Changes in the shareholders of tea and joy The competition in the new tea drink track is fierce

Reporter Xu Liqing reports from Beijing

Recently, the topic of "a number of old shareholders suddenly liquidated their shares" has aroused heated discussions.

The reporter of "China Business Daily" found through Tianyan that the change information column of Hunan Chayue Cultural Industry Development Group Co., Ltd., an affiliated company of Chayan Yuese, showed that 7 shareholders including Chengdu Yuancheng Venture Capital Center (Limited Partnership) and Nanjing Wuyuan Qixing Venture Capital Center (Limited Partnership) withdrew at the same time, and the company's registered capital was reduced from about 7.0103 million yuan to about 5.0672 million yuan.

Based on this, the outside world once again spread the news of the listing of Chayan Yuese. In response, Chayan Yuese responded that the company has no IPO plan at present. In addition, the reporter noticed that the latest financing of Chayan Yuese stayed in 2021. In today's fierce competition in the field of new tea drinks, Chayan Yuese still adopts a more cautious attitude towards scale expansion and still adopts a direct sales model.

Seven institutions withdrew from the ranks of shareholders

Recently, Hunan Chayue Cultural Industry Development Group Co., Ltd., an affiliated company of Chayan Yuese, has undergone industrial and commercial changes, and the registered capital of the company has been reduced from about 7.0103 million yuan to about 5.0672 million yuan, and at the same time, Xu Liang, the founding partner of Yuansheng Capital, stepped down as a director.

The reporter inquired about Tianyan and found that the seven shareholders who withdrew were Chengdu Yuancheng Venture Capital Center (Limited Partnership), Nanjing Wuyuan Qixing Venture Capital Center (Limited Partnership), Shenzhen Tiantu Dongfeng Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Equity Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership), Suzhou Yuanchu Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), Suzhou Yuanhan Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), Wuhan Shunhong Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), Wuhan Shunying Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership).

With the withdrawal of the above-mentioned capital, the list of shareholders has basically returned to the state before the financing, and the shareholders are mainly the shareholding platform of the founding team. After the change, Chayan Yuese left Changsha Ju Yingliang Brand Management Co., Ltd., Changsha Youlan Management Consulting Partnership (Limited Partnership) and other 4 shareholders.

The reporter combed and found that since its establishment, Chayan Yuese has completed a total of 4 rounds of financing. The first round of financing was completed in January 2018 by Tiantu Investment, and the latest financing record was in December 2021 by Wuyuan Capital.

Jiang Han, a senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank, said that in the modern business environment, venture capital (VC) is often an indispensable force for start-ups, especially those fast-growing "unicorn" companies, to move from budding to maturity. However, the entry and exit of venture capital is a double-edged sword, which can accelerate the pace of development of a company, but it can also bring significant challenges and uncertainties at some point.

Jiang Han believes that usually, the exit mechanism of venture capital is closely linked to the growth stage of the company, especially when the company is close to or planning an IPO.

After the withdrawal of many shareholders, the rumors of listing are even more rampant. In this regard, Jiang Han told reporters that the withdrawal of the original shareholders may be to cooperate with the construction of a new capital structure, so as to introduce a new round of investment that is more suitable for overseas listing rules. Such a strategic adjustment is not uncommon, especially in the face of policy constraints in the domestic market or seeking broader international capital support.

The reporter noticed that this is not the first time that there have been rumors of listing in Chayan Yuese. In March, it was reported that Chayan Yuese had selected CICC and Morgan Stanley to be responsible for the IPO in Hong Kong; In April, Pan Pan, the managing partner of Yuantiantu Capital VC Fund, joined Chayan Yuese as the head of strategy, and Pan Pan had previously participated in the investment of Baiguoyuan and Naixue's tea, both of which landed in the capital market.

However, as before, Cha Yan Yue Se responded to the media: "The company has no IPO plans at present. ”

In fact, from the perspective of the entire industry, landing in the capital market to seek new increments has become a common choice. Just two months ago, Tea Baidao successfully landed on the Hong Kong stock market, becoming the second stock of new tea drinks after Nai Xue's tea, and setting the largest IPO in Hong Kong stocks in 2024. At present, Gu Ming, Mixue Bingcheng, and Shanghai Auntie have also submitted listing applications.

However, Shen Meng, executive director of Chanson Capital, said that the performance of the previously listed new tea brands has also made investors more cautious in investing in this field.

The tea market is highly competitive

According to the "2023 New Tea Beverage Research Report" jointly released by the China Chain Store & Stores Association and Meituan, the scale of the mainland new tea beverage consumption market has steadily stepped into 100 billion yuan (100.3 billion yuan) in 2021 from 53.4 billion yuan in 2018, but the growth rate has slowed down significantly since then, and the market has entered a period of consolidation. This also shows the increasing competition in the new tea industry.

