I was shocked to see the news that "the East announced its permanent closure", but think about it, this is unexpected, and it is also expected.
In fact, the development of Chinese fast food, which is known as the "KFC Brothers Brand", has not been smooth, but it may not be a competitor of the same kind, but someone else.
Workers need more cost-effective working meals
As a Chinese fast food brand owned by Yum China, Dongfang has had a beautiful moment, and now there are only 5 stores left in China, and all of them are planned to be permanently closed in 2022. Now think about it, my last trip to the East was both bai years ago at Hongqiao Airport, or in the case of very few options.
As early as a few years ago, there was a post on Zhihu discussing why Dongfang Wasbai was so unsuccessful. There are a few responses worth thinking about.
Some people said: "(Oriental both white) pricing is very embarrassing, when the working meal to eat too expensive, the dinner bar and dislike it is not enough style, and the taste is indeed very general, it can be said that there is no feature." ”
If you look at the public reviews, you will find that "low cost performance" is many people's evaluation of the oriental white, twenty or thirty yuan set menu is usually only a bowl of rice, a dish, it is inevitable to appear shabby.
Some people say that it is better to go to a convenience store, buy a bento, add a bottle of drink or a dessert, more than enough.
Yes, the streets are full of convenience stores, especially in Shanghai, hundreds of meters apart, or even tens of meters can find a convenience store, they also serve three meals a day, fresh food categories are very many, hot meals, bento, rice balls, buns, oden, grilled skewers, everything, which undoubtedly constitutes a strong competitive relationship with the oriental white.
As some netizens said, as a working meal, the oriental white is too expensive, if the company downstairs at the same time there is an oriental white and a convenience store, then the probability will choose the latter.
Therefore, to some extent, it is not the real kung fu and hometown chicken that defeats the East that is white, but may be a convenience store.
Chinese Food Standardized "Curse"
In addition to the low cost performance, some people said: "Yum hopes to use the KFC model to do standardized Chinese fast food, and in fact, the catering market is segmented, and the Oriental white does not meet the price requirements of the working meal nor the demand for the leisure meal environment and the model." ”
And it is not that this demand is not there, just to see the product, the taste of the east is not stable.
In the same Chinese restaurant, the same taste is difficult to appear twice. This kind of thinking is deeply rooted, but not without reason. In Chinese cooking, intuition is more important than recipe, and "standardization" has become a historical problem.
At this point of Chinese food standardization, Dongfang is both white and probably lost to convenience stores.
Some convenience stores in China have now jumped out of the Japanese model and started selling Chinese hot meals, just like a small canteen, which is even more threatening to the oriental whites.
Take the local brand convenience bee, which serves more than a dozen hot meals every day, updated every week, and can be eaten with two or three dishes at will, less than 20 yuan, which is more in line with today's young people.
The standardization of Chinese food in this convenience store is reflected in two points, one is the standardization of stores and services, no matter which city any convenience store you walk into, you can feel the consistency of service and quality. It is a logic and order that has been painstakingly tried and tried to maintain from top to bottom, and you can fully feel the powerful control of the direct operation model on the end.
The second is the standardization of taste. In order to break this spell, the convenience bee has used a large number of scientific and technological means, through investment in fresh food factories, from the procurement of food quality, and through the application of various sensors, the food cooking temperature, heat, time and other parameters are accurately quantified, and a highly quantitative Chinese cooking process has been established, so that the invisible "taste" becomes elusive, so that the same dish is consistent at all times.
Unexpectedly, KFC's brother brands did not complete the mission of standardizing Chinese food and fell, but let a convenience store achieve it. And when consumers can spend 20 yuan to eat steaming delicious Chinese food at a convenience store, why should they double the money to eat Chinese fast food restaurants?
Therefore, if the Chinese fast food that is still alive is not improved or improved, I am afraid that there will be more brands that will withdraw from the historical stage, you say?