Apparel Retailing: Upgrading Service "Soft Power" Is King'S Way

Standing in China to see Asia, the hardware level of Chinese retailers has been able to compete with Asian retailers, but if we are to "soft power" - the comprehensive service level, we are still lagging behind.

Some people say that the cultural background is different. Some people say that it is the problem of enterprise training ability. Others say it is insufficient in execution and supervision.

There are many divergent opinions. For this reason, we invited industry leaders, industry experts and executives to discuss this topic. They opened up the fog and opened the question mark from their respective perspectives.

The gap between China and Asian retailing

Do you think Japan and Korea?

Min Guangji: the department store in Korea has reached the maturity stage after more than 40 years of development.

As a result, the demand of customers is also increasing. Then, the major department stores also try to innovate in new products and services in order to meet the needs of customers.

The business philosophy and operation system of Korean department stores revolves around customers.

It is not simply for customers, but standing in the position of customers to understand customer needs correctly and to reflect customers' opinions in their work.

Put all the things related to customers in the first place, strive to create products and services that are higher than customers' expectations, and continue to firmly abide by the agreement with customers and customer centered business philosophy.

Another characteristic is the scientific and active customer relationship management (CRM) system.

Taking Lotte as an example, 80% of consumers are members.

Of course, it is not so much from the beginning, but through continuous efforts and systematic improvement to achieve.

After having considerable customer information, the data were analyzed by shopping orientation of customers. They were divided into unmarried, married, having children, children's age, and their children's marriage or not, and so on, and the products they needed were sent to DM direct investment.

It also analyzes the shopping orientation of customers, and recommends the products related to seasonal products and consumption habits to customers through DM direct magazine.

This system can enrich customers' lives and ensure and expand fixed customers.

Korean department stores are mainly customer oriented, and adopt more scientific and systematic customer management (CRM) and marketing methods to stimulate market focus to win competition.

Chen Haiquan: I think it is the difference of operation mechanism.

Japan is meticulous management, while China is extensive management.

In recent years, Japanese department stores have attached great importance to the ability of commodity proposal and the rate of sales and profit per square meter.

According to the changes in Japanese consumption behavior (value in 70s, quality in 80s, color in 90s, and emphasis on function after 2000), the Japanese department store has made a major adjustment, starting to pay attention to the professional service from the customer perspective, the ability to pay attention to the commodity proposal, and to pay attention to the sales and profit rate per square meter rather than the total sales.

At present, the running horse circle of the department stores, the two landlords and the price war are the key words of growth, which are in the extensive growth stage.

While most Japanese department stores are built on the side of the subway, the professional team has already begun to intervene before choosing the location of the building. The choice of location is not decided by the boss, but is decided by professional managers. When drawing the building map, professional managers should start to intervene, and all professional managers of commodity structure should all intervene, after careful planning and then start investment.

The dogma of Japanese department stores is to strive for maximum performance with the smallest area, the smallest function, style and price overlap.

It is a very short time to replenish the goods and use a very small area to maximize the performance. If you check his toilet paper, there is only one brand, only two brands of soap, and do not want them to overlap. It is very accurate to standardize department stores in this way.

If you go in, if it doesn't work well, he will give you a year to keep you safe and let you walk.

This is different from Chinese department stores.

He Junwei: the problem of operation mechanism is relatively large. It involves almost every aspect of an industry and a company. I focus on the business philosophy of department stores. In fact, business philosophy determines the location and operation of a department store.

Although the department store industry originated in Europe, Japan pushed it to the peak and led the development of modern department stores. I think the most important thing is the management concept of Japanese department stores.

The pformation of retail business in China was the first time to introduce and learn the business models of Japanese department stores. From counter sales to open shelf sales, from passive sales to active sales, from category cabinets to brand counters, from district to shop, all of them had the shadow of Japanese department stores and experienced the development process from form to spirit.

Nevertheless, I think the management concept of China's department stores is still lagging behind Japan, especially the lack of innovative humanistic concepts.

The biggest difference is that Japanese department stores advocate the "lifestyle guidance" for a certain group, while China's department stores still focus on the sale of goods according to the consumption level.

So Japanese department stores pay more attention to the comfort of shopping environment, while Chinese Department Stores pay more attention to the promotion of sales atmosphere. The result is that the former generates more customers for shopping, while the latter produces more buyers for shopping.

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What are the advantages of Asian retailing?

Specifically, in terms of investment, marketing, service, self owned brand, and how to co-exist with different formats, what can Asian retailers learn from Chinese counterparts?

Min Guangji: the development of brand in Korea is somewhat different from that in China. Korea's high-end brands are developed in department stores.

After the IMF crisis in 1998, the department store industry was monopolized by three large department stores.

The three department stores compete with headquarters in the business mode of investment promotion, service and operation.

The sales channels of high-end brands are mainly department stores, and department stores gradually become the representative retail industry in South Korea by continuously exploring and developing brands.

