Author | Tang Ji Editor | Wang Biqiang

After working as the owner of a tea shop for one year, Chen Ge watched three new tea shops in the same commercial street, and two others left sadly. He didn't have much time to lament the fate of his peers, and soon, a notice of "closing the store and transferring it" was posted outside his store. The loan of more than 311 thousand yuan when I opened the store has not been paid off.

a cup of milk tea has grown into a new consumption outlet in 2121. It's hard for people who are not keen on this to imagine what fans are willing to pay for milk tea: in the last month of 2121, the tea brand "Modern China Tea Shop" opened its first store in Wuhan, and the crowd was surging. The clerk held up the hint that "it takes 8 hours to queue up", and some scalpers shouted out the high price of a cup of 511 yuan, and they really sold it.

Many people, like Chen Ge, are eager to ride the east wind. They rushed to the heat of milk tea and imagined "high profits", but they didn't expect to wait for a broken dream and real debt.

some people stepped on the deep pit at the first step of opening a store, and wanted to join a well-known brand, but they were cut off by the routine of the quick recruitment company. After paying all kinds of high fees such as joining fees and equipment fees, they only got a little-known brand, and no one was responsible for site selection and operation.

can you make huge profits and quick money by opening a tea shop, or will you lose 81%? Lika runs two milk tea shops. Her answer is that the tea industry is no longer an era when ordinary people can make huge profits, and most people who want to make quick money have to lose money.

"Doing the business of milk tea with conscience is likely to lose money."

Chen Ge, who opened a shop in Tianjin, joined Xiaolu Tea in February 2119 and closed the store in February 2121, losing nearly one million yuan.

All the equipment in the milk tea shop was removed, and the lights were removed. Several holes were smashed in the ceiling, and everything that could be resold was sold. Looking at the chaos in the shop, I feel that my dream is really scattered. The store is closed, and I haven't paid back more than 311 thousand yuan for opening a store. Every day I wake up, it's pressure.

this tea shop has only been open for a year, and it is also unlucky. It has encountered several big pits in succession, not to mention making money and losing money.

In September, 2119, I heard that Xiaolu Tea owned by Ruixing was open to join, so I thought about opening one. It was already February when the store was renovated and opened. When I first started business, business was good, and the store was full of customers, but most of them came with the first cup of free coupons. They were busy, but they didn't make any money. I comforted myself that the discount is also to expand the influence, and it will be fine in the future.

I invested nearly 1 million yuan in this tea shop. Excluding the rent of more than 411,111 yuan a year, the cost of joining Xiaolu Tea is several times higher than that of opening its own shop. According to the requirements of joining, the equipment and decoration have to be provided by the headquarters, which costs 251,111 yuan, a set of operating tables and cabinets also costs 61,111 yuan and 71,111 yuan, and the first batch of materials (milk tea raw materials) is tens of thousands of yuan. You have to hire people to open a shop, and it is also very hard to prepare materials and make drinks. Two or three employees work in shifts, and it costs more than 1 million yuan a month.

ruixing stipulates that all equipment, materials and instruments must be purchased from the headquarters. The prices of these things are much more expensive than those in the market, like a stainless steel tea barrel. If you buy it yourself, the unit price will be about 61-71 yuan, but the charge for Ruixing is 751 yuan, and you need five in one store. Generally, the water purification system used in tea shops is about a thousand dollars, but Ruixing's water purification equipment is of a higher level, and it costs more than 1 million yuan to buy a set.

I didn't have enough money, so I applied for a loan. At that time, I was confident that I would make money in the milk tea industry. Milk tea is profiteering, everyone says so.

I didn't expect to meet the COVID-19 epidemic just after one month's work. In mid-October, I closed the store in a hurry, but I was also very anxious to stay at home. I didn't have business and no income, so I still had to pay the rent. My shop is located in the commercial street in the center of the city, 31 square meters, and the monthly rent is 35 thousand yuan.

after I could return to work in March, I quickly opened the store door with the clerk, but it didn't help. There is no one on the street, sometimes we can't sell a cup a day, and it's hard, and everyone has no money. Who is in the mood to go out and drink milk tea? It's no use bringing in all the materials. In the morning, I cooked a pot of pearls, but in the evening, I poured them all, throwing away all the money. But you can't help but prepare raw materials. Even if a guest comes in, you can't say that there is no tea to sell.

every day I throw money out, the hole is getting bigger and bigger. I can't carry it anymore. I want to close the store, but I can't bear the cost I invested before, so I still want to hold on.

After a hard time in May and June, business gradually picked up. Parent brand Ruixing of Xiaolucha had another accident, and financial fraud was revealed, and the news was overwhelming. Many netizens joked about "capitalism wool" or something, and the number of people who came to the store for consumption did not decrease significantly. But this incident has dealt a great blow to the headquarters. It has no money to subsidize its life, and it has no money to advertise and promote its brand.

