Wen 丨 Five Rings Outside OUTSIDE, Author 丨 Ji Porcelain, Editor 丨Che 卯卯
Can All be able to conceive the next Helens?
In the pub industry, Chengdu is known as "China's first city".
2524 taverns make it the top of the national list in terms of numbers, folk singer Zhao Lei's "Chengdu" with chengdu Yulin Road taverns to the north and south of the river, and the rise of "meal + wine" bistro format in recent years, is also inextricably linked to Chengdu.
The tavern is a catering place that points to customers with alcoholic beverages as the main and snacks as the supplement, and it points to a lifestyle of "small wine and small dishes slowly talking", and this lifestyle is accompanied by the rise of the night economy and the micro-drunk economy, bursting out of huge market value.
The revenue of China's pub industry grew at a rate of 8.7% between 2015 and 2019, reaching 117.9 billion yuan in 2019, and according to forecasts, the entire industry will reach a market size of nearly 200 billion yuan in 2025.
It's called "tavern, big business".
In Chengdu, the casual catering format of the bistro is in line with the leisurely pace of life in Chengdu, and more than 2,500 kinds of taverns have become a new place for young people to drink, chat and pass the time, and for those who open taverns, the huge market behind the tavern industry also means a new wealth code.
During my 2 months in Chengdu, I visited the taverns in Chengdu to try to understand what the taverns mean to Chengdu people, and how can practitioners really make a profit in this track with a market size of 100 billion?
01, in Chengdu, there is always a tavern that can adapt to your soul
"Almost any scene you want to drink, you can find it here."
Chengdu has the largest number of taverns and a variety of tavern ecology, which almost meet the various drinking needs of chengdu's contemporary young people.
2524, which is the number of bistros in Chengdu as counted by the NCBD (as of May 2021). Since Zhao Lei's "Chengdu" became popular, Chengdu's taverns have blossomed everywhere, and the notes about "Chengdu Tavern" on the social media Xiaohong book have reached more than 11,000, which has become a new landscape experience project in Chengdu after picking ears and drinking tea.
So, in the first week of arriving in Chengdu, I contacted my friends in Chengdu and wanted to go to the tavern to feel it.
My friend first made a distinction between my words, "Is it the littlebar in Zhao Leige, or the tavern format is OK?" ”
Relieved to learn that I just wanted to feel the tavern format, she was relieved, "Great, finally not going to littlebar anymore." ”
Little bar is a tavern located on Yulin West Road, written by folk singers in the song "Chengdu", "walk to the end of Yulin Road, sit at the door of the tavern", after "Chengdu" went viral in 2017, little bar became a new Internet celebrity punch card. Almost every friend around her who came to Chengdu wanted to go to the punch card, and after playing with her more than 10 times, she had long lost her freshness to littlebar.
The Tavern in Zhao Lei's Song (eventually I went quietly)
In other corners of the city, there is a lot of choice of taverns.
More than 600 meters near her home, there is a tavern in a small alley, with only 7 rows of seats, most of the residents come. You can often meet some familiar faces in the tavern, and everyone greets each other and chats about the latest situation, which is full of the taste of Japanese izakaya.
If you like to be lively, you can make a date with three or five friends, go to the two-hemp tavern, sing a rhythmic live, noisy vocals, shouting and coaxing between friends, you come and go to drink, guess the point game, ignite the atmosphere with each other, and everyone can spend a happy night together.
If you want to be a little more impatient, there is also a bar street in the Nine Eyes Bridge; if two or three friends want to try something new, the Qing Bar on Shaoling Road, the craft brew of Tianxian Bridge, and those retro decorations, chic taverns... They can offer different options when they want to drink.
Nine Eyes Bridge Bar Street, along the river is full of taverns
In Chengdu, in this highly competitive environment of taverns, you can always find a drinking place that suits your preferences.
Chengdu's more than 2,500 varied taverns house the souls of Chengdu's people.
02, open a tavern at least 500,000, how long can you return the cost?
"Want to be profitable? Let's step into the pit for half a year. ”
But for people who open taverns, it is not easy to achieve profitability.
Wei Yang is a literary and artistic youth who has long had the dream of opening a shop. He wanted to open a bookstore or a homestay where he could put on a guitar and play and sing in his spare time. After "Chengdu" caught fire in 2017, the idea of opening a tavern hit him at once, and he and his friends partnered, each with 300,000 to 500,000 yuan, and gathered 1.5 million, planning to vigorously engage in a career.
