Can Pangdonglai Save Traditional Supermarket？

　　Author: Xin Ziqiang

　　Recently, the media reported that Fat Donglai, a retail enterprise, started to help two Yonghui supermarkets in Henan. Previously, Fat Donglai had helped and reformed Gabrielle, a supermarket enterprise in Jiangxi, and Super BBK, an old-fashioned supermarket in Hunan.

　　In recent years, the life of offline chain supermarkets has not been easy. The number of stores in Yonghui Supermarket peaked at 1,440, and by 2023, the number of stores has been reduced to about 1,000. The regional retail enterprise BBK closed 113 stores last year alone. In addition, CR Vanguard, Carrefour, Wal-Mart and other retail enterprises have also frequently reported the news of closing stores. Under the impact of online retail and offline new formats, traditional retail is constantly seeking a way out.

　　In contrast, Fat East has achieved a double harvest in performance and word of mouth in recent years. Fat people come from the East all the year round, and explosive goods are hard to find. With cost-effective products, excellent service and excellent employee treatment, Fat Donglai quickly became popular and became an example for retail enterprises to learn.

　　According to reports, Fat Donglai’s adjustments to several supermarkets include: adjusting the layout of stores to provide more convenient and smoother shopping routes; Adjust commodities to provide first-line brand commodities with better quality and more reasonable price; Improve the treatment of employees and stimulate their enthusiasm. Judging from the current adjustment and reform effect, during the May 1 holiday this year, the average daily sales of BBK Changsha Meixihu Store with the help of Fat Donglai exceeded 2.1 million yuan, and the average daily passenger flow was 15,963. Before the reform, the average daily sales of the store was 150,000 yuan, and the average daily passenger flow was 2,000. Whether this is a short-term flow brought by the Fat East or a real improvement after the adjustment, it still takes time to verify.

　　Then, can the successful model from Fat East save the traditional supermarket?

　　The commercial market is complex and changeable, and the success of an enterprise is influenced by multiple factors, and no enterprise’s success can be perfectly reproduced. This is the fierce market competition, but also the charm.

　　Fat Donglai is the representative of "small but beautiful" offline retail. According to the data, Pangdonglai Trading Group Co., Ltd. was established in 1997, and Shangchao only opened in Xinxiang and Xuchang, Henan Province. Because there is no large-scale chain, Pangdonglai has been deeply cultivating the local market and putting more energy into ensuring service and product quality rather than pursuing scale expansion. In contrast, many poorly managed supermarkets don’t have the advantages such as being fat and coming from the east to dig deep into local cities and high profit rate. At the same time, some supermarkets are very different from Xinxiang and Xuchang because of their competitive environment and market conditions. Simply applying the business model of being fat and coming from the east is not only not conducive to getting rid of the current predicament, but also may lead to embarrassing results.

　　Even so, Shangchao, who took the initiative to learn from Pangdong and explore ways to improve its business status, is still worthy of encouragement and affirmation. It should be noted that Fat Donglai does have something extraordinary in terms of employment and management. Traditional businessmen learn advanced experience and constantly make up for their own shortcomings, which is a process of accumulating improvement strength and seeking to break through qualitative change.

　　At the same time, the retail industry itself is highly complex and the market competition is fierce. Only by constantly adjusting the business strategy according to market changes in time can we ensure a favorable position in the competition. It is a solid step for Shangchao, which is seeking to break the situation, to learn from an enterprise with excellent operating conditions like Pangdonglai with an open mind. Looking forward to the emergence of more high-quality enterprises like Fat East. (Xin Ziqiang)