In order to win in the competition, the three major stores have been carrying out reforms in various fields, forming a number of store situations in this process. The department store has also been investing in the sales center since then.

The HQ based operation mode not only strengthens the sales force, but also becomes the backing of the people's attention, and provides a unified high-end service.

These points make the department store far ahead of competition in other industries.

As the retail industry gradually matures, competition with other formats or peers will become increasingly fierce.

This will inevitably lead to the consistency of brand, commodity and decoration, and price competition will become more intense.

Therefore, the department stores will choose the main attacking brand, direct camp, unique commodity development, differentiated store management, etc., which is also the future direction of China's department store format.

At the headquarters of Lotte Department store, there are more than 70 people in charge of commodity and brand development. In search of new trends, they look for customers' needs, new products and brands, and even go abroad for three or four times a year to market and find brands and commodities.

Only in this way can we run differentiated stores.

Chinese department stores should also regard training this kind of talent as a very important topic.

Lotte Department of Korea launched 5 major strategies for the Chinese market: the first is the localization of management talents, and the thorough localization strategy based on the local people centered operation and the introduction of Chinese personnel and reward system.

The second is standardization. We should give full play to the advantages of decoration, VMD, service, training and so on, which will form a mature system through long-term operation in Korea.

The third is loyalty, improving the quality of service, marketing, operation and other systems to achieve differentiated goals. External customers and internal customers (employees and Shopping Guides) are proud and honored.

The fourth is to become a benchmark enterprise in the region.

Choose differentiated, and in line with regional characteristics of the store management.

The last one is information management, the establishment of an advanced and differentiated CRM (customer management) system, and the EDI system, such as the exchange of information with suppliers, and so on.

Chen Haiquan: I think there are three points.

The first point is to have the courage to run with customers.

First of all, clear positioning is the first step to care for customers.

For example, Japan is a fashion department store. Its target customers are young, fashionable high-end customers, and the target customers are very clear.

Second, establish an enterprise image that provides customers with high-quality products. This is the approach to customers.

Compared with today's mainstream mode of joint operation in our department stores, Japan is not only attaching importance to joint ventures, but also developing its own brand.

Yi ddan recently has a new way of opening up the walls between brands, setting up personalized counters, laying stress on proposals, especially paying attention to the matching scheme between costumes, providing home furnishing schemes just like IKEA.

The second point is to pay attention to the construction of customer management system.

The membership cards of Chinese department stores are mainly used for discount, while the membership cards of Japanese department stores are used to excavate information and make marketing strategies through information mining.

In general, Japanese department stores have a complete customer management system to track and analyze important customers one by one.

For example, since the middle of 1990s, the Department of San Yue has taken the lead in establishing a complete set of scientific marketing and management methods through establishing customer data system, innovating unique services and establishing customer loyalty, forming and having a steady group of consumer groups, and establishing customer archives through information system, storing customers' resources such as gender, age, occupation, marriage and consumption habits.

The third point is to be good at optimizing the layout of shops.

First, develop underground shopping malls strategy.

Starting from around 2000, sales in Japanese department stores declined significantly.

Facing the survival crisis and adapting to the changing needs of customers, Japanese department stores have done a lot of work, one of which is the strategy of underground food stores.

According to a survey, if we go to the underground food store and go to other floors of department stores, 79.5% of the people will answer that they will go to other floors, only 6.7% of them will not go to other stores, only to go to the first floor.

Of the 79.5% people, 83.3% were women, 30 of them were 89.2%, 60 were 89%.

If you buy food, is it the main purpose? Only 22.9% of respondents, and 55.5% of other stores.

Obviously, the sale of food on the first floor has become an important engine to attract customers in the case of sales of clothing.

In fact, in recent years, Japanese department stores have been paying more attention to adjusting the commodity structure according to the changing market demand, and taking the "fashion commodity", "food" and "gift" as the three pillar commodities, and the scale of fashion brands such as famous brand clothing, cosmetics, jewelry and so on has been greatly increased.

Japanese department stores have been implementing the strategy of "top restaurants" in recent years.

Japanese department stores are good at locating highly attractive professional goods and services on the top floor of the building in order to achieve "shower effect".

The so-called "shower effect" refers to the guidance of the building's top or top floor customers to shop on the floor below.

In the past, 100 stores designed the top floor of the building as a playground to attract customers with children. But due to the competition of other amusement facilities, there are no amusement parks on the roof of department stores, but instead they are replaced by PET counters, gardening supplies counters, and many department stores have opened the roof parking lots.

He Junwei: it is hard to say that the rise and fall of a certain retail business is due to its investment methods, marketing methods, service means or brand strategy. These factors will only lead to the success or failure of a company or shop.

Moreover, I am also opposed to the concept of "industrial symbiosis", because when it comes to "industry symbiosis", it must be associated with "competition in formats". Instead, I will agree more about the cross convergence of formats.

