Starbucks China market is divided, Korean coffee shops have opened nearly 600 in two years.

In the traditional impression, the European and American coffee shop brand Starbucks has been the "coffee shop scenery" in major cities for a long time, but in recent years, similar to popular film and television dramas, fashion clothing and other fields, there has also been a "Korean wave" in the coffee shop field. RET Ruiyide China Commercial Real Estate Research Center released the first "Research report on the Development trend of Korean Coffee shops in China" in China. The report tracks the development of 12 representative coffee shop chains in China in the past 17 years, and makes a comprehensive analysis of the expansion of Korean coffee shops. Data show that Korean coffee shops are expanding rapidly, opening nearly 600 stores in the last two years alone.

Shi Jin, chief analyst at RET Ruiyide China Business Research Center, said, "at present, Korean coffee shop chains are developing rapidly in China, and what is particularly noteworthy is their layout in the core business areas of second-and third-tier cities, as well as flexible ways of cooperation, so that the overall market pattern is changing."

The momentum of opening Korean coffee shops comes from behind.

In recent years, Korean coffee shop brands, represented by coffee accompany you and diffuse coffee, are gradually covering every corner of many cities in China. The statistics also reflect the growing "Korean wave" in the coffee shop field. Statistics from RET Ruiyide China Commercial Real Estate Research Center show that Starbucks expands fastest among European and American coffee shop brands. At present, there are 1164 coffee shops in China, with an average of 77 stores per year. The outstanding Taiwanese coffee shop brand is Shangdao Coffee, which currently has 1016, expanding at an average rate of 59 per year. Among the Korean coffee shop brands, coffee accompany you is the most outstanding. In just two years since entering China, it has opened 407 stores and is still expanding at a high speed, and its expansion momentum has even surpassed that of Starbucks. The same is true in Chengdu, where statistics from RET Ruiyide China Commercial Real Estate Research Center show that there are 24 Korean coffee shops in Chengdu, of which the number of coffee shops with you far exceeds that of similar brands, reaching 14, followed by Zoo Coffee, which has 6 stores in Chengdu.

Rich product structure to achieve differential competition

In terms of product richness, the average number of products of Korean coffee shop brands is 76, almost double that of 41 coffee shop brands in Europe and the United States. In addition to coffee, tea, smoothies, cakes, sandwiches and other common categories of coffee shop brands, Korean coffee shop brands have also added smoothie, soda, ice cream, cereal lattes, muffin toast and other products. At the same time, unlike European and American coffee shop brands and Taiwan coffee shop brands, Korean coffee shop brands also focus on non-coffee drinks, accounting for up to 49% of the total products, which is convenient for differentiated competition.

Cooperation mechanisms are more flexible

In terms of business model, different from the high proportion of direct operation of European and American coffee shop brands and the multi-agency mechanism of Taiwan coffee shop brands, RET Ruiyide China Commercial Real Estate Research Center found that Korean coffee shop brands well weighed the proportion of different modes of operation in the process of expansion, with the proportion of direct operation and franchise being 19% and 60% respectively, as well as the proportion of cooperative operation. That is, the management side and the franchisee jointly participate in the operation, and both sides own part of the equity. Take Coffee as an example, the minimum investment of Coffee is only 500000. In addition to the cooperative stores with 49% equity, Coffee also cooperates with China Merchants Bank to provide franchisees with credit to use franchisees as financial products to attract franchisees to the maximum. These business models better balance the relationship between coffee shops in equity allocation, post-management, quality control and so on. In terms of expansion strategy, Korean coffee brands avoid head-on conflicts with European, American and Taiwan coffee shops.

Location strategy according to local conditions

As Korean coffee shop brands enter late in first-tier cities, urban resources are preempted, and individual stores have a larger rental area, up to 69% of stores in first-tier cities are located in the suburbs. On the other hand, community commerce in first-tier cities has become more mature, and the lower rental costs and stable regional passenger flow in the suburbs provide the basis for Korean coffee shop brands to enter the suburbs.

With the rapid development of economy and consumption in second-and third-tier cities, Korean coffee shop brands see the market potential of leisure cafes in these cities. As a result, most brands choose to be stationed in urban areas, and their urban locations account for 87%. In Chengdu, Korean coffee shops are mostly located in urban shopping centers, such as R & F Square, Jinniu Wanda Square, Global Center and so on. In the urban area where the flow of people is most concentrated, the excellent shop resources and open display area help the Korean coffee shop brand, which is famous for its environmental layout, be able to attract the exuberant flow of people with the best image display and rapidly expand its popularity, which in turn contributes to its rapid expansion.

Brand implantation and diversification promotion

In order to shake up the traditional status of Starbucks and Shangdao Coffee in China, Korean coffee shop brands have also invested a lot in marketing methods, including brand implantation by virtue of the high ratings of Korean idol dramas in China, and hire popular stars as spokesmen to maximize star effect. The development of this new field not only caters to the O2O consumption habits of young people to enhance customer stickiness, but also covers areas where physical stores have not yet been involved with the help of logistics network.

Shi Jin pointed out, "at present, China's coffee shop market is still vast, with the help of flexible cooperation and diversified marketing advantages, especially the audience of South Korean dramas and stars in China's vast cities. Korean coffee shops will infiltrate more deeply in second-and third-tier cities. Including new brands such as Mangosix, although the current number of stores is small, it is expected to usher in a new peak in 2015-2016. "