After working as a tea shop owner for a year, Chen Ge looked at three new tea shops opened in the same commercial street, and two others left sadly. He didn't have much time to lament the fate of his peers. Soon, a notice of "closing the store and transferring it" was posted outside his store. I haven't paid off more than 300,000 loans when I opened the store.
A cup of milk tea has grown into a new consumption outlet in 2020. It is 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 2020, the tea brand "Modern China Tea Shop" opened its first store in Wuhan, and the crowds surged. The clerk held up the hint that "it takes 8 hours to queue up", and a scalper shouted out the high price of 500 yuan's cup, and it was a deal.
Many people, like Chen Ge, are eager to ride the east wind. They catch up with the heat of milk tea and dream of "high profits", but what they expect is a broken dream and real debt.
Someone stepped into a deep pit at the first step of opening a shop and wanted to join a famous brand, but was cut off by the routine of Aauto Quicker recruitment company. After paying all kinds of high fees, such as joining fees and equipment fees, they only get a little-known brand, and no one is responsible for site selection and operation.
Opening a tea shop can make huge profits and quick money, or lose 80%? Lika runs two 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.
"Making milk tea with conscience has a high probability of losing money."
Chen Ge, who set up shop in Tianjin, joined Lu Xiao Tea Industry in June, 2065438+09, and closed the store in February, 2020, with a loss of nearly one million yuan.
The equipment in the tea shop has been removed, and the lights have been removed. Several holes were smashed in the ceiling, and everything that could be resold was sold. Looking at the chaos in the store, I feel that my dreams are really scattered. The store is closed, and more than 300,000 yuan has not been returned. Every day when I wake up, it's all stress.
This tea shop has only been open for a year, and it is also unlucky. It has encountered several big pits, not to mention making money, which is already a mess.
September 20 19, I heard that Xiaoxing's Lu Xiao Tea was open for joining, so I thought about opening one. It was already 65438+February when the store was renovated and opened. When I first started doing business, the business was not bad. The store was full of customers, but most of them came with the first free coupon. They were busy, but they didn't make any money. I comfort myself that the discount is also to expand the influence, and it will be fine in the future.
For this tea shop, I invested nearly 6,543.8+0,000 yuan. Excluding the rent of more than 400 thousand a year, the cost of joining Lu Xiaocha is several times higher than that of opening a shop by himself. According to the requirements of joining, the equipment and decoration have to be provided by the headquarters, which costs 250 thousand, a set of operating tables and cabinets also costs 60 thousand to 70 thousand, and the first batch of materials (milk tea raw materials) also costs tens of thousands. It is also very hard to hire people, prepare materials and make drinks when opening a shop. Two or three employees work in shifts, which costs more than 1 10,000 a month.
Ruixing stipulates that equipment, materials and appliances must be purchased from the headquarters. These things are much more expensive than those on the market, like stainless steel tea barrels. If you buy it yourself, the unit price is about 60-70 yuan, but Ruixing charges 750 yuan, and a store needs five. Generally, the water purification system used in tea shops is around 1,000 yuan, but the water purification equipment of Ruixing by going up one flight of stairs is more than 65,438+10,000 yuan.
When I didn't have enough money, I applied for a loan. At that time, I was confident that I could make money in the milk tea industry. Milk tea is profiteering, everyone says so.
I didn't expect to meet the COVID-19 epidemic after only one month's work. 65438+1In the middle of October, I closed the store in a hurry, but I was also anxious to stay at home. There is no income when you close the door, and you still have to pay the rent. My shop is in the downtown commercial street, 30 square meters, with a monthly rent of 35,000.
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 in the street, sometimes it is hard to sell a cup a day, and everyone has no money. Who is in the mood to go out for milk tea? It's no use bringing all the materials in. I cooked a pot of pearls in the morning, but I poured them all in the evening and threw away all my money. But you have to prepare raw materials. Even if guests come in, you can't say that there is no tea to sell.