From a practical point of view, "competing for listing", "Chongwan store" and "accelerating the layout of overseas markets" have been the status quo and norm of the new tea beverage industry. In the past two years alone, there have been new tea brands such as Shanghai Auntie and Nai Xue's tea that have opened up to join. At present, there are nearly 30,000 domestic stores in Mixue Bingcheng, which is the largest new tea brand; Secondly, Gu Ming, Tea Baidao, Shanghai Auntie, etc. are not far from the scale of 10,000 stores.

Unlike more and more new tea brands that are sprinting to the scale of 10,000 stores, Chayan Yuese has always adhered to the self-operated model. According to the data of Narrow Door Restaurant, as of June 10, the number of stores nationwide was 627, and it currently only covers 17 cities in four provinces (cities) including Hunan, Hubei, Jiangsu, and Chongqing, especially in Hunan and Hubei.

Zhan Junhao, founder of Fujian Great Aim Brand Positioning Consulting, said that the choice of the direct sales model means that it has strict control over the brand image, product quality and service standards. The advantage of this model is that it ensures a consistent customer experience, maintains the brand reputation, and avoids the uneven quality that can arise due to the franchise model. However, the limitations of the direct sales model are that the expansion rate is relatively slow and the cost is relatively high, because each store requires direct capital investment and management resources.

In addition to the scale of "volume", low-price drainage has also become a new strategy for many new tea brands to grab consumers. Previously, Heytea launched a buy-one-get-one-free limited-time event for the 12th anniversary, and some products only cost 4 yuan a cup after using the coupon. Even though it's a limited-time offer, the strength of the discount is also attracting attention. Brands such as Nai Xue's tea and Lele tea have also lowered their prices in recent years.

Sun Wei, a strategic consultant at Tsinghua University, said that low-price concessions to consumers can attract more consumers and repeat purchases, while also reducing marketing costs. For brands, it is a more important survival strategy to seize consumers and strive for transactions in the period of consumption contraction.

The fierce competition of new tea drinks is also reflected in the products. According to the "2022 China Beverage Industry Product Report" released by Carmen, in the first three quarters of 2022, the 50 brands it monitored launched a total of 1,677 new products, with an average of 11 new products per brand per quarter.

Many practitioners in the field of new tea drinks told reporters that the homogenization of products of various brands is serious, and in the beverage industry where product is king, we can only continue to accelerate the development of good products and improve core competitiveness. At the same time, it is also necessary to work the comprehensive strength of management and brand marketing to establish brand barriers.

Previously, the overlord tea queen of the new Chinese-style tea drink track expanded to Changsha, which was also regarded as an attack on the base camp of tea and beauty. As a representative of national style tea, and without the blessing of the "mystery" brought by rapid expansion, Chayan Yuese has become an Internet celebrity brand. After leaving Changsha, opening stores in various places can cause local consumers to queue up to buy. However, at present, the overlord tea queen of the national tide track is developing rapidly.

In May this year, at the "2024 International Tea Day Modern Oriental Tea Innovation Forum", Zhang Junjie, founder of Bawang Tea Ji, said that in 2023, the GMV of Bawang Tea Ji will exceed 10 billion yuan for the first time, reaching 10.8 billion yuan. In the first quarter of 2024, the GMV of Bawang Chaji exceeded 5.8 billion yuan in a single quarter, and it is expected that the GMV of the whole year of 2024 will exceed 20 billion yuan. According to the data of Narrow Door Restaurant, as of June 10, there were 4,537 stores in Bawang Tea Lady across the country.

"In the face of Bawang Tea and its rapidly expanding competitors in the tea space, Chayan Yuese may need to consider how to accelerate growth while maintaining the brand's core value. This could involve optimizing operational efficiency, increasing capital investment, or exploring more flexible go-to-market strategies. Zhan Junhao said.

In the face of fierce market competition, the reporter noticed that the tea face and pleasant color are also frequent, and at present, sub-brands such as day and night poetry wine tea, art and culture tavern, Yuanyang coffee, Gude Mo Lemon, and Xiaoshenxian teahouse have been launched, and the layout of subdivisions such as taverns, coffee, lemon tea, and pure tea has been strengthened.

Many industry experts agree that every brand has its own unique selling point and target audience. The "national style" characteristics and high-quality positioning of tea and beauty have won it a certain fan base. If Cha Yan Yue Se can continue to innovate its products and enhance the customer experience, while effectively managing its expansion cadence, it is possible to maintain its competitive edge even in a highly competitive market. "The success of a brand depends not only on the number of stores, but also on brand value, customer loyalty and profitability." Zhan Junhao said.

(Editor: Yu Haixia Review: Li Lin Proofreader: Zhai Jun)