But reality dealt him a blow.
Yulin Road is not an obscure path. In the 1980s, Yulin became the most fashionable neighborhood in Chengdu due to its sound infrastructure and supporting services, and a food street was quickly bred here, among which "Yulin Skewers" quickly became famous in Chengdu. Since then, the price of shops on Yulin Road has risen, and with the singing of the song "Chengdu", the price of shops on Yulin Road has ushered in a wave of increases.
Today, the sublease price of the shop next to the little bar on Yulin West Road
Wei Yang rented a 100-square-meter shop on Yulin Road for 20,000 a month's rent, but it was not next to the little bar and needed to go through 2 or 3 streets to get there. At that time, Yulin Road was full of people, and Wei Yang thought that although it was expensive, the investment was worth it.
He then carried out a complete renovation of the tavern, which cost 500,000 yuan. At the same time, he needs to invite resident singers and hire shop assistants, and he needs to spend 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per month. Coupled with the cost of buying drinks, the initial funds that everyone put together quickly stretched.
But at that time, he didn't think that such a large flow of people on Yulin Road could not earn back a little cash flow? But soon, the loss of 6 months made him realize the reality - the flow of people on Yulin Road really did not necessarily bring abundant cash flow.
A large number of tourists just came to Yulin Road to punch in, and they didn't even necessarily enter the little bar (at that time, the little bar was in a strong queue, and many people took a photo at the door), not to mention the little-known tavern opened by Wei Yang.
Yulin West Road street scene, in fact, there are not many shops on this road, food is mostly concentrated in the alley, a large number of tourists come here to punch, but less attracted by other shops to stay
Wei Yang began to think of ways to do some publicity (open source), and also tried to save money (throttling) in various links.
He began to consider the demands of the surrounding residents, and found that everyone's demand for the resident live was not so high, more of an environment where they could drink or chat quietly, so he changed the resident singing to once a week, usually playing music, and lowering the overall ambient sound; adopted a stray cat and welcomed guests with it.
The most important change was that he changed the purchased liquor to self-brewing water.
Generally speaking, although the price of self-brewing water varies due to different materials, the general material cost is within 1.5 yuan / L, although the actual calculation needs to add labor, equipment, time, canning materials and other costs, but in general, it is lower than the overall cost of purchased wine, which greatly reduces Wei Yang's cost pressure and improves his profit margin. Self-brewing is also difficult to buy on the market, and it is easy to play a word of mouth.
Self-brewing in a tavern, 600ml, 128 yuan, is the most expensive self-brewing in the store
After this adjustment, Wei Yang spent about 2 years to achieve a balanced revenue.
In the process, he gained a stable customer base. They will come here for the low degree of the store, the sweet and sour self-brewing, the quiet environment, and they will also recommend it to friends who want to come to Yulin to play. A stable customer base prompted WeiYang to open a second branch.
Because of the experience accumulated when opening the first store, as well as some of the popularity already in the circle, Wei Yang has a stronger confidence in the newly opened store.
Instead of choosing a bustling area, he chose a residential alley just 2 stops from the university town. The alley itself is not crowded, but walking 600 meters out, you can quickly reach a bustling business district in Chengdu, which not only creates a quiet taste, but also greatly saves the cost of Weiyang. 50 square meters of shop, the monthly rent is only 5000 yuan, only 1/4 of the old shop.
However, it is undeniable that because it is in the folk lane, the natural flow of the new store is far less than that of the old store.
But Wei Yang was not worried, because of the reputation accumulated by the old store, the new store opened and absorbed the old customers in the old town of Chengdu. The proximity to the university town means that the new store is easier to open the student market.
Grasping the young people's market is the experience that Wei Yang summed up in opening the first store, and the fact is also true, according to the statistics of the China Industry Information Network, the main group of people who consume pubs in 2019 is concentrated between 18 and 24 years old, followed by 25 to 34 years old, and the overall customer base is young.
Age of the tavern activity group in 2019 Source: Essence Securities "The night economy is booming, how is the business model of the tavern"
The 500ml of liquor in Weiyang's shop is generally between 35 and 85, which is also an acceptable price for students. And good-looking, delicious alcoholic beverages are also more eager for young people to be "slightly drunk" than to "get drunk".
Considering the accumulation process of new store traffic, Wei Yang did a lot of work that could save costs in the early stage.
