With an overall decline in performance in China, is the era of Starbucks, the originator of Interne

2018 marks Starbucks' 20th year in China, and like many foreign brands, the company is experiencing a "mid-life crisis" in China. The just-released financial report for the second quarter of 2018 shows that Starbucks' operating margin in the Asia-Pacific market has declined, which is the first decline in Starbucks in nearly nine years.

But it would be too much to say that the era of Starbucks, the "originator of Internet celebrities", is coming to an end.

First, the Starbucks brand has become ingrained among white-collar workers in China's first-tier cities.

That's right, in recent years, there are indeed offline store competitors such as Costa Coffee and Pacific Coffee, and since last year, there have been many more affordable takeaway coffee competitors such as Luckin Coffee, and Starbucks' turnover has been eaten up a lot.

But after 20 years of cultivating long-term consumption habits, Starbucks has already had many die-hard fans. A cup of Starbucks on a weekday afternoon to refresh yourself, and it is already common at Starbucks to talk about things and work, and this habit has been formed.

Secondly, Starbucks coffee is not expensive in the white-collar circles of first-tier cities.

There are many types of Starbucks coffee, from simple Americano to Mocha coffee, latte, and then to Frappuccino, which is popular with many young people, from more than 20 yuan to more than 30 yuan, it is indeed not cheap. But what are the current prices?

In the summer, you can buy a random piece of clothing in the mall, starting from 300 yuan for no brand and 500 yuan for a brand. Winter down jackets can't be paid for 1,000 yuan. In comparison, a cup of Starbucks coffee costs 30 yuan, which is actually not so expensive!

Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think?

The closure of Beijing International Trade Center seems to be a curse and a landmark event for Starbucks, which seems to announce that Starbucks' era in China has begun to change dramatically. However, it is obviously too serious to say that the overall decline in performance in China means that the era of Starbucks, the "originator of Internet celebrities", will end.

Advantages: First of all, after ten years of development, Starbucks has accumulated a large number of loyal fans in China, especially the small white-collar people, and some people even claim that Starbucks is a way of life, a cup of coffee in the morning, a cup of Frappuccino in the afternoon, which is not only a symbol of white-collar life class, but also a symbol of opening a circle of life.

Secondly, compared with cafes that are becoming more and more expensive to open a store, Starbucks's ** is relatively cost-effective. The ** of a cup of coffee in the coffee shop is often thirty or fifty yuan, plus a small dessert or refreshment, the ** of going to a café is 200 smaller, and the single consumption of Starbucks can be controlled within 50 yuan, which has a certain advantage in terms of cost performance for many small white-collar workers.

Disadvantages: First of all, with the improvement of people's living standards, people pay more and more attention to the quality of life and health, Starbucks, as a fast-food drink, has slowly become synonymous with "non-healthy drinks" in people's concepts, and even the health of a glass of boiled water is much higher than Starbucks. Therefore, it can be said that the decline in Starbucks' performance in China seems to be a predictable thing.

Secondly, Starbucks, as the "originator of Internet celebrities", people's enthusiasm for consumption is chasing the wind, and what is consumed is a kind of fashion and a sense of freshness, but Internet celebrities are Internet celebrities after all, as the freshness slowly disappears, the popularity of chasing the wind slowly declines, and it is inevitable that people's enthusiasm for Starbucks will decline.

Therefore, Starbucks' declining performance is the trend, but it is obviously an exaggeration to say that the Starbucks era is coming to an end.

The end of the Starbucks era is certainly impossible, but I think the continued overall decline in performance should be the norm in the future, mainly due to the following aspects:

1. The novelty of Starbucks for the general public has passed.

A lot of people like Starbucks not because they like to drink coffee, but because it's a trendy and pretend taste. On the contrary, people who really like coffee will not choose Starbucks coffee, preferring freshly ground and other categories.

And people who choose Starbucks are mostly for leisure and service, not out of real love for Starbucks products, lacking this layer of love, when everyone's freshness and enthusiasm have passed, they find that it is the same, so they will not continue to consume.