Throw money out every day, the hole is getting bigger and bigger. I can't take it anymore. I want to close the store, but I can't afford the cost before, but I still want to stick to it.
Finally, in May and June, business gradually improved. Ruixing, the brand of Xiaolu tea mother, had another accident, financial fraud was exposed, and the news was overwhelming. Many netizens joked about "capitalist wool", 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 life, and it has no money to advertise and promote brands.
When I first joined, the operator of Luxiaocha assured me that from June 5438+ 10, 2020, I would promote Luxiaocha and advertise on a large scale, just like Luckin Coffee. Luckin Coffee became famous for its coupons and advertisements in those years. It originally wanted to copy the game on Lu Xiao 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. Lu Xiaocha's spokesperson has caused some controversy before. Many people resisted 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 spokesperson. Someone comes up and scolds the street directly, which is quite ugly. I can't talk back. More importantly, the rating of the store has become lower, which especially affects passers-by consumers. There are so many tea shops that everyone slips out immediately when they see bad reviews.
Seeing that business is not good, the day of paying rent is coming, thinking of stopping loss in time, I reluctantly closed the store. After a rough calculation, I worked hard for a year and basically lost 1 10,000 yuan.
Who doesn't do business to make money? I have also heard that tea is a profiteering industry, but it is only when I really enter the industry that I know that if businesses do business with their conscience, there is a high probability that they will lose money.
Huge profits are real, but that's gross profit margin. Under normal circumstances, the gross profit margin of milk tea should be 70% to 80%. The biggest cost of opening a tea shop is rent. The store must be opened in a prosperous area with large passenger flow, so the rent is bound to be high. Without high gross profit margin, sales can't afford the rent.
There are only two ways to maintain high gross profit margin, either reducing costs or increasing unit prices. The competition in tea shops is so fierce now. This commercial street where I open a shop, at an intersection, stands a milk tea shop at every intersection, and there are 14 or 5 brand milk tea shops in one street, which I didn't make myself. If the price is set too high, there will definitely be fewer people willing to spend.
This will only reduce the cost. I often tell my friends that you can't even find a drop of milk in 90% 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 you buy in large quantities, you will definitely encounter the problem of preservation. What if it is rotten? Do you want to use it?
The gross profit margin of Lu Xiao tea is basically 45%, with an average price of more than ten yuan. It is still difficult to make money. At the best, my shop can sell 400 to 500 cups a day, but it is only a few days a month. The average monthly sales are more than 100 thousand, 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 have made a lot of efforts in this store. I prepare materials at 9: 00 every morning, close the store at night 10, and clean up the inventory materials. I can go home basically in the afternoon 1 1.
Opening a tea shop is not as easy as I thought, but I still like to stay in the shop and chat with customers. Old customers have built a group of 300 to 400 people.
I'm going to inform everyone in the customer that the store can't be opened after it closes. Several familiar customers were very sad, and some little girls shed tears. Everyone also gave me advice. Let's chip in and raise money to open a shop, or I'll run it. I've thought about it. Forget it. If you keep losing money and can't explain it clearly to everyone, you can't drag others into the fire pit in order to reduce your own losses, can you?
Coincidentally, everyone thought well and was full of ambition before starting a business, but there were also many losers, especially in 2020. I took a taxi the other day and chatted with the driver. I opened a Japanese restaurant before, with an investment of 6.5438+0 million yuan. During the epidemic, he suffered heavy losses and could only transfer 300,000 yuan.
I'm 37 years old, old and young, with a loan on my back, and my family wants to eat in the blink of an eye. I can't help it No matter how sad you are, you should wash your face and think about what to do next. However, I'm not going to continue making milk tea.
When dealing with equipment and materials, I heard that many tea shops have closed down recently, and they have closed down everywhere. On the contrary, the recycling industry of second-hand kitchen equipment is very prosperous.
"Ordinary people don't want to make any big money by opening a tea shop."