When I first joined the company, the operator of Xiaolu Tea assured me that from October 2121, I would push Xiaolu Tea and advertise on a large scale, just like Luckin Coffee did. Luckin Coffee made a name for itself in those years by coupons and advertisements. It originally wanted to copy this game on Xiaolu tea, but after the fraud was exposed, it had no money to support it. My shop is closed, and I can't see where their advertisement is.

I can't even think of the third difficulty. It feels like thunder on the ground. The spokesperson of Xiaolu Tea caused some controversy before. Many people boycotted the products he endorsed, and my store suddenly had a lot of bad reviews on the catering evaluation platform. They are either because of quality or taste problems, or they are simply dissatisfied with the spokesmen. Some people come up and curse the street directly, which is quite ugly. I can't talk back. More importantly, the store's rating has become lower, which particularly affects passers-by consumers. There are so many tea shops, everyone saw the bad reviews and immediately slipped out.

Seeing that the business was not good and the day of paying the rent was coming soon, I thought about stopping the loss in time and reluctantly closed the store. Rough calculation of the account, hard and busy for a year, basically lost nearly 1 million yuan.

who doesn't do business to make money? I have also heard that tea is a profiteering industry, but only when I really enter the business do I know that if businesses do business with their conscience, there is a high probability that they will lose money.

profiteering is true, but it is the gross profit margin. Under normal circumstances, the gross profit margin of milk tea should be 71% to 81%. The biggest cost of opening a tea shop is rent. The store has to open in a busy area with large passenger flow to have business, and the rent is bound to be high. Without high gross profit margin, the sales can't afford the rent.

there are only two ways to maintain a high gross profit margin, either to reduce the cost or to increase the unit price. Nowadays, the competition in tea shops is so fierce. This commercial street where I open a shop, an intersection, stands a tea shop at every corner, and there are 14 or 5 brand tea shops on a street, which is not self-made. If the price is set too high, there must be fewer people willing to spend.

that can only bring down the cost. I often tell my friends that you can't even find a drop of milk in 91% tea shops on the market. Besides, fresh fruit tea, the loss rate of fresh fruit is very high. If the store does not purchase in large quantities, the price will not be lowered. If it is bought in large quantities, it will definitely encounter the problem of preservation. What should I do if it is rotten? Use it or not?

The gross profit margin of Xiaolu Tea is basically 45%, with an average price of more than ten yuan. It is still very difficult to make money. At the best of times, my store can sell 411 to 511 cups a day, but there are only a few days in a month. On average, the monthly sales are more than 111,111 yuan, and the profit is not enough for rent, water, electricity and labor costs.

I started to open a tea shop because my wife had a dream of opening a tea shop. I used to be in the advertising industry, and I also put a lot of effort into this store. I prepare materials at 9 am every day, close the store at 11 pm, clean up and take stock of materials, and basically can't go home until after 11 pm.

opening a tea shop is not as easy as I thought, but I still like to stay in the shop and chat with customers. The old customers have built a group, including 311 to 411 people.

after I planned to close the store, I informed everyone among the customers that the store could not be opened. Several familiar customers were very sad, and some little girls shed tears. Everyone also gave me advice, everyone pooled some money, raised funds to open a shop, or I will run it. I thought about it, forget it. If you keep losing money and can't explain it to everyone, you can't drag others into the fire pit in order to reduce your own losses, can you?

It's fate. Everyone thinks well and is full of ambition before starting a business, but there are also many losers, especially in 2121. A few days ago, I took a taxi and chatted with the driver. He had opened a Japanese food store and invested 1 million yuan. During the epidemic, he suffered heavy losses and could only transfer 311,111 yuan.

I'm 37 years old, old and young, with a loan on my back, and my family wants to eat when I wake up. I can't help it. No matter how sad I am, I have to wash my face and think about what to do next. However, I don't intend to continue making milk tea.

when dealing with equipment and materials, I heard that many tea shops have failed recently and closed down everywhere, but the recycling industry of second-hand kitchen equipment is booming.

"Ordinary people don't want to make much money when they open a tea shop"

Lika, who opened a shop in a third-tier city, entered the business at the end of 2118 and now runs two Mi Xue Bing Cheng tea shops.

Many young people want to open a tea shop, and I am still a relatively successful part. At least my shop is profitable.