And to be honest, a drink of 30 yuan is still very painful to consume, at least for me, I still have to think about it when I spend more than 30 yuan to buy a cup of coffee.

Second, the entry of similar competitive enterprises, the increase in the number of categories available to the public.

Now when it comes to coffee or leisure places, there are too many categories to choose from, and "Netblue" Luckin has gradually broken through the Starbucks market, major bookstores, bubble tea shops, and even tea houses can provide a comfortable environment similar to Starbucks, no matter which aspect, Starbucks' advantage is no longer the only one.

When there are alternative products, consumers will not only think about Starbucks, which is the only way before, after all, for most people, coffee is not a must, and Starbucks is not a must.

3. The inevitable result of Starbucks' blind expansion.

Over the years, with the massive expansion of Starbucks, there is suddenly a feeling that Starbucks is everywhere, and when a thing becomes essential because of scarcity, this sense of preciousness will be cherished, and when it is everywhere, this sense of preciousness will disappear, and Starbucks, which has lost its preciousness, will have no motivation to let people walk in and enjoy slow time.

Therefore, in the future, Starbucks' performance pressure will definitely increase.

The decline in Starbucks' sales performance in China does not mean that Starbucks has fallen from the altar, but it shows that consumers have more choices and no longer pay attention to Starbucks, which has led to the decline in Starbucks' sales performance.

Starbucks has successfully used the Internet for word-of-mouth communication and word-of-mouth positioning, and has successfully built its position in the minds of young consumers, so that more young people feel that spending at Starbucks is a symbol of identity and taste.

Starbucks has always been creating a scene effect, creating their own exclusive space for users, and spending in it can enjoy unique services and distinguished courtesies.

Due to the continuous influx of coffee culture from various countries into the country, the mainstream consumer groups are now young people, who are no longer bound by the original rules and regulations, and hope to enrich their lives by trying and finding new things, and have become accustomed to the coffee culture brought by the Starbucks brand.

However, Starbucks is an urban white-collar worker for leisure and gathering, relatively speaking, it is a more suitable place, and the consumption inside is also a good choice compared to white-collar workers, and the atmosphere created in it makes white-collar workers feel that it is in line with their consumer goods taste and grade.

Therefore, Starbucks still has a certain status in the minds of white-collar workers, so it has a certain consumer group.

I don't think it's a bad thing that sales performance is declining, and it's only when sales performance declines that they will take into account their own shortcomings, and it's good for them not to operate according to the old model.

However, it cannot be said that their sales performance has fallen off the altar, and it is normal for the company's sales performance to rise and fall, as long as it is within an acceptable range, it can only indicate that there are problems in their sales and operations.

Since Starbucks entered the Chinese market, it has been occupying a monopoly position in the white-collar coffee consumption market, and it has been in the limelight for a while. Despite the current decline in performance in China, Starbucks can still be seen to be crowded, and business is not necessarily bad. There are many reasons for the decline in performance, so let's analyze them together:

There are many monks and less porridge

The decline in performance does not necessarily mean that there are fewer people who disinfect, but also that there is an oversupply of goods. In just a few years, people who eat melons will find that there is a Starbucks coffee shop around them, whether it is a shopping mall or a supermarket, or a main road. Sometimes, in important business districts, Starbucks can even open as many as 2 or 3 (such as the Guanqian Street commercial district in Suzhou).

Starbucks has a drink of at least 28 yuan**, not all people are willing to consume. There are more monks and less porridge, so the turnover of each store will naturally decline.

External competition

Although Starbucks is the standard for white-collar workers to show their petty bourgeoisie, it is limited to the office or first date. On weekends, people go to cafes or teahouses with better environments. The environment is more spacious and bright, not to mention, there is no such noisy vocals, which is more suitable for girlfriends to gather and negotiate business.

Although the decoration atmosphere of Starbucks is good, my sister once sat in the museum for a while, and was bitten a lot of bags, and you can also see mosquitoes flying everywhere, which is really beautiful.