Lika, who opened a shop in a third-tier city, entered the business at the end of October/Kloc-October/August, and now runs two Mi Xue Bing Cheng tea shops.
Many young people want to open a milk tea shop. I'm still the successful part. At least my shop is profitable.
The first store opened on 20 18. 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 with limited consumption power. A cup of milk tea costs 20 yuan to go to 30 yuan, and many people feel pain. Two years ago, the price of a drink in Mixue Ice City was about 6 yuan. Most cheap drinks are domestic brands, and the more well-known brands, the more expensive they are.
It cost about 300 thousand to open this store. The annual rent is 60,000 yuan, the joining fee and management fee 1 10,000 yuan, the decoration cost is more than 80,000 yuan, and the equipment cost is about 50,000 yuan. Plus the material cost, the participating brands will ask you to purchase from the headquarters, and the equipment and materials are more expensive than the market price. I was short of money soon after graduation, but thanks to the support of my family, I finally opened the shop.
The location of tea shops is very selective. The reason why this shop can make money is because it occupies a good position. There are two middle schools within 200 meters of this street, which is also the main road of the city. There are both ordinary students and pedestrians, with outstanding advantages. It takes four employees to be busy to sell hundreds of cups every day, with an average monthly sales of 65,438+10,000 yuan.
But I didn't understand this until I opened the second tea shop. Seeing that the business of the first store is booming, there is also a honey snow ice city 10 minutes' drive from this store. Afraid of being robbed, I opened another store in the middle and invested another 300 thousand.
But because of the bad location, the business of the second store was bleak, and I soon regretted it.
This kind of brand, Mi Xue Bing Cheng, has low unit price and high gross profit margin. A cup of milk tea, in addition to the beverage itself, straw bags and other packaging materials are also costs. The gross profit margin is about 50%, and after deducting rent, utilities and labor costs, the net profit is about 20%, and the monthly income is about 20,000 yuan. This is already a good level in this brand franchise store. Where the rent is more expensive, the profit rate will be lower.
Sales are high enough to support the cost of the store. Everyone often sees a group of people at the gate of Michelle Ice City. It's actually quite normal. It is piled up according to sales volume. If you can't sell hundreds of cups a day, it's not far from closing the store. The business of my second store is actually not good, but it seems that customers keep coming every day.
Some people don't like honey snow ice city, but it's actually a small profit but quick turnover business. People who are willing to spend 10 yuan to buy milk tea rarely consider buying high-grade milk tea from 20 yuan or even 30 yuan. Besides, besides first-tier cities, how many people can spend so much money on milk tea every day? As far as I know, among the franchisees in Mixue Ice City, about 70% have annual sales of more than 6.5438+0 million yuan, and only 654.38+0% have sales of more than 2 million yuan.
To tell the truth, it is difficult for ordinary people to make any big money in the milk tea industry in recent years. Whether joining a brand or making a brand, tea shops will face a problem, where is the future.
I have been a franchise store in Mi Xue Bing Cheng for two years, and the competition is getting more and more fierce. A tea shop on the street, open and closed, opened more and more, I have been unable to keep up. I don't know when this enterprise will go bankrupt. In fact, there are no barriers to tea shops. The formula of each family is similar, the difference of raw materials is not so big, and there is no core competitiveness.
Another 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 yours? So many famous brands have been killed, it is difficult for newcomers to attract customers.
Besides thinking about the future, there are many problems that I didn't think of before I entered the business. My first shop is near the school and the pedestrian street. There are hundreds of customers every day. Some students joked when ordering, "I want bubble tea instead of milk tea", but I will also meet some Xiong Haizi. Some people ordered milk tea, took a few sips, and then put the bees in to take pictures and claim compensation. Some older parents take 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 who ask me if I can make money by opening a tea shop. There are many white people who have never been exposed to this industry and want to jump in. You may think that the entrepreneurial project is to open a milk tea shop, which sounds glamorous and the threshold is not high. I feel that I like it, and so do my peers. There is a good market.
