An exclusive interview with Mr. you Changsheng, Chairman of Shangdao Group

[name] you Changsheng

[sex] male

Chairman of Shanghai Shangdao Coffee and Food Co., Ltd.

[profile] at that time, there were few high-grade places for businessmen to drink tea and talk about things in Haikou, so you Changsheng came up with the idea of investing in coffee shops. "when I first opened this store, I was not very sure. It is mainly worried that people in Hainan are used to drinking local coffee and are not easy to accept the taste of coffee on the island. " You Changsheng said. So he let customers taste it for free for two days before opening, but the result was quite unexpected. Every day at noon and evening, it is often full of seats, and the business is quite good. In the next few years, you Changsheng opened eight chain stores in Hainan one after another, and then developed in the mainland at the rate of dozens a year.

[company profile] Shangdao Coffee is a well-known coffee brand in Taiwan with a history of several decades. In 1997, you Changsheng, a Taiwanese businessman, invested in opening the first Shangdao coffee shop in Haikou, introducing the coffee brand "originated in Taiwan, smell the world" to Chinese mainland. In the past 10 years, Shangdao coffee has shown an expansionary development in the mainland, and more than 1000 franchisees have created a miracle of growth in the coffee and beverage market. The process of making coffee on Shangdao makes people marvel at the exquisite uniqueness of Taiwan's coffee culture. The brewer breaks the coffee beans in a grinder, then boils them in a glass coffee maker that can withstand a high temperature of more than 1000 degrees, automatically filters them, and delivers a cup of fragrant and delicious coffee to customers in less than a minute.

An exclusive interview with Mr. you Changsheng, Chairman of Shangdao Group

Reporter: Shangdao Coffee originated in Taiwan. When did it enter the Chinese mainland market? Where is the first distribution site in Chinese mainland? Shangdao Coffee now adopts an integrated business model from production to baking to sales. What is the biggest difference between Shangdao Coffee and other similar brands in Shanghai?

You Changsheng: Shangdao Coffee entered the Chinese mainland market in 1997. The first site was in Hainan, where Shangdao Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. was established, focusing on Hainan's climate suitable for growing coffee. Because our original idea is from the initial planting to production and processing, and then baking to the final sale, the integration operation is all done by ourselves. So far, we have set up a coffee processing factory, a professional bar master, a training base for chefs and outfield staff and a logistics center. Because at the moment, consumers may drink coffee just for environmental enjoyment and status symbol. Speaking of the biggest difference, I think we are not a coffee shop in a simple sense, our Chinese and Western food will be favored by customers. We can see that the consumers of Shangdao coffee are mainly based on business negotiations, so the type of dishes is not a single coffee, but also Chinese and Western packages for consumers to choose from. In this way, it provides a convenient place for business people. Coupled with the elegant environment and relatively low consumption of Shangdao coffee, it has attracted the attention of consumers to a large extent.

Reporter: when did Shangdao Coffee enter Shanghai? How was the coffee market in Shanghai at that time? What was the consumer demand for coffee at that time? With the gradual entry of Starbucks and COSTA, what about the impact on Shangdao coffee?

You Changsheng: Shangdao Coffee entered Shanghai in 2000, when there were very few coffee shops in Shanghai, plus there was no pure coffee in the real sense. At that time, I was dining at the Kunlun Hotel in Beijing and ordered a cup of coffee, but what I did not expect was a cup of instant coffee. At that time, I decided to make real coffee in the Chinese mainland market. I remember that when I first entered Shanghai, there was no sign of Starbucks, COSTA and so on, except for the real pot coffee five years ago. At that time, "coffee" can be called a new term, consumers may not be able to taste the quality of coffee, but many people are willing to try. Sitting next to the floor-to-ceiling window and basking in the warm sunshine makes people feel lazy and comfortable. Take a book, call a cup of fragrant coffee, look at the traffic outside the window, pedestrians, for consumers, this is a kind of enjoyment, a kind of fashion, but also a symbol of status and the representative of social status. But with the passage of time, we overlook the coffee market in Shanghai, in addition to the chain brands Starbucks, COSTA, real pot and so on, some unknown elegant environment, exquisite layout of small coffee bars have long been all over the streets. Unlike in France, there was once a coffee shop that survived for 180 years without changing its address or style. Because in France, at the beginning of the construction of the building, their plans and goals have already been drawn up, the ancient flavor will be deliberately retained, and the atmosphere of the old street will gradually form. But now the coffee market in Shanghai is more commercial, while the content of coffee itself is dwindling. Because of the entry of Starbucks and COSTA, to a large extent, we occupy the market share of young consumers, we are also constantly looking for a position suitable for our own development, and gradually transform to business packages.

