learning about brand and consumption upgrades, such profound insight and business acumen would be impossible.
Master the upstream and downstream: For upstream manufacturers, scale up and deepen liquor expertise to offer clients and consumers more competitive prices and services, benefiting every partner in the value chain. For clients, Mr. Chen positions himself as the best in catering among beer sellers. In his past distributor experience, there was never a client-vendor dynamic. Sincerity, friendship first, and mutual exchange of knowledge are his requirements for client meetings. "No business talk in the first three meetings"—that struck a chord with me.
Grasp the trend at 0.5 steps ahead; do everything just right. Keeping pace with trends means gradual obsolescence; leaping far ahead often makes you cannon fodder. 0.5 steps is just right. From concept to decor to execution, nothing is too avant-garde, but it's down-to-earth and follows visible trends, so the market naturally responds.
Looking back at the spring of 2023 from many years later, it seems many things happened, yet nothing happened at all.
And 2023, a new year, has already begun.
Lin Yijia, New Distribution RTM Information Section Expert 4 years of Nielsen consumer research & retail research experience + 10 years of channel marketing in FMCG companies; previously worked at Nielsen, AB InBev, Heineken, Nestlé, and other FMCG companies.
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