Why did the coffee shop "die"?

After nearly three years of persistence, the "Future Garden" coffee shop in the business circle of the north gate of the central campus of Jilin University finally chose to close the shop at the end of last year. The relevant information about the coffee shop on the catering service web page has been cancelled and the owner's mobile phone number has become an empty number. At the beginning of the store, three young partners hope to turn the Future Garden into an old coffee shop with a reputation. On October 28, 2013, our "Entrepreneurship Gang" column article "Open an old shop with campus flavor" reported the story of them opening a coffee shop.

Although it is difficult to contact the parties and verify the real reason why the coffee shop is closed, according to the experts who run the coffee shop, there are many problems in the operation of "Future Garden". Any poor solution will affect the survival of the coffee shop.

Social veteran explains in detail the taboos of opening a shop

Lao Zhang's time Cafe is well known in Changchun. Zhang Jingtao, the 35-year-old owner of the cafe, also opened a coffee shop when he was a graduate student. In recent years, Zhang Jingtao has opened four coffee shops in Changchun, Shenyang and Beijing. Because "Lao Zhang" has a unique style and concept of running a coffee shop, he has also become the consultation object of many coffee shop entrepreneurs.

Last year, a person in charge of Future Garden called Zhang Jingtao for advice. In Zhang Jingtao's view, some of the problems in the Future Garden should be taken as a warning to other entrepreneurs who want to open campus coffee shops and spend money in colleges and universities.

When I saw the picture of the store decoration, I didn't think it was very attractive. Zhang Jingtao said that it is difficult to make a deep first impression on consumers, and the decoration style and atmosphere of coffee shops are the first hurdle to attract customers. Therefore, Zhang Jingtao suggested that although the store is opened near the campus, mainly aimed at college students, the design and style of the store should also be in line with the average level of the national coffee shop, otherwise it will be difficult to retain customers.

Second, Future Garden also has a common problem in many coffee shops, that is, it is very difficult for the person in charge to take care of the business in the store full-time. It is understood that because they both have jobs, partners Meng Qingji and Zhang Tianlong can only go to the coffee shop after work or on rest days, while Li Bo is abroad all the year round. Fortunately, Meng Qingji's girlfriend was able to take care of the coffee shop full-time. 'If there is no full-time management, it is difficult to recruit the right employees and keep them for a long time, 'Mr. Zhang said. It is understood that Future Garden once sent a clerk to Beijing for further study, but the other person left after serving for the coffee shop only a few months after completing the study.

In addition, what Zhang Jingtao is most worried about is how the partners will cooperate and how the benefits will be distributed. Last year, when interviewed by a reporter from China Youth Daily, the three partners of "Future Garden" did not put the issue of benefit distribution on the table because of its limited profits. Zhang Jingtao once opened a bar with friends when he was in college, but closed the shop in less than a semester because of differences in management between the partners. For entrepreneurs who are opening stores with friends or classmates, Zhang Jingtao suggests choosing a key person in charge, setting up clear accounts and distributing benefits.

"now there are many young people who have the idea and impulse to open a coffee shop and want to express their attitude towards life. This kind of feeling is very deceptive." Zhang Jingtao said that it takes a relatively long process for a coffee shop to make a profit. His four coffee shops range from rent, decoration, equipment and materials to hiring staff, with costs ranging from 300000 to 800000 yuan. Among them, the best profit is in the "Lao Zhang's time Cafe" in Changchun, but it also took more than two years to break even. The coffee shop opened in Beijing is still at a loss.

Zhang Jingtao believes that it is also during the period of waiting for a profit that many cafes are closed because they can't hold on.

An attempt to run a coffee shop in a community way

Outside the Southwest University of Finance and Economics, there is a "my Coffee", two floors, more than a dozen tables. In the eyes of many students on campus, it is a good place to experience a coffee shop or to open a shop and start a business in the future.

