△Add friend and note community group buying registration This is not Xiangpiaopiao's first time opening a milk tea store. "The company will consider launching offline milk tea chain store business at an appropriate time." Recently, Xiangpiaopiao's board secretary Gou Zhenhai made this remark to a reporter from Securities Daily, which was like dropping a bombshell, causing a significant stir in the tea beverage industry. As a listed company, it is not short of money; moreover, its years of successful experience in selling cup milk tea have accumulated rich theoretical and practical strategies in supply chain, product R&D, marketing, and talent reserve. "Xiangpiaopiao is opening milk tea stores!" Industry insiders exclaimed: That is really the wolf coming. Opening milk tea stores is forced by the market Xiangpiaopiao, which claims to "sell billions of cups a year, with cups that can circle the earth N times," has not performed well in the market nearly a year after listing. As of the close on November 20, Xiangpiaopiao's stock price was only 17.10 yuan, with a cumulative decline of half this year, and its market value was halved. According to Xiangpiaopiao's previously released financial report, its profit in the first half of 2018 fell off a cliff, with net profit down 79% year-on-year, and a huge loss of 54.58 million yuan in the half year. Since its establishment in 2005, Xiangpiaopiao has been the domestic sales champion for many consecutive years, creating many industry myths. In 2012, its sales revenue exceeded 2.4 billion yuan solely from milk tea. In November 2017, Xiangpiaopiao successfully went public, becoming the "first milk tea stock in China," with a market value once approaching 14 billion yuan. Why did the leading cup milk tea company suddenly decline? There are many opinions in the industry: New-style tea shops became the last straw In recent years, with the rapid development of domestic milk tea shops, the cup milk tea market has been continuously squeezed. Especially after 2015, with the emergence of many internet-famous shops like Heytea, Naixue, and Yinwei Tea, people would rather queue for 4 hours to check in at these shops and post on social media. These milk tea shops transformed from simply selling products to becoming a part of consumers' social and trendy life. This is the last straw that crushed Xiangpiaopiao! The strong impact of the delivery market The booming delivery market cut off the retreat for cup milk tea. Platforms like Ele.me and Meituan represent the strong rise of delivery platforms. According to data from iResearch, in the first half of 2018, the national delivery market transaction volume exceeded 125 billion yuan, with an estimated annual total of around 250 billion yuan. Product positioning is outdated This era is shifting from a "product"-centric to a "service"-centric model. With the refinement of social division of labor, "standardized products" will inevitably be impacted by "customized products + services." Moreover, people not only want convenience in milk tea but also health and freshness. The standardized instant cup milk tea of Xiangpiaopiao can no longer meet people's demand for freshness and health. Industry insiders believe that if Xiangpiaopiao continues to indulge in the halo of being the "pioneer of cup milk tea" without attempting to change, its nightmare may just be beginning! It is against this market background that Xiangpiaopiao's chairman Jiang Jianqi made the following statement: "The emergence of offline internet-famous milk tea shops is a good thing for activating the entire milk tea category. We can jointly expand the market. The ceiling of the milk tea industry is far from being reached." Can Xiangpiaopiao do well in milk tea stores? This is not Xiangpiaopiao's first time opening a milk tea store. In 2007, before officially entering the cup milk tea industry, boss Jiang Jianqi opened two milk tea stores in his hometown Nanxun, Zhejiang, which were reportedly very profitable. Later, he focused on the cup milk tea business and voluntarily gave up the stores. Logically, Xiangpiaopiao reopening milk tea stores is Jiang Jianqi returning to his old trade, but physical milk tea stores are different from the cup milk tea business, and the consumer group and social environment have changed greatly. Can Jiang Jianqi still do well in milk tea stores? For this, the Express interviewed several industry veterans, and opinions varied, but the mainstream view was consistent: All things are connected. Jiang Jianqi's ability to turn "a cup of milk tea" into a listed company is itself a success, supported by its internal logic. First, the Xiangpiaopiao executive team, including Jiang, carries the genes of success. The low-key, pragmatic, market-savvy, and insightful nature of Jiangsu and Zhejiang businessmen, along with their accurate grasp of trends, are rare and high-quality endowments that entrepreneurs should possess. Second, it has a strong operation and sales model. Unlike general FMCG companies, Xiangpiaopiao abolished the system of large regional general distributors and multi-level distributor systems, replacing them with a horizontal division of more sales regions. Now Xiangpiaopiao has over a thousand distributors nationwide, with more than one-third of them primarily selling Xiangpiaopiao milk tea products. The distributor network extends like capillaries to all parts of the country. The flat sales channel management provides sustained and stable momentum for Xiangpiaopiao's development. Even when competitors once spent three times as much on advertising, they could not shake Xiangpiaopiao's leading position in the industry. Third, in 2012, in cooperation with universities, Xiangpiaopiao established a beverage R&D institute. Their milk tea products once led the market, demonstrating their ability to create hit products. In addition, after more than ten years of development, it has accumulated strong strength in supply chain building and talent reserve, coupled with the support of listed company capital. Therefore, it seems that everything is in place for Xiangpiaopiao to open milk tea stores. What surprises will Xiangpiaopiao milk tea stores bring to the industry? The company did not respond. The industry offered several guesses and suggestions: ● The brand name will continue to use "Xiangpiaopiao" to leverage the momentum and inertia of the strong brand. ● There may be associated brands to differentiate from the cup market, so the two markets do not interfere with each other but also attract traffic to each other. ● In terms of store expansion, it will leverage existing sales channels, focusing more on street-side stores and community stores. ● Product prices should be higher than the average price of existing cup milk tea products. ● Tea beverages now carry more cultural, social, and spiritual labels. Xiangpiaopiao should make timely adjustments and changes based on its cup milk tea experience. Let's wait and see! Star: New Distribution Don't miss any message! -END-