For example, decoration, this time he knows more about which decorations in the store are necessary and which are unnecessary for consumers; which items are worth spending a lot of money on, and which can be added through idle fish, Taobao or flea markets. Later, he laid out a harmonious space although the style was mixed, and in some places there were some eye-catching designs, which cost a total of 150,000 yuan. Less than 1/3 of the first renovation.
At the same time, the new store is designed by the original layout, the store is narrow and long east-west direction, and the air conditioner is located at the end of the east side, and the warm wind is difficult to blow throughout the store, especially in winter. In order to save costs by adding a new air conditioner and continuous high electricity consumption, Wei Yang burned charcoal through a charcoal basin, one on each side of the east and west sides, and ensured the heating inside the tavern through air convection.
Considering the space in the store and the continuous cost problem, the new store only invited one employee, and the resident singer did not arrange one, only playing music, and the labor cost was also reduced.
These arrangements are not aimless, but Wei Yang's choice based on the flow of people and the ability to undertake the new store. After the opening of the new store, 10 to 11 o'clock in the evening of the working day is the peak population period, and the table flipping rate is higher; on holidays, there is a higher flow of people at 8 to 11 o'clock, but in the usual time, the flow of people is less, often only 1 or 2 tables are people, and often a sitting is 1 or 2 hours.
Based on such a flow situation and the input cost in the early stage, Wei Yang is expected to be able to pay back within 1 year, and then due to the epidemic, the actual revenue balance took more than 1 year.
03, how to recreate the next Helen Division
"It is not difficult for a single store to have a net profit of more than 60%. But chain stores to reach more than 60%, very test."
In this industry that is generally optimistic, but it is not easy to make money, how to open a store to make a profit?
Wei Yang initially attributed it to luck, "The timing of my entry is quite OK. ”
The popularity of "Chengdu" has led to the prosperity of the tavern, and the characteristics of young people in Chengdu who love to punch cards, love to drink, and are willing to consume have also contributed to his final profit to a certain extent. Change a time node, change a city, "I may not survive." ”。
Wei Yang was deeply impressed by another brother who opened a tavern, and the other party opened a shop at about the same time as him, but Wei Yang was in Chengdu and the other party was in Shanghai. Shanghai's drinking culture is also prevalent, but the market has long been mature, and it is greatly influenced by Western culture, with many craft wines, wine houses, and most of them have a fixed user base. The other side is facing a relatively severe market environment.
Although he also did some promotions to make the tavern an internet celebrity shop, it ultimately failed. He lasted less than half a year, but he could not sustain it, and finally had to close the business and transfer.
The data shows that in the format of taverns, the development advantages of second- and third-tier cities are far greater than those of first-tier cities.
Taking 2015-2019 as an example, the revenue of second-tier city taverns accounted for the largest proportion, accounting for more than half of each year; while the growth rate of taverns in third-tier cities was the fastest, even faster than the sum of the growth rates of first- and second-tier cities.
This makes the tavern itself an opportunity to benefit lower-tier cities.
Revenue and growth rate of urban tavern industry at all levels Source: Ping An Securities
But if you choose a city, how should you operate it?
Wei Yang thought about it and gave me three points that he thought were important:
Capture the young people's market; Layout around colleges and universities; Open up the low-cost student population;
In his view, the focus of the bistro out of the circle is to seize the market of young people.
In the industry, the post-90s generation is jokingly called "post-zero drinking". The data shows that 10% of post-90s have the habit of drinking alcohol every day, but what they want to drink is "slightly drunk", and in a hazy and lazy state of micro-drunkenness, they get relief from the heavy work pressure under the inner roll. At the same time, it is worth noting that in the post-90s drinking population, the number of women is greater than that of men.
Therefore, in the face of such a group of young people who drink, the degree of wine should not be too high, about 10 degrees is enough; and to do a good look, delicious, it is best to be soft in the mouth, the taste is sour and sweet, and it is like a drink.
The self-brewing offered in Weiyang's shop is mostly sweet in taste; and in the famous local hemp tavern in Chengdu, a "panda wine fairy" has endured, it is a milky liquor base, sprinkled with Oreo crushed on the surface, and the wine glass is accompanied by cute panda elements, which is more like milk tea than wine.
At the same time, the cheaper pricing of alcohol and the atmosphere of the environment can also attract young drinking users to stay and consume to a large extent.