Disadvantages

Starbucks's ** once made the little white-collar workers proud to hold a cup of Star Dad. But for people who are really addicted to coffee, a Starbucks a day is obviously a bit expensive. Based on the minimum latte of 32 yuan, it will cost about 1,000 yuan a month, so it is more affordable to brew or buy coffee from vending machines.

**The more people-friendly "net blue" Luckin entered the office, so that the little white-collar workers are no longer "hypocritical".

Judging from my sister's own experience, it is because Starbucks' point card will be automatically cleared to zero after a certain period of time. I finally got to the platinum card with two cups, but I fell to the lowest level all of a sudden, and I didn't have the courage to continue to score points and simply gave up!

Starbucks was once the earliest Internet celebrity store in China, if you go to Starbucks to drink coffee without a Mac laptop or an iPad is not considered to go to Starbucks to drink coffee, but this is the most famous Internet celebrity coffee shop in China has recently experienced a decline in performance, Starbucks released last week in the third quarter of 2018 financial report shows that in the Chinese Asia-Pacific market, which has always had high hopes, Starbucks' operating margin fell by one percentage point to 19%.

In fact, it is not surprising that Starbucks' profits have declined, and Starbucks, which has been in China for 20 years, is already facing greater pressure to transform

First, Starbucks is entering a stage of steady growth. From the perspective of the law of economic development, it is impossible for any company to grow rapidly for a long time, even giants such as Microsoft, Intel, and Google can't do it, and Starbucks can't do it either, Starbucks has entered China for 20 years after its business declined, which is a normal phenomenon, that is, the transformation from high-speed growth to medium-high speed growth.

Second, Starbucks' competitive market is turning into a red ocean. In the early days of Starbucks entering China, there are not many coffee companies that can compete with Starbucks in the Chinese market, but now there are many competitors in the coffee market, there are various instant coffee and automatic coffee vending machines below 10 yuan, at the price of 10-20 yuan, 711, FamilyMart, Lawson and other convenience stores have occupied a lot of market share, and at the price of 20 yuan -30 yuan, the new giant Luckin Coffee is also crazy to seize the market.

It can be said that Starbucks has inevitably fallen into the war pattern of the Red Sea, in such a situation, users are diverted in large numbers, and Starbucks wants to maintain high profit growth, which is almost an impossible event.

For a long time, Starbucks has become a must-have for many white-collar workers as a representative of lifestyle and consumption upgrades. It's not uncommon to buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks or meet up with three or five colleagues to chat about work at Starbucks.

But in fact, Starbucks has been in the Chinese market for more than 20 years, and it has done quite mature in terms of the process of opening stores, the standardization of site selection, and the standardization of services. Unintentionally one of the most important brands in the Chinese coffee market.

However, according to the third-quarter report released by Starbucks last week, the operating rate fell by one percentage point to 19%, which is enough to attract Starbucks' attention and face the operational problems it is currently experiencing. In order to solve this problem, Starbucks teamed up with Ele.me and began to launch a food delivery service to use the current difficulties and ensure its market share.

In fact, Starbucks is facing far more competitive pressure, whether it is luckincoffee (Luckin Coffee) to enter the Chinese market with 1 billion funds, or the full flowering of domestic brands such as 85°C, all of which are affecting Starbucks' market share. In addition, many people choose Starbucks not for the coffee itself, but to show a lifestyle, and the drink is not just an isolated product, but even a social symbol.

Hey Tea, Nai Xue, Taigai, Chinese new tea drinks are more and more integrated into the lives of urban people. The birth of Internet celebrity bubble tea shops has made drinking milk tea and taking photos and checking in a part of the lives of many young people, and Starbucks is no longer the only choice.

In addition, the patriotic consumption boom has made more people start to pay attention to domestic private brands, and in the same business district, whether to choose to sit at Starbucks for a while or go to Starbucks for a drink, the answers began to diverge, and more and more people are more willing to choose to support local brands.

For users, whether it is coffee or Internet celebrity tea, the product itself is not the core factor in choosing consumption. More and more users are beginning to pay attention to more diverse dimensions such as experience, social attributes, and brand ownership. At present, although Starbucks is still the leading place in the industry, it also faces many challenges.