Image source: Blue Whale News
Blue Whale News, July 26 (Reporter Sun Yu Wang Hanyi) The daily passenger flow is about 600 people, and the single-day turnover is close to 20,000 yuan, which is the recent operation of the newly opened "Wumart Canteen" of Wumart Supermarket (Zhongguancun Store).
In terms of dishes and prices, the Blue Whale News reporter learned on the spot that there are more than 60 kinds of meat and vegetarian stir-fried dishes, including cold dishes, stir-fried vegetables, staple foods, fruits, and snacks, among them, pasta carbohydrates are 13 yuan for unlimited eating, and stir-fried vegetables are 19.9 yuan for all-you-can-eat.
Wumart told Blue Whale News that it plans to open 20 "Wumart canteens" in Beijing this year, and Tianjin's "Wumart canteens" are also in the plan.
In fact, in addition to Wumart supermarket, Hema Fresh, Yonghui Supermarket, and RT-Mart are also expanding their "canteen" business one after another.
Crowds queuing up to pick up food at Wumart supermarket in Beijing; Image source: Wumart
Supermarket giants have opened "canteens"
In fact, catering in supermarkets is not a new thing. Many years ago, many supermarkets have introduced cross-border catering formats, such as: Hema Fresh has nested catering services in supermarkets since its inception, and Walmart China also told Blue Whale News that Walmart has always had related catering services.
The reason why this time is really "out of the circle" is that the packages launched by major supermarkets are very cost-effective, so that consumers feel the real discounts.
Blue Whale News learned that Hema Fresh also has a lot of affordable fast food for sale, specifically looking at the price of any three dishes of Hema (Guangzhou Poly Time Store) business package is 19.8 yuan, and the price of any four dishes is 23.8 yuan. In addition to the business package, there are also Peking duck, wanton freshly cooked, steak, pig's trotters, freshly roasted roasted roast meat......
A consumer told Blue Whale News, "I don't have to have a headache to think about what to eat at noon on weekdays, and safety and security are also the points that impress me." The consumer said, "On weekdays, you usually have to queue up to eat around 12 o'clock. ”
Guangzhou Hema fresh dining crowd; Image source: Blue Whale News
When the Blue Whale News reporter visited Hema Fresh in Shanghai, he learned that in April this year, some stores launched the "Uncle Stir-Fry", with more than 20 dishes to choose from at will, and the meat and vegetables were 4.28 yuan/50g. The staff told Blue Whale News, "The unit price is about 25 yuan, and most of the dining crowd is white-collar workers working in nearby office buildings." When the weather is hot, we also prepare free mung bean soup for consumers to take their own. ”
In addition, Yonghui Supermarket has also launched "Xiaohui Canteen" in some stores since the end of last year, with 15 yuan self-service fast food covering stir-fried vegetables, rice, soups and other types. In addition, according to the official of RT-Mart Jiujiang store, the "RT-Mart 10 yuan canteen" was launched in April this year, and the four dishes and one soup are only 10 yuan, and the dishes include potato roast meat, vegetarian chicken fried chili, lettuce, etc., and rice is provided for free.
Will it be a win-win for supermarkets and consumers?
Analysts believe that behind the catering of supermarkets, it is closely related to the transformation and changes faced by the retail industry in recent years. According to the latest data recently released by the China Chain Store & Franchise Association (CCFA), in 2023, the sales scale of the top 100 supermarket enterprises will be 868 billion yuan, and the total number of stores will be 23,800, down 7.3% and 16.2% respectively from the top 100 supermarkets in 2022.
In addition, according to the list of "2023 China's Top 100 Supermarkets" released by CCFA, Walmart, Yonghui, RT-Mart, China Resources Vanguard, Hema and Wumart occupy the top six seats on the list, which are also the representative enterprises of supermarket catering in recent years.
Is it good for supermarkets and consumers to "enter" the catering track of supermarket giants?
Industry insiders believe that for supermarkets, the advantage of catering is that the supply chain is mature, and the ingredients can be selected locally, eliminating many intermediate links, which helps to reduce costs. In addition, supermarkets can attract customers by selling low-cost packages, which can stimulate potential other consumer demand, such as selling packages while driving the sales of other goods such as beverages and fruits.
For consumers, supermarkets open canteens to provide more dining options, and supermarkets control the price of "three dishes and one soup" within 20 yuan, which not only meets the nutritional needs of meat and vegetables, but also makes consumers feel affordable and safe.
The crowd of Guangzhou Hema fresh food pick-up; Source: Blue Whale News
Of course, the disadvantages of supermarkets are also obvious. The first is the problem of food safety, supermarkets in the process of catering, often choose the corresponding suppliers, for example, the "Wumart canteen" has adopted a joint operation model, through cooperation with suppliers, Wumart supermarket provides venues and business qualifications, and suppliers provide service products. Industry insiders believe that the current number of "Wumart canteens" is small, and after the subsequent expansion, supermarkets will face the problem of food safety control.
It is worth mentioning that from the perspective of the business model of supermarkets doing catering, in addition to joint operations, there are also self-operated. Taking Hema as an example, seafood processing, freshly steamed oysters, and freshly grilled beef and mutton skewers adopt a self-operated model, while "Uncle Stir-fry" belongs to the joint operation model.
In addition, Shen Meng, director of Chanson Capital, provided a "zero-sum effect" view to Blue Whale News, in his opinion, supermarket cateringization may not be a plus for the supermarket's food business, but a zero-sum point. The bulk business of supermarkets is food, and if catering is provided, consumers will no longer buy meat, eggs, vegetables and other foods to cook. Shen Meng believes that supermarkets need to adjust the layout of the food business to achieve increment.
Retail analysts believe that catering is a relatively rigid consumption, and affordable canteens can quickly attract surrounding customers. However, there is little profit in the affordable canteen, and supermarket operators focus on increasing customer stickiness.
Will supermarket catering become a trend? In the view of Chen Liping, a professor at Capital University of Economics and Business, supermarket catering will become a necessary way for traditional retail enterprises, and supermarkets need to consider how to establish a new profit model through catering.