The development of Japanese retail business has its unique mode and process. In the past century, it has basically taken the department store industry as the main body and constantly absorbed the essence of other formats to make it suitable for the commercial evolution of Oriental Culture (especially Japanese Culture). Eventually, a large number of stores appeared in a number of stores. The most typical one was the business area of 800 thousand square meters and the Dongwu department store with the number of doors.

Today, many Japanese department stores are shopping centers, and many shopping centers operate like department stores. These department stores or shopping centers are much larger than those of the early Japanese local Mitsui department stores.

Therefore, I think that the most important thing for Japanese department stores to learn is to persist in the multi format integration and innovation development of local characteristics.

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How does China's retail industry accelerate its pursuit?

What will the direction of China's general merchandise industry develop in the future? Will there be innovative new thinking and new mode in terms of business pattern and operation mode?

Min Guangji: at present, China's economic growth and expansion of domestic demand policy, the substantial increase in the middle class population and the acceleration of urbanization will make the retail market bigger and bigger, with great expectations for the development of the department store industry.

As a result, storefronts continue to grow and scale continues to expand, and foreign retail businesses continue to join them.

Department stores, shopping centers, orter no matter what format, in order to attract customers gradually toward large-scale and complex.

The competition between department stores and other formats will become fiercer.

The brand competition of the department stores will be aggravated; the differentiated store management and commodity development will not be taken seriously; some brands will have a high discount rate and choose other formats (shopping centers, franchised stores, etc.); customers will be more inclined to online shopping and so on will become a reality.

The department store has what customers really need to survive.

Customers do not choose department stores that do not work hard, so they can buy customers' favorite stores by hand.

The standard of customers choosing department stores will also turn from scale / proximity to store management differentiation. Chinese department stores also need to change themselves according to the needs of customers.

Chen Haiquan: since the reform and opening up, China's retail industry has developed a unique track of development.

In the collision and intersection with foreign retailers, with the introduction and promotion of new ideas and formats, China's retail industry has made innovations one after another.

Retail industry is a rapidly changing industry.

In the era of diversified consumer demand and increasingly fierce competition, department stores must enhance their awareness of innovation and constantly seek development in reform and innovation.

Innovation is a booster for retail enterprises to continuously meet the needs of consumers' growth, break the situation of thousands of stores, and continuously improve their business capabilities. Only by innovation can department stores compete in the leading position and remain invincible.

The retail industry is rooted in the local industry. In the wave of reform and innovation, the retail industry of the Department only has to further explore the local market and ensure the basic daily operation ability, so that it is possible to be competitive.

Retail industry is closely related to people's life. Its innovation often needs no earthshaking and cares about details. Only by focusing on details can we deepen the connotation of enterprises, achieve breakthroughs in profit zones, and constantly seek new growth points.

Therefore, innovation needs to constantly grasp the changes of consumer demand and shopping behavior, constantly modify the existing shopping experience design, better adapt to the needs of local market, and also guarantee and enhance the basic operation capability.

The department store industry needs to do the following seven things in the future.

First, clear positioning, do the first step of caring for customers; two, do not blindly pursue the growth of the number of shops, we should properly explore the growth of quality; three, cultivate the ability to explore customer needs.

According to the needs of customers, we should actively adjust the commodity structure, optimize the layout of the store, strengthen the non commodity service functions such as food and beverage; four, do well the tracking and after-sales service of VIP customers; five, pay attention to the integration effect, actively explore the possibility of capital cooperation to improve the concentration of the industry; six, build a food supermarket pattern suitable for department stores and increase the ability of gathering customers in department stores; seven, encourage competent enterprises to actively develop their own brands, and gradually explore some ways of returning to self employment.

He Junwei: it is difficult to put forward ideas and suggestions on the future development of China's department stores. I always think that retail business is not planned, but the inevitable result of the joint action of various factors in the process of social economic and cultural development.

The retail business in China is quite different from that in Japan, Europe and the United States. The development of Japanese retail industry has been discussed before. We may also look at the development of Retailing in Europe and America.

In the 60 and 70s of last century, the retail business in Europe and the United States went to the track of multi format development and led to the decline of traditional department stores. But it is hard to say that it is a multi format format of brand self-supporting system and convenient purchase mode (such as warehouse type store) to replace traditional department stores. Personally, I think a large department store like Carrefour can actually be considered as a development of modern department stores.

The development of China's retail industry is a mixed form of Europe, America and Japan. The co-existence and cross integration of other retail formats and department stores are more suitable for the human factors and consumption habits of China's pluralistic and multi-level society. Can we change the habits of Chinese people (especially women) in shopping habits? So I am optimistic about the future development of China's department stores. They will not go the same way as the department stores in Europe and the United States, nor can they take the road of development of Japanese department stores.

To add a few points, I am against the idea that shopping centers should be widely classified as a retail format.

It can even be argued that shopping centers in Chinese retail businesses are inseparable from department stores, but department stores can leave shopping centers.