I will persuade them to open a tea shop now, which will be profitable and more free than going to work. Don't enter the business with the idea of "profiteering". This is indeed a tuyere, but what should I do if this gust of wind passes?
"There are many people who want to open a tea shop to make quick money. Many people regard these people as leeks."
Ray, a brand operator of milk tea in a second-tier city, has been in contact with the milk tea industry for two years.
The milk tea industry has been booming in the past two years. In our second-tier city, there may be two or three tea shops with different brands within 100 meters. Competition is not the red sea, but a sea of blood.
Most people make milk tea to make money, but many people become other people's "leeks" in the first step. That's what the company earns.
Kuaizhao company can be understood as having its own brand. Like normal milk tea brands, it has registered trademarks, which can provide store design and materials for franchisees. But they pay more attention to attracting investment, that is, bringing people in and killing the franchise fee, equipment fee, decoration fee and material fee together.
Usually, they will buy some keywords of famous milk tea brands online and associate them with their own websites. Interested in joining brand A can search and click on its website. After filling in the personal information, these quick recruitment companies will tell customers that the franchise fee of brand A is very expensive, the threshold is very high and the cost burden is very heavy. In short, it is a variety of reasons to persuade people to give up.
If the first quick recruitment company fails to convince customers to join, the information may also be sold, and soon, someone from the second quick recruitment company will call.
He will recommend a new brand, most of which are brands he has never heard of. Kuaizhao Company will come up with all kinds of materials to prove the advantages of this new brand and try its best to trick customers who are interested in joining the company. When we entered the company, everyone was dressed in formal clothes and the reception was particularly warm. Attracting investment, introducing contracts and refining the division of labor will give people a very formal feeling.
Decoration, equipment and materials must be purchased from quick recruitment companies, which will resell the products on the market to franchisees at a substantial price increase. Fast-moving companies that do well in attracting investment can also make a profit of hundreds of millions of yuan every year.
After paying all kinds of fees, when it comes to site selection, operation and management training, it will become very casual to recruit companies quickly. Tea shops have a high demand for location, but these quick recruitment companies do not expect to make money by selling. They will agree to choose anywhere.
In order to convince customers who are interested in joining, this kind of quick recruitment company usually opens several model stores in shopping malls, but the actual sales volume and gross profit margin of brand stores will not be told to franchisees, and only a vague industry data will be obtained if asked.
If the franchise stores suffered serious losses when they opened, it would be more difficult to defend their rights. There is a threshold for opening to join, and this kind of quick recruitment company is usually in line with it, but they will not specify the joining fee in the contract, but use words such as technology transfer fee and brand use fee. It will be very difficult to defend rights through legal channels, and most franchisees can only admit that they are unlucky.
I have been in contact with the milk tea industry for more than two years, and I have heard too many stories of being pitted. Perhaps because the industry has developed to this stage, the Matthew effect has already appeared. Big brands are getting better and better, while small brands are struggling to survive. Everyone wants to join the brand and give up creating their own brand.
Well-known brands are also vigorously developing stores to attract more investment. It is widely rumored in the industry that the number of franchise stores of a head brand next year is twice that of this year. For the brand licensees of tea shops, although the shops of the same brand will compete with each other, the more franchisees, the more money they actually earn. For example, if I recruit 10 franchisees, only five will make money and five will lose money, but the joining fee and decoration fee have already been earned, and then the franchisees can help me make a name for myself. Why not?
For example, the brand of our company is a local brand, and we can open more than a dozen franchise stores every month this year. Last year, there may be only one or two stores per month, and the goal for next year is more than 200.
As for whether franchisees can make money themselves, in fact, quite a few stores are losing money, but some people make money. Opening a tea shop is a slogan, not a business of lying down to make money. Two people opening the same store may have two effects. Whether you can make money depends on the time, place, mode of operation and luck of opening the store.
(At the request of the interviewee, Chen Ge, Lika and Ray are pseudonyms. )