Reporter: how many branches are there in Shangdao Coffee? How many are there in Shanghai? What are the prospects for its future expansion? What is the next step of the expansion plan? What preferential policies are adopted to promote consumption of Shangdao coffee now? What is the proportion of franchise stores and directly operated stores?

You Changsheng: Shangdao Coffee now has more than 1200 stores in China, of which there are about 120 in Shanghai. At present, the dense branches are mainly distributed in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Tianjin and other places, while the branches in Chengdu and Chongqing are also on the rise. In terms of the expansion plan, we advocate that the sites should be completely distributed and evenly distributed in the provincial capitals across the country. It is planned to open another 120 stores in Shanghai in the next three years, depending on the market. Because our consumer group is mainly aimed at business and office, we are now in negotiations with "Toyota" cars. In addition, we will also adopt easy-to-use shortcuts such as "bank" and "all-in-one card".

Today, direct stores account for about 5% of Shangdao coffee.

Reporter: we can see that now Shangdao coffee stores generally choose to open in office buildings, along the street and life stores, why not choose to stay in the shopping center? What do you pay most attention to in this respect?

You Changsheng: in terms of site selection, we are mainly in commercial office-intensive areas, and we generally choose to open in office buildings, communities, along the street and some life stores. We have not set foot in the shopping center so far. It is mainly because our prices are relatively civilian, the area demand is relatively large, and the rent will cause great pressure. In addition, our store opening requirements are relatively special. Hope to have independent entrances and exits, which is generally not enough for shopping malls, and then the business hours of shopping malls do not exactly match ours. So we won't consider moving into the mall for the time being.

Reporter: I heard that Shangdao Coffee has successfully acquired Diou Coffee and Mero Coffee, and the Dio Coffee separated from Shangdao has now returned. What about cross-strait coffee in the same situation? In today's coffee market in Shanghai, who do you think is your biggest competitor? How is the business of the podium on the first floor of Yaohan Huashen Building? Why not choose to settle in Xinmei Square? Under what premise do you think you will be stationed in large shopping malls, conferences and front-line shopping malls? What adjustments will be made to the dishes in this regard?

You Changsheng: Shangdao Coffee is a combination of coffee drinks and Chinese and Western fast food. in today's market, the biggest competitor may still be our own "cross-strait coffee" and "Diou coffee". Now that we have successfully acquired Diou Coffee, I believe that in the near future, cross-strait coffee will also return to the island, co-operate and play a strong role. The Shangdao coffee shop on the first floor of Yaohan Huashen Building now has a rent of about 9 yuan and covers an area of 550 square meters, but because the property side has asked for an increase in the rent price to about 15 yuan, coupled with the fact that this store belongs to a franchise store, they have already breached the contract and are not in the franchise period. If the coordination is not successful, we may choose to close the store. The rent of the shopping center will be relatively high, and we are measuring the business of the Hong Kong beautiful restaurant of the same area as ours in Xinmei Union Square opposite. As for the presence in front-line shopping malls and large shopping malls, perhaps after our listing, in order to create a brand effect, we will choose to open branches in such locations and properties. Of course, we will also relatively improve the quality of products, such as high-end dishes closer to make the brand bigger.

Reporter: how does Shangdao coffee meet the different taste needs of consumers in different regions? What kind of differences will there be in the variety and production of dishes?

You Changsheng: according to the different habits of consumer groups in different regions, we will have different tastes to meet the needs of consumers, but the taste of our main product will not change. We will make the taste sweet, and Chongqing and Sichuan will prefer spicy taste. Different consumer groups in different regions have different personalities and customs, which will lead to different phenomena. For example, in many remote cities, drinking coffee and eating steak is still defined by many people as a fashion status symbol. In Inner Mongolia, Mongolian herdsmen who are used to drinking horse milk wine have an occasional cup of coffee, they feel that it is a kind of artistic enjoyment. In the northeast, because people are generous, they will drink like drinking in coffee shops; in Urumqi, Lanzhou and other places, steak will be very popular. However, now that our branch has been opened there, we have to satisfy the eating habits of people in that area and adapt to the human culture there.