" Wahaha's vending machines have always been a focus of industry attention. Recently, they have appeared on streets and in alleys with a new image, attracting many consumers. Since launching vending machines at the end of last year, Wahaha has been making continuous moves, and this time it is intensifying its promotional efforts, vowing to become the leader in China's vending machine industry! " **■Wahaha Vending Machine's New Image 1 Why Are Smart Retail Terminals Being Snapped Up? ▼ 01Traditional Channels Under Pressure** In recent years, the costs of traditional FMCG channels have been rising, and consumption scenarios have become increasingly fragmented. Some food and beverage companies have fallen into the dilemma of "having volume but no profit," which is also one of the reasons why major food companies have been continuously upgrading their products in recent years. Traditional channels are nearly saturated, and the emergence of rapidly growing new channels, especially vending channels, is attracting more and more companies to enter. By upgrading and transforming traditional channel distributors, not only can manufacturers maximize profits, but they can also further increase market share. 02****The Vending Machine Trend Is Coming Compared with the development of vending machines in European and American countries, the Chinese market is still in its infancy, and it is bound to experience a wave of explosive growth in the future. Beverage giants are particularly optimistic about the benefits, leveraging their brand, product, and channel advantages to significantly reduce operating costs. 2 Wahaha: A Pioneer in the Vending Machine Market ▼ With the rising costs of labor and commercial space in China, especially the development of new technologies, vending machines have broad development and imagination space. 2017 was the first year of new retail, with unmanned convenience stores, unmanned parking lots, unmanned supermarkets, unmanned shelves, and other unmanned technologies emerging rapidly. Unmanned retail quietly entered everyone's field of vision. Facing this market opportunity, in May 2016, Zong Qinghou and his younger brother Zong Zehou jointly invested to establish Hangzhou Zongsheng Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. Relying on Wahaha's strong brand and channel advantages, and using vending machines as a carrier, they began to build a nationwide intelligent retail terminal network. As a master in the retail industry, Zong Qinghou had already quietly made his move. At Wahaha's 2017 national distributor conference, Wahaha's vending machines became a highlight, and Wahaha was setting out to build its own nationwide intelligent retail terminal network. **■**Zong Zehou, Chairman of Hangzhou Zongsheng Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. At the Huatang Wan Shang Leaders Conference at the end of last year, Wahaha's smart retail stores, which it invested 10 billion RMB in, were officially unveiled. Wahaha's vending machines aim to achieve low rent through integrated operations. On the one hand, they provide financial leasing services to alleviate the one-time capital pressure on distributors; on the other hand, by introducing competing products, screen advertising, and other methods, they aim to reduce and ultimately eliminate distributors' rent pressure. ■ Wahaha Vending Machines Appear at the Huatang Wan Shang Leaders Conference In May, they appeared at the 2017 China Beverage Conference, sharing the stage with many beverage companies. In June, Wahaha reached a cooperation consensus with DeepBlue Technology, which will provide customized smart vending machines for Wahaha. Once DeepBlue's machines meet Wahaha's requirements, an order of 100,000 units over three years will be put into mass production. In September, Wahaha and Alibaba "broke the ice" to jointly create a credit service booth, selling Wahaha drinking water, with the booth customized by Wahaha, scanning QR codes to pay via Alipay, and borrowing items based on Zhima Credit scores—this was the first cross-industry cooperation between Alibaba and Wahaha. Recently, Wahaha has again increased its promotional efforts for vending machines. This giant that moves forward in small steps is making steady progress! 3 Being the Beverage Leader, Also Being the Vending Machine Leader ▼ In June 2017, Zhejiang Business Magazine released the "Top 500 Zhejiang Business" list, which included several food companies well known to consumers. Among them, Wahaha ranked 23rd with revenue of 52.91 billion RMB in 2016. In the cold winter of the real economy, Wahaha's development has indeed declined. In 2016, it completed sales of 52.91 billion RMB, and it is still a 60 billion RMB entity. Wahaha is still the leader in China's beverage industry, and the "aircraft carrier" of 60 billion RMB is still there. In an era when channel dominance has shifted to content dominance, almost all traditional enterprises have suffered setbacks. Wahaha, a mainstream player in the era of rapid development of China's beverage industry, has also encountered new problems in its development. The beverage aircraft carrier Wahaha has entered a period of deep adjustment. Zong Qinghou admitted that the real economy is experiencing a cold winter and that Wahaha has encountered some difficulties, but the prospects are very optimistic. In the vending machine field, Wahaha is a pioneer in the industry. Wahaha's vending machines began to gain momentum after the Spring Festival this year. As of September, more than 12,600 vending machines had been deployed nationwide, leading the industry in sales speed. By conservative estimates, Wahaha could become the industry leader in vending machines by 2019. According to Japan's development experience, the one who can do this industry best must be the leader in the beverage industry. Wahaha has this mission and responsibility to expand the vending machine industry. This is not only the pressure and motivation for Zongsheng Company, but also its mission! -END-