The first store was opened in 2118. At that time, I carefully compared the brands on the market and chose Mi Xue Bing Cheng. To tell the truth, the price factor is the most important. My place belongs to a third-tier city, and my consumption capacity is limited. A cup of milk tea costs 21 to 31 yuan, and many people feel pain. Two years ago, the price of a single drink in Mixue Ice City was about six yuan. Most of the cheaper drinks were homemade brands, and the more famous brands were much more expensive.

it cost about 311,111 yuan to open this store. The annual rent is 61,111 yuan, the franchise fee and management fee are more than 1,111 yuan, the decoration cost is more than 81,111 yuan, and the equipment cost is about 51,111 yuan. Plus the material cost, the participating brands will require you to purchase goods from the headquarters, and the equipment and materials are more expensive than the market price. I was short of money shortly after graduation, but thanks to the support of my family, I finally opened the store.

The tea shop is very location-selective. The reason why this shop can make money is because it occupies a good location. There are two middle schools within 211 meters of this street, which are also the main roads of the city. There are both regular students and pedestrians, and the advantages are outstanding. Hundreds of cups can be sold every day, and it takes four employees to get busy, with an average monthly sales of RMB 1 million.

but I didn't understand this until I opened a second tea shop. Seeing that the business of the first store is booming, there is also a honey snow ice city about 11 minutes' drive from this store. I was afraid of being robbed of the list, so I opened another store in the middle and invested another 311,111 yuan.

but because of the poor location, the business of the second store was bleak, and I soon regretted it.

This type of brand, Mi Xue Bing Cheng, has a low unit price, and its gross profit margin is not as high as expected. A cup of milk tea, in addition to the beverage itself, packaging materials such as straw bags are also costs. The gross profit margin is about 51%, and then excluding rent, utilities and labor costs, the net profit is about 21%, and the monthly income is about less than 21,111 yuan. This is already a good level in this brand franchise store. Where the rent is more expensive, the profit margin will be lower.

The sales volume is high enough to support the cost of the store. Everyone often sees a crowd at the entrance of Mi Xue Ice City. In fact, it is normal. It is piled up by sales volume. If you can't sell hundreds of cups every day, it will not be far from closing the store. The business of my second store is actually not good, but it seems that customers are constantly coming every day.

Some people don't like Mi Xue Ice City, but in fact, it is a business with small profits but quick turnover. People who are willing to spend 11 yuan on milk tea rarely consider buying high-grade milk tea in 21 yuan or even 31 yuan, and besides first-tier cities, how many people can spend so much money on milk tea every day? As far as I know, about 71% of the franchised stores in Mi Xue Bing Cheng have an annual sales of more than 1 million yuan, and only 11% have an annual sales of more than 2 million yuan.

to tell the truth, in recent years, it has been difficult for ordinary people to earn much money in the milk tea industry. Whether it is to join a brand or make a brand, milk tea shops will face a problem, where is the future.

I've been a franchise store in Mi Xue Bing Cheng for two years. Seeing that the competition is getting more and more fierce, there are more and more tea shops in a street, so I can't always follow it. I don't know when the business will fail. In fact, there are no barriers to tea shops. The formulas of each family are similar, and the differences in raw materials are not so great, so there is no core competitiveness.

The other way is to create your own brand. Most people who have experience in milk tea industry want to open their own stores. The cost is definitely lower than joining, at least you don't have to pay the joining fee, and the gross profit margin will be higher. It seems that it has entered the stage of profiteering, but why don't consumers buy big brands and buy yours? So many well-known brands have been beaten to death, and it is difficult for newcomers to attract customers.

besides thinking about the future, there are still many problems that I didn't expect before I entered the business. My first store is near the school and the pedestrian street. Every day, there are hundreds of customers. Some students are joking and say "I want bubble tea instead of milk tea" when ordering, but I will also meet some Xiong Haizi. Some people order milk tea, drink a few mouthfuls, then put the bees in and take photos to claim compensation. Some older parents bring their children to buy milk tea and ask the clerk if pearls are made of leather shoes. The attitude is not very friendly, and it is quite helpless to encounter such a thing.

In recent years, new tea has become a hot word. I often meet many young people asking if I can make money by opening a tea shop. There are many white people who have never been in contact with this business and want to jump in. You may think that the entrepreneurial project is to open a tea shop, which sounds glamorous and the threshold is not high. I feel that I like it, and my peers like it. It is very marketable.

I'll advise them that it's good to open a tea shop now, and it's more profitable than working freely. Don't enter the business with the idea of "profiteering". This is really a tuyere, but what if this gust of wind passes?

"There are many people who want to open tea shops to make quick money, and many of them regard them as leeks."

Zhang Rui, a brand of tea in a second-tier city, has been in contact with the tea industry for two years.

The tea industry has been booming in the past two years. In our second-tier city, there may be two or three tea shops of different brands within 1,111 meters, and the competition is no longer the Red Sea, but a sea of blood.

Most people make money by making milk tea, but many people become other people's "leeks" at the first step. It is this cheat people's money that Quick Recruitment Company earns.

a quick recruitment company can be understood as having one of its own.