The supermarket industry has been reshuffled, so why can the member supermarkets in deus ex？

A few days ago, the supermarket chain Biyide announced on its WeChat WeChat official account that it would suspend business from December 22, 2023.

A paper notice made many old customers feel sorry.

I don’t know when, those big supermarkets that we are familiar with began to close their stores one after another. RT Mart, Yonghui, Wal-Mart … These supermarkets were once brilliant, but they couldn’t escape an embarrassing ending after all.

The supermarket industry ushered in a "big reshuffle". Contrary to the regrettable ending of traditional supermarkets, the warehouse member supermarkets are expanding against the trend. It is estimated that by 2024, the market size of China’s warehouse member supermarkets will reach 38.8 billion yuan.

Traditional supermarkets have become "tears of the times", but warehouse member supermarkets can go upstream. Where can it win?

The traditional supermarket "Sunset West Mountain" actually has a long history.

According to the data of the past decade, the number of large supermarkets in China is shrinking by an average of 690 stores closed every year. In 2012, the total number of large supermarket stores in China was 11,947, and by 2021, the total number of stores will be reduced to 5,340, with a decline rate of 57.8%.

The line of sight is now.

According to incomplete statistics, in 2023 alone, many large supermarket chains closed their stores one after another: Carrefour (China) closed 147 stores, RT Mart closed 106 stores and Lianhua Supermarket closed 131 stores. ……

In terms of performance, the performance of traditional supermarkets is also average: the operating income of Yonghui Supermarket in the first three quarters of 2023 decreased by 12.44% year-on-year, and the net profit returned to the mother was-321 million yuan; Lianhua Supermarket suffered a performance loss in the first half of the year and its share price fell all the way. As of the close of December 26th, its share price was only HK$ 0.345 per share, with a market value of 380 million. Carrefour has been plagued by negative news such as consumers having no way to return their cards, defaulting on employees’ wages and suppliers’ payment.

Traditional supermarkets have become "tears of the times", but warehouse member supermarkets have begun to race wildly.

In October 2020, the first Box Horse X member store opened in Shanghai. By the end of 2023, Box Horse X member store had 10 stores in China. Costco, which "opens a fire", is "full of horsepower" and is expected to open 33 stores in FY 2024; Sam, which has been a "Buddhist" for 27 years, has begun to accelerate. The official said that it expects 6 to 7 new stores to open every year in the future; Fudi, known as Sam’s "Apprentice", is also accelerating its layout, with more stores than Costco.

In addition, local supermarkets in the traditional hypermarket mode have also transformed and launched their own "warehouse stores": in May 2021, Yonghui Supermarket opened its first warehouse store in Fujian, and in September of the same year, the first warehouse member store in Beijing Hualian officially opened in Lanzhou, and began to test the water storage member store industry. In October, Carrefour officially opened its first member store in China.

Warehouse member supermarkets have become a red sea, and there are many people entering the market. It is estimated that in 2024, the market size of China’s warehousing member supermarkets will reach 38.8 billion yuan.

If you look up the location of these warehouse member supermarkets, you will find that most of them are located near the suburbs far from the city center.

Take Sam in Beijing as an example. Four of the stores are near the Fifth Ring Road, and the farthest one is located in Houshayu, Shunyi, North Sixth Ring Road.

The location is extremely remote, and it is common sense that few people will go shopping. However, the warehouse member supermarkets, represented by Sam, are uncharacteristically. Not only has there been an army of offline goods sweeping, but the explosive goods have been robbed and emptied, and cross-city purchasing has also been derived. On-line, there are also a group of believers who pray that Sam, Costco and other warehouse member supermarkets will open to their doors, and even the "Sam Room" has appeared, which has become a new saying for real estate sales.

The reason why these people are attracted to warehouse member supermarkets and pay the membership fees that are not cheap is that they can cover their daily needs, and the goods are of high quality and cost-effective, which can’t be bought anywhere else, and they can still enjoy quality service after consumption.

From the point of product quality, the warehouse member supermarkets represented by Sam are mostly high-quality goods, with little or no technology and hard work such as food additives and flavors, and the ingredient list is cleaner. For example, Sam does not use ready-mixed flour for potato products, and food additives are behind.

On the other hand, the commodity prices of the warehouse member supermarkets look high, but they are actually cheaper when converted. For example, an average potato in Sam costs only 1.24 yuan, while that in RT Mart is 1.49 yuan, and Wal-Mart is in 1.6 yuan.

High-quality, cost-effective goods are very attractive in themselves, not to mention the unique goods owned by warehouse supermarkets, which makes people only willing to pay membership fees.

For example, roast chicken, mashed potatoes and Swiss rolls, which are shortlisted in Sam all the year round, are limited to one for each person when the roast chicken comes to Sam, and three boxes for each person. Another example is the Roman raw milk cake, bagels and celery juice of kale; Strawberry box cakes in Box Horse X Member Store, and raw milk of various flavors are all explosions in online celebrity.

In terms of service, the member supermarkets in the warehouse have never been stingy to let consumers try it. Large pieces of fried steak, chopped cakes, and small cups of fresh juice and milk make people go in hungry and come out with a brace. On the Internet, it is called "0 yuan Purchase" of its own. In addition, there are free optometry, free hearing test and other services.

Quantified into data, the biggest reason why consumers are willing to go shopping in warehouse member supermarkets is selected goods (72.6%), followed by preferential product prices (67.9%), unique or novel products (63.8%) and good after-sales service (59.6%).

According to the latest data, over 80% of consumers in China are satisfied with the services provided by warehouse member supermarkets, and over 40% are very satisfied.

Looking back, in 1981, the first supermarket in China opened in Guangzhou, and the novelty goods such as Nestle coffee, wine chocolate and Marlboro cigarettes on the shelves were overwhelming. At that time, employees recalled that the supermarket was surrounded by water on the opening day.

Fifteen years later, the supermarket in Sam first entered China, but it took only 27 years from Shenzhen to now.

As a "new force" of supermarkets, the warehousing member supermarkets have passed all the way, gradually kicking out the traditional supermarkets that have existed in China for a long time, relying not on anything else, but on the clean shopping environment, high cost performance, full of surprises, thoughtful service and numerous member benefits when the traditional supermarkets are still "educating" consumers with blunt services and old-fashioned goods.

The explosion of warehouse member supermarkets can undoubtedly be regarded as a mirror: as long as consumers are concerned, consumers will naturally vote with their feet.