I have opened a clothing store for more than ten years, but now the profit is getting thinner and thinner, and the pressure is getting bigger and bigger, so I have to choose to quit. "Chen Xia, who has been in the clothing business for more than ten years, was very sad at the moment when he decided to transfer the store. With the impact of e-commerce, industry competition, rising rents, the pressure of artificial salary and the decrease of passenger flow, more and more physical stores in Lanzhou have finally chosen to close down or transfer because of poor management or not optimistic about their development prospects.

in the face of the surging tide of the internet, how is the offline store operation in Lanzhou? How to develop in the future? Lanzhou Morning Post reporter recently conducted an investigation and interview for this purpose.

1

Stores have been transferred and closed down, and the prosperity of the past is no longer

Once upon a time, all kinds of clothing stores on the street were regarded as fashion vane. However, in recent years, with the increasing popularity of online shopping, street clothing stores seem deserted. On May 8, a brand luggage shop on Zhangye Road was filled with various kinds of handbags, and advertisements for low-priced sales were constantly placed in the stereo. "In the past two years, business has become more and more difficult to do, the house has been subletted, and the rest of the goods will not be done after processing." The owner told the reporter helplessly. In another clothing store nearby, Ms. Li, the owner of the store, is playing with her mobile phone bored. Although a batch of summer clothes has just arrived in the store, few customers patronize it. She told reporters that according to the situation in previous years, it is already the peak season. As long as there are many customers in the store, business is always better, but it is not necessarily now. In the past two years, some customers just looked at the store and didn't buy it. When some customers hear that the price is relatively high, they either leave directly or return to a very low price. If you don't sell it, customers will say that it is cheaper online. "In terms of operating costs, physical stores can't compete with online stores PK at all, and the rents of physical stores are rising year by year, and operations are struggling." Ms. Li said.

Except for the accommodation, entertainment and catering industries, the traditional department stores, street clothing stores, bookstores, gifts and other practitioners reported that the sales situation was very poor. Among the closed transfer stores visited by reporters, department stores, street clothing stores, bookstores and gift shops accounted for nearly 81%.

2

Shopping channels are broadened and physical stores become "furnishings"

"Now many people try on clothes in physical stores and then buy them online. Many people regard physical stores as fitting rooms. Even if the asking price is lower, customers think there are cheaper ones online. " Zheng Liang, who sells down jackets, said that under the impact of e-commerce and Wechat business, consumers' shopping habits have changed. In the eyes of many people, online stores have replaced physical stores as the first choice for consumption.

"I used to go shopping once a week, but now I can't go shopping once a month. It is very convenient to buy things in online stores, and there is a lot of choice. If it is not suitable, it can be returned at any time. " Zhang Mengmeng, a citizen, said that she not only solved the problem of "food, clothing, housing and transportation" online, but also paid for entertainment activities online. As a result, physical stores are more passive. In the interview, many physical shopkeepers told reporters that if the goods are not sold well, the merchants will inevitably press the goods; If the goods are pressed, the merchants will be unable to turn around; Lack of liquidity, the purchase will be restricted; The style of clothing can't keep pace with the times, and it can't keep customers. The operation of physical stores has thus fallen into a "vicious circle", and perhaps it will not be able to get rid of such a dilemma in the next few years.

Zhang Chengwei, who runs a brand sports store in Gannan Road, told reporters that when he first started his business eight years ago, because brand products were popular with young people, the demand was often in short supply. However, in recent years, online shopping has become popular, and many customers came to the store to secretly write down the article number and buy it online. Although they tried their best, they still could not change the bleak fate of business.

Zhang Chengwei also felt helpless when he looked at many small shops around him that closed again because they could not make a profit after opening for a few months. "I have been operating like this for many years, and I have accumulated some old customers, and I can barely survive. As for those young people who have opened new stores, it is difficult to maintain them for a long time."

3

The wholesale market is not as prosperous as in previous years

For more than 21 years, the eastern market has been a gathering place for retailers such as Lanzhou and even Gansu to wholesale goods. It attracts retailers from all over the world to approve goods with its low prices and flexible management methods, which is very lively. However, when the reporter visited the eastern market recently, he found that it is no longer as prosperous as it used to be, and "business is not as good as in previous years" is the general feeling of wholesalers.

Wei Min runs a children's clothing wholesale store in the eastern market. From 2115 to now, she has been running this store for 11 years. In Wei Min's memory, before 2112, the business in the store was the most prosperous. She told reporters: "At that time, in the peak season of wholesale children's wear, someone was waiting at the door to get the goods early every morning. We were too busy to eat all day. Those two years should be the golden age of the eastern market, and the business households here have earned a lot of money. "

When it comes to the business situation in the past two years, Wei Min described it as "getting worse every year". She told reporters: "In 2111, the sales volume of our store was more than 2 million, and in 2115, the sales volume was only more than 1.3 million, down by nearly one third. This year, the situation may be even worse. It has reached the peak season of sales, but the number of customers who come to get the goods has not increased, and everyone is not ordering in large quantities as in previous years. " In the interview, Wei Min often showed nostalgia for the bustling scene of the eastern market a few years ago. "At that time, the market was crowded and people couldn't stay idle all day, and the business was particularly prosperous. Now, many stores don't open their doors at 11 o'clock in the morning, and in the afternoon, customers can hardly be seen in the market to get goods, which is deserted."

4

The competition among peers is fierce, the cost is too high, and the business is unsustainable

Nowadays, walking in the streets, it is not difficult to find more and more "face-to-face" shops. Under the current situation that it is more and more difficult to find a good job, entrepreneurship has become the choice of many people, and industries such as catering and clothing with a low starting point have been listed as the first choice, but the competition among peers has also entered a white-hot stage. Looking at the coffee shops all over the street, the business is booming, followed by Grace Wai Wong, a citizen, but it has been losing money since it was opened, and the store was transferred less than one year later. After the business failed, Grace Wai Wong couldn't help sighing, "It's a strange phenomenon that once a project takes the lead, imitators are everywhere, and similar shops are mushrooming. Faced with such a situation, many people dream of' making money for everyone'. The string of hot pots and braised chicken rice on the street are the best examples. "

"At that time, one family rushed to open one after another, and now it has fallen down one after another." Zhao Yukun, who is engaged in the catering industry, analyzed that fierce competition among peers will not only divert customers, but also make customers lose their freshness, resulting in no money and no winner.

"The cost of opening a physical store is too high to bear." Outside the eastern market, Mr. Chen, who is engaged in children's shoes business, stood in the store and sighed constantly. He told reporters that his store area is less than 21 square meters, and the annual rent will be nearly one million yuan, and various expenses such as water, electricity, taxes and sanitation will cost more than 11,111 yuan a year. There are two employees in the store, with a monthly salary of 2,511-3,111 yuan, and 61,111 yuan a year. In this way, the annual cost will be 1.8 million yuan, and at least 1.5 million yuan will be earned every month to break even. In some busy shops in Lanzhou, the annual rent is hundreds of thousands or even millions, and the operating pressure is even greater, and only a handful of them can make profits. In the interview, many shopkeepers also reported that the transfer fee of shops in Lanzhou is generally too high, and the previous business is not good, and it is often transferred before the lease period, but the expenses such as pre-renovation have not been paid back, so the transfer fee is increased. In the long run, the transfer fee is getting higher and higher.

The reporter dialed the transfer number of a shop on Wudu Road in the name of renting a house. The lady who answered the phone was very enthusiastic. "We rented this store, too, and now we want to rent it out." The lady introduced that the annual rent plus transfer fee for this 51-square-meter shop is 311,111 yuan. She told reporters, "The price will not be lower."