During JD's 618 promotion, on June 15, the first JD Convenience Famous Liquor Collection store officially opened in Linyi County, Dezhou, Shandong, marking the landing of JD New Channel's first borderless retail model store in offline tobacco and alcohol retail. According to industry insiders, JD New Channel upgrades traditional tobacco and alcohol stores by uniformly rebranding them as JD Convenience Famous Liquor Collection. Beyond changing the signage, it also implements strong control over supply and pricing: the platform provides liquor supply for the store, uses traceability anti-counterfeiting codes to further control the source and quality of liquor, and manages prices uniformly through electronic price tags. △First-floor layout of the store Previously, JD New Channel had established a complete online+offline B2B2C business chain, and its capabilities and advantages from the supply chain to the consumer end will now be added to the "Famous Liquor Collection." As the first liquor retail store empowered by JD New Channel, JD Convenience Famous Liquor Collection will fully empower traditional tobacco and alcohol stores. Although this is only the first store and still in the exploratory stage, the series of actions above is enough to indicate that JD New Channel is about to stir up a storm in the offline liquor retail sector. From an industry observer's perspective, JD New Channel, as a leading B2B platform in the FMCG sector, focuses on improving supply chain efficiency for FMCG. Why is it now coveting a single liquor category and laying out liquor retail? Liquor retail is an industry-wide trend Regarding liquor retail, some industry insiders divide it into four stages: 1.0 era of mom-and-pop tobacco and alcohol stores; 2.0 era of liquor store chains and supermarket outlets; 3.0 era of B2C e-commerce, including vertical liquor e-commerce and platform e-commerce adding liquor categories; 4.0 era of intelligent liquor retail. The liquor market capacity is measured in trillions, and its consumption is characterized by high frequency and high stickiness. Under the wave of mobile internet and consumption upgrading, it has boosted the development of vertical fields. The insider said that 2019 may become the "first year of intelligent liquor retail." China's liquor industry took 90 years to marketize, and after 30 years, there is still no chain giant with sufficient scale; to date, sales terminals remain fragmented. In the past two years, with the emergence of mobile internet technology and the entry of capital markets, liquor retail has become a new industry trend. Additionally, from the perspective of upstream first-tier liquor companies, after the 2.0 and 3.0 eras, they have generally recognized the important value of upgrading and transforming liquor retail. Chains have significant advantages in driving sales, stabilizing prices, and especially preventing cross-regional selling. The transformation of liquor retail can also match the needs of liquor companies and help brands develop healthily. Retail expert Wang Jun once said that the core of upgrading liquor chain retail is to uniformly transform traditional tobacco and alcohol stores through franchising/rebranding, thereby assisting brands in better display and new product promotion. This is a key link in empowering tobacco and alcohol stores, and it is the most important point for both brands and small stores to improve operating margins. From the perspective of downstream traditional tobacco and alcohol stores, due to the small purchase volume per store, they have no bargaining power with intermediate distributors, and distributors are unwilling to deliver promptly for one or two pieces of scattered goods. Traditional tobacco and alcohol stores need external platforms to help strengthen the supply chain, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. Based on these points, there is enormous space for transforming offline liquor retail. This is likely the key external reason for JD New Channel's entry. As the saying goes, "There are trends every year, but why you?" For the liquor retail trend, what confidence does JD New Channel have to do it well, or does it have a chance of success? Why is JD New Channel capable? Whether it's the "hardcore input" of liquor procurement, electronic price tags, smart cameras, and traceability anti-counterfeiting codes, or the multi-dimensional service empowerment such as the smart store management system and the JD Convenience GO mini-program, it's clear how "serious" New Channel is about JD Convenience Famous Liquor Collection. Having opened the first store, although it has just entered the game, it is undeniable that the new brand JD Convenience Famous Liquor Collection was born with a "golden key." JD New Channel was established at the end of 2015, and after nearly three and a half years of development, it has grown into a leading FMCG B2B platform in China. The formation of the platform has given JD New Channel multiple resources and