Kunming market cafe blowout profit is generally not optimistic.

The prospects are good and the competition is fierce.

Entrepreneurial cafes generally have a unique style. Photography: our reporter Ma Hongbo

Since Starbucks set a record for the craziest queue in Kunming in 2011, the market for cafes has become increasingly competitive in Kunming. In addition to the rise of international brands such as Kopi Luwak, Starbucks, Coffee with you and Man Coffee in Kunming in the past two years, many independent cafes have opened on street corners, alleys or community gates, either in a high profile or in a low profile.

However, after a period of big waves, not only the profits of the franchisees of these international brands are not so optimistic, but also many cafes that have set off a burst of popularity either hang the "transfer" sign sadly, or disappear directly from the public's view. Before we could reflect on the direction of this wave of cafes, countless people threw themselves into it, opening cafes like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

International brands gather in Kunming business district

Drinking coffee and making cafes has become a new way of life in many cities. this new way of life has spawned the rise of a large number of cafes, whether in large shopping malls or on various streets. Miss Chen, a citizen, has deep feelings about this. "in the case of the South Asian style Park, there are Starbucks, Kopi Luwak, coffee, and so on, within 100 meters."

According to the data, the major international coffee shop brands have a tendency to expand in the Kunming market in the past year or two. Since the first Starbucks store opened in Kunming Shuncheng Shopping Center in 2011, there have been 14 stores in Kunming, and another store will open in Dianchi Lake Resort in the second half of the year, according to its internal staff. The first brand of cat shit, also from Indonesia, has two stores since it entered Kunming in 2013. And according to Zhang Ying, regional manager of Kopi Luwak in Yunnan, it plans to open three more stores in Kunming and plans to complete the layout within three years.

It is worth mentioning that the development momentum of Korean brand cafes in Kunming market is particularly strong in the past year or two. Take coffee with you as an example, it first entered the Kunming market at the end of 2012 and now has five stores. After the theme of ZOO COFFEE opened its first flagship store in the first city of South Asia at the end of last year, it also opened a second store at the end of June. According to Zhou Jinyan, head of its Yunnan district, a third Shuncheng store will be opened in August this year. In addition, coffee, Anadir and other South Korean cafes have also settled in Kunming.

Obviously, behind the entry of international brand cafes into Kunming is the huge potential of the market here. Survey data show that in 2012, the retail scale of cafes in China reached 53.84 billion yuan, and the retail scale of chain cafes exceeded 14.7 billion yuan. At present, Starbucks, which accounts for half of the domestic coffee shop industry, is also growing. According to Starbucks' second-quarter results, Starbucks' second-quarter net profit was $495 million, up 16 percent from $427 million a year earlier. " The staff of the provincial coffee industry association said, "in previous years, these cafes mainly focused on first-and second-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. In recent years, in addition to competing for market share in first-tier cities, many international coffee giants have also set their sights on third-and fourth-tier cities. Yunnan Province, as the largest source of coffee raw materials in the country, still has a certain degree of acceptance of coffee; and Yunnan, as a major tourism province, gathers the flow of people from all over the country, so Yunnan has become one of the markets favored by many international coffee giants. "

Independent cafes have sprung up on the streets.

In fact, in addition to Starbucks, Man Coffee and other international brands clustered in Kunming, many entrepreneurial cafes with feelings also emerged in a while. Searching for the "coffee shop" of Kunming on Baidu map, we can see that the small pushpin almost covers several major business circles in Kunming at present, and there are also many cafes on the streets such as Wenlin Street and Jinding Garden, such as Salvadoran Cafe, Prague Caf é, Guangzong No. 3 Cafe, Shui Jing Cafe and other independent cafes.

In addition, some concept cafes are also popular in Kunming market, such as Sky City, Peanut Bookstore and Cat Bar in Kunming Tongde Square. Even Yunnan Coffee Factory, which has been based on raw materials in the market, will try to use the crowdfunding business model among college students to create a main entrepreneurial coffee shop with innovative incubator characteristics and chain operation in colleges and universities. all these are undoubtedly increasing the competitiveness of this market.

Throughout these cafes clustered in the alley, most of them have something in common, such as a small area, mostly concentrated in about 100 square meters, and the soft outfits are very literary and artistic, with books in a corner of the store. there are even menus such as desserts, fruit juices, tea, light meals and so on.

For the rise of this thematic independent coffee shop in Kunming in the past two years, Zhang Ni, manager of Sky City, said it was mostly because the shopkeeper had a leisure complex and was optimistic about the market situation. "on the one hand, today's society is gradually taking the post-80s and post-90s as the main force, and most people of this age have a leisure complex and want to have a coffee shop of their own. On the other hand, the market prospect of coffee shops is good. " Zhang Ni told the reporter, "at present, Kunming's concept of coffee shop consumption is still relatively close to entertainment consumption, but the coffee market will certainly have a broader space in the future, and it will eventually, like foreign countries, belong to life supporting, community will be very strong." In the future, coffee shops will not only provide food and hardware environment, but also a fifth sense of consumption, paying attention to the details of life and satisfying the sense of spiritual belonging and value identity. "

Profits are generally not optimistic.

Whether it is a chain franchise store of a big brand or an independent coffee shop that starts a business, its profit situation is not optimistic. According to information provided by the provincial coffee industry association, the number of cafes in China has increased from more than 20,000 in 2008 to more than 100,000 now, but only 30% of them are making money, 30% are not making money, and 40% are facing losses.

Coffee accompany you South Asia store staff told reporters that with the recent opening of Wanda Square, Aegean Sea and other shopping malls, there are more and more cafes around, and the market competition is more fierce. "in the first half of last year, the average monthly turnover reached nearly 200000 yuan, but now it has dropped to about 150000 yuan." That's what the above staff said.

On the other hand, Starbucks, an analyst who has studied the coffee industry for many years, said that its brand influence can be seen from Starbucks' hot market when it entered Kunming in 2011. With the cultivation of consumer habits in Kunming in recent years, it already has a part of fixed consumer groups. However, for the new Korean brand coffee, the market is expanding so fast that it expands rapidly before attracting customers who are loyal to it, and the cost consumption affects the profit to a great extent.

Hu Lu, deputy secretary general of the Provincial Coffee Industry Association, also said that according to the current situation, the new Korean cafe opened in the past year or two is very difficult to make a profit, but because it carries the symbol of fashion and trend, many people will choose to join the industry. as a result, it has brought a large number of franchisees. For coffee shop headquarters, joining will bring more profits than opening a shop, and they will also open more cafes, thus expanding the influence of the brand.

"International giants like Starbucks are generally located in shopping malls, and it is reasonable to follow them. Many shoppers in shopping malls are young and fashionable, and they are more receptive to coffee. But the corresponding "good location is always accompanied by high rent", while chains like Starbucks have the money to support it, and for independent cafes like us, the rent cost is too high. " The owner of the Shuijing Cafe said, "three or four years ago, the turnover of various cafes was stable. The daily income of large cafes was more than 10,000 yuan, while that of small cafes ranged from 2000 yuan to 5000 yuan." Now, except for weekends, there is usually only an income of more than 3000 yuan and a profit of tens of thousands of yuan a month, and the rent is rising every year, which is really unbearable. It is understood that some independent cafes in the South Asian business circle have closed due to cost pressure. "

At the same time, he explained: "A cup of good coffee costs about 5 yuan, and the average price is about 25 yuan." For these small shops with more than 100 square meters of stores, the annual cost of store rent and staff wages is about 300000 yuan. it is obvious that if the sales of coffee cannot reach a certain number, it will be impossible to survive by selling coffee alone. "