In May 2011, my Coffee, originally run by a couple, was redeemed to four boys from Southwest University of Finance and Economics because the shopkeeper went abroad. After a year of partnership, the coffee shop was cashed out to two other girls in the school because of the need to find a job and take the postgraduate entrance examination. Since then, the coffee shop has adopted the operation mode of the university club, recruiting staff like the college club in the new school year, and the shareholders exchange the shares of the coffee shop to the new shareholders at the same time.

This year is the fourth year that "my Coffee" is run by students of Southwest University of Finance. The shareholders are composed of six girls, who bear the transfer fee and daily cost of the store on average. There are more than 20 shop assistants, each on duty once a week.

The first condition for my Coffee to recruit shareholders and staff is to like the coffee culture and be enthusiastic about the operation of the coffee shop. Cai Jinyi, who worked as a clerk at my Coffee as a freshman, is now one of the shareholders. She said that at present, the monthly cost of the coffee shop is about 2000 yuan, and there are one or two tables of guests every day, with a daily turnover of about 100 yuan.

Although "my Coffee" regularly distributes leaflets on campus and surrounding neighborhoods, and holds parties or activities to attract customers during store festivals or festivals, the current state is still slightly profitable. Cai Jinyi and other shareholders have reached a consensus that the business philosophy of my Coffee is to survive and not to lose money. Although they have tried a variety of ways to increase passenger traffic, they do not want to turn the coffee shop into a lively and noisy storefront. In the year when men were shareholders, coffee shops were much more profitable than they are now, but there are often people drinking and talking loudly in the store, which current shareholders do not like.

Some members of "my Coffee" want to open their own shop in the future, while others want to practice what they have learned from textbooks. Qin Zongle, another shareholder, told China Youth Daily that the coffee shop has three major departments: manpower and Finance, Operations and Technology, Public Relations and Marketing, and most of the members are students majoring in finance and economics.

Qin Zongle said that their business goal this year is to make ends meet and have a slight surplus, so that they can give some small benefits to the shop assistants at the end of their term of office. At present, because it is in a state of micro-profit, a small amount of surplus is once again invested in the daily operation of the store, from shareholders to members are voluntary and voluntary work for the coffee shop.

The new semester has begun, and "my Coffee" is busy developing new products and designing group purchases, so as to attract passenger traffic and maintain regular customers.

What kind of shop is more suitable for the campus?

Of the more than 20 students randomly interviewed by a reporter of China Youth Daily at Jilin University, half said they would like to go often as long as the coffee shop is unique, while the other half said they prefer to buy a cup of coffee or other drinks to take away at a nearby store, which is both fast and affordable.

GE Zhonghua, a well-known milk tea chain in Jilin Province, has opened more than 120 milk tea and coffee franchises across the country. When he first set up his start-up project, GE Zhonghua was also interested in opening a quiet and stylish coffee shop, but after some research and argument, he thought that it was too risky for young people who lacked money and experience to open such a coffee shop.

Many of the franchisees in Jingyi milk tea and coffee shops are college graduates or college students. many of them asked GE Zhonghua if he could open a formal coffee shop, and then he calculated an account for the other side: first, consider the area of the store, larger rent, smaller passenger flow is limited; second, how to reduce the cost of decoration while ensuring the uniqueness of the store; third, to buy coffee machines and hire baristas. According to several calculations, it is very difficult to start without four or five hundred thousand yuan. GE Zhonghua said that this is only an investment in the preparatory stage. After the store is opened, how to increase the attendance rate? How to set the price of drinks, which can be accepted by students without losing money? How to maintain the normal operation of the month during the school winter and summer holidays are all issues that need to be considered in advance.

Therefore, when GE Zhonghua first started his business, he chose to open a buy-and-go milk tea shop, the investment and risk are much smaller than the coffee shop, and it is easier to survive. The storefronts of "Jingyi" milk tea shops and coffee shops often sell by window or put only one or two tables.

Zhang Jingtao and GE Zhonghua agree that if you want to do a start-up project with low investment and low risk, opening a milk tea shop is a good choice. They also remind entrepreneurs that in order to survive for a long time, no matter what kind of beverage store they open, the most important thing is to ensure the quality of raw materials and the taste of drinks.