With the grasp of the user group, it is a natural thing to lay out around the university. The power of word-of-mouth communication among students is enormous, and as long as word of mouth is played in the student group, every year new students can bring continuous new customers, which is of great significance to the long-term development of the tavern.
In the case of Weiyang's newly opened tavern, after the school resumed classes after the epidemic, the number of frequent patrons in the store more than doubled.
The layout of Helens in Wuhan, the layout around the university is very dense
The last point is what Wei Yang believes is the most important point: cost control, saving money in all aspects.
The way of doing business is similar in many cases, but the fundamental reason for surviving is whether you can save money and earn cash flow.
Wei Yang's buddies who opened stores in Shanghai did attract some people when they went all out to build internet celebrity stores, but in these streams, either they only punched in and did not drink alcohol, or they were not high; or the flow of people was overloaded, exceeding the number of people in the store, making the remaining consumer experience poor. This led to the flow of people in his store eventually failed to convert into cash flow, poor book income, coupled with the cost of opening a store in Shanghai is much greater than chengdu, and finally had to close the door with hatred.
For Wei Yang, through his own experience and that of his friends who opened stores, he deeply realized the importance of controlling costs. He is proud of the initiatives he has done when the new store opens: reducing the cost of renovations, saving electricity with charcoal basin heating, and reducing labor costs... Because of the small investment, Wei Yang has more cash flow at hand, and in the face of the sudden epidemic later, he has a stronger ability to resist risks.
And these have laid a solid foundation for the store to achieve profitability later.
The same is true of the "first share of the tavern", Helens.
When we talk about Helens, it's hard to avoid its low pricing and high yields. Even if the price of all bottled beers does not exceed 10 yuan / bottle, and the price of third-party products is 35% to 67% lower than the average price of peers, its net profit margin on sales is more than 60% all year round.
Behind it is the ability to control costs.
Helens' sales gross margin and net profit margin graph source: Essence Securities
I asked Wei Yang, in the industry of taverns, mainly selling self-operated liquor, to achieve such a net profit margin on sales, is it not easy? Wei Yang replied, "I can't say for sure." ”
After he has some experience, the net profit margin on sales in the two stores can indeed reach more than 60%.
But the point is that Helens is a chain brand, in the case of maintaining the same service level and tone of each place and store, it can also make each store achieve such a net interest rate, and the overall control ability is very strong.
He thought he couldn't do that.
How to recreate the next Helens?
It needs to grasp the most important young consumer group in the format of the tavern, needs to control costs through various means, needs to continuously improve brand power, and more importantly, when the plate of this chain brand is rolled out, it needs to have a strong standardized management ability for all the stores below.
In short, let every store become a golden bull, not a gold-devouring beast.
04, do a small and beautiful workshop or a large-scale sexy business?
Even though Helens has already run out of a public company, there are still huge opportunities in China's bistro industry.
On the one hand, compared with overseas mature markets, the average number of pubs per 10,000 people in the mainland of china was only 0.3 in 2019, which is significantly lower than that of overseas developed markets. At the same time, the penetration rate of the mainland's mainland pub industry is relatively low, and there is still a vast consumption potential in the sinking market to be tapped.
For Wei Yang, a large number of uncultured markets mean new development opportunities, especially in second- and third-tier cities.
At the same time, he also admits that for individuals, the business of independent taverns is easier and more suitable than that of chain taverns.
"The plate is spread out, and there are many problems to consider, such as how to create a similar tone between chain stores, such as how to save costs in different cities, such as how to cultivate talents, which is a very complicated matter."
And running an independent tavern, as long as you grasp the main audience, leave consumers with memory points, do a good job of cost control, "these roads are played", it is not difficult to make money at all.
Because everyone's demand for drinking is placed there, there is no independent tavern with characteristics in small cities, and most of their night life choices are restaurants and KTV, a new, emotional, drinking and chatting comprehensive format to enter it, that is, there is a great opportunity.
"Doing business is just that, buying and selling, the cost of spending yourself is less than the money you sell, the bigger the scissors difference, the more you earn." 」
In this case, it is not difficult to achieve 60% profit for only alcohol, and what is important is how to cover the cost of storefront, labor and other costs. The more costs you save, the greater the benefits.
"There are so many stores, such a large scale, and such a large market in Helens, I don't want to have the luxury, but if we open a 100-square-meter shop in Chengdu, if the flow of people is passable, there are still some people who come in a year."
He reached out and compared it to me with a "one" (a million).