capabilities. First, with upstream brands and distributors, the coverage of millions of small stores has given New Channel enough and strong resources to establish stable and long-term cooperative relationships with liquor companies. At the same time, JD's achievements in B2C e-commerce also give New Channel sufficient confidence in the supply of Famous Liquor Collection. In recent years, JD New Channel has also been emphasizing capabilities in precise distribution, intelligent sales promotion, and new product distribution. New Channel's big data products like Huiyan 2.0 can help liquor brands achieve full-chain data transparency, more effectively manage unified pricing across national stores, avoid cross-regional selling issues, and formulate targeted distribution and sales promotion plans. Linking resources is just the foundation; the key is mutual win-win. JD New Channel's store distribution capabilities and backend warehousing, distribution, and operational support can enable new products to quickly land in stores and reach consumers. Liquor is a long-shelf-life product, and consumers are not as urgent about delivery time; moreover, consumers who regularly drink liquor often keep it in their car trunks. Therefore, the key to liquor retail lies in insight into local consumer needs, and adjusting the product structure, promotional policies, and even tasting designs accordingly. Additionally, liquor consumption is quite different from regular FMCG; there are significant differences across regions in price bands, tastes, and scenario consumption. Even neighboring prefecture-level cities may have different consumer preferences in mainstream price bands. Therefore, consumption differences lead to more complexity in the operation and management of liquor retail, which places higher demands on the operational management of liquor retail enterprises. This is precisely where JD New Channel's advantage lies: based on JD's AI algorithm system, it accurately matches corresponding personalized APP interfaces according to the store's user tags and each SKU's product tags, helping stores quickly find the most suitable and profitable products. Liquor companies can use the "Xingzhe Sales Promotion Platform" to effectively display and arrange products in stores, receive feedback immediately, and make timely adjustments based on effectiveness feedback. Especially in new product promotion, combined with the JD Convenience GO mini-program, centered on local consumers, and with New Channel's strong supply chain support, it can increase the single-store output of JD Convenience Famous Liquor Collection. No matter how you upgrade, the final competition is still on single-store profitability. Having traffic, converting, and repurchasing is the essence of single-store operation. Through the JD Convenience GO mini-program, JD Convenience Famous Liquor Collection can not only accumulate fans and achieve "earning two incomes from one store," but also improve the online shopping experience for surrounding consumers. It is understood that on the opening day of June 15, through JD Convenience GO, online orders were fulfilled within ten minutes. In the future, stores upgraded to JD Convenience Famous Liquor Collection will also gain access to JD's massive traffic entrance; consumers purchasing liquor products on the JD APP can choose the nearest Famous Liquor Collection for fulfillment and delivery. △Opening scene, with bustling crowds inside and outside the store Of course, from the consumer's perspective, with JD's brand endorsement, issues of counterfeit goods and high prices can also be effectively resolved. This also explains why JD New Channel chose to open its first store in a county-level market. County-level markets have many counterfeit goods, few varieties, and high prices, making them the most prominent pain points. Challenges and opportunities go hand in hand The transformation path of liquor retail is not smooth sailing. Although it has the glamorous side of capital support, it also has a difficult and arduous side. On one hand, it must deal with long-standing competitors; on the other, it must bear costs higher than traditional small store models. Despite the promising trend, it is undeniable that there are many risks. From 0 to 1, I believe JD New Channel has the capability and advantages to do it well, such as supply chain accumulation, data intelligence, and brand endorsement. But from 1 to 10, accelerating nationwide replication and expansion is a considerable challenge for New Channel. Challenges and opportunities coexist; difficulty is an unavoidable reality. But once successful, JD New Channel will open the door to offline liquor retail and establish unparalleled advantages in the offline retail sector. JD Convenience Famous Liquor Collection is worth looking forward to! Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted. China FMCG + Internet Professional New Media Committed to FMCG manufacturer transformation and upgrading and channel digital solutions