Footwear Industry Market Pressure On Retail Formats

A monthly wage of 2000 wage earners, originally had been consuming A brand about 200 yuan of shoes, with the increase of raw materials and labor costs, A brand terminal price rose to 300 yuan, at that time, consumers hesitated.

It happens that when consumers see another B brand which is almost the same as A brand, the price of similar products is lower, so it is very likely that he will turn to B brand.

For BELLE, Daphne and so on, these have been relatively high in the market.

In terms of brand names, slight changes in the market may not have a big impact on them. The annual sales volume of the market will also rise, because their consumer groups value the brand rather than the price. But for some brands whose brands are in a rising period, because of their fierce competition in the field, consumers are more easily driven by price factors, and their brand loyalty is low.

In order to better show the true market situation of most shoe enterprises, we have chosen some manufacturers and agents in the period of brand rise to investigate and see how they live.

Market makers say

QUESTION: Investigator

Zhang Yujin: Deputy General Manager of the high shoe shoe industry.

Zhang Zhurong: Director of outdoor marketing, Lion Brand

Cai Qianhong: Marketing Director of Zhejiang Liang Dian shoe industry

Xu Gaizheng: manager of marketing department, Zhejiang

Zhang Lin: Marketing Director, Xiang Xiang Li Shoes Co., Ltd.

Ma Xiaoyu: executive vice president of Guangzhou sewing bird

Q1: what is the sales situation this year compared to last year?

Zhang Yujin: this year's whole commercial retail format has great pressure.

As a new brand in the domestic market, we are also facing the industry.

Pressure.

Under the protection of precise positioning, strengthening the internal system, establishing KPI and making more rational layout of commodities, the sales terminals of this year have increased a bit compared with the same period last year.

Zhang Zhurong: in 2011, the lion brand outdoor increased nearly 300 exclusive counters, the overall sales increased by about 50% over the previous year.

Compared with the same period last year, this year is more stable, because the outdoor industry attributes, sales peak season in the second half of the year (Qiu Dongji).

Cai Qianhong: in 2009, it sold 1 million 800 thousand pairs, 2 million 200 thousand pairs in 2010 and 3 million 200 thousand pairs in 2011.

In recent years, we have been developing steadily, and sales are good this year.

Zhang Lin: in the first quarter, the company's single shoes increased by 50% over the past year, and the sandal season reached 800 thousand pairs.

Xiang Xiang Li's strength is not in single shoes. In the spring of 2012, the company increased its development efforts, and set targets for agents, and later sales services. As a result, single shoes exceeded our expectations and increased significantly.

Ma Xiaoyu: this year

Sales volume is almost the same as that of last year. Sandals are very good. This year's sandals are of good style and various colors. Now customers have a large quantity of orders, and orders and remedial orders are almost half of them.

Q2: what are the problems existing in the terminal?

Zhang Yujin: at present, there is a common phenomenon in the whole shoe industry.

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In the past few years, sports brand has occupied the market with quantity (quantity of goods, network quantity, etc.), but with the increase of operation cost and personnel cost, the pressure is increasing.

Many enterprises blindly replace the old ones with new ones. Their products are overstocking, too large inventory and too much capital, which naturally affects the growth of sales.

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Zhang Zhurong: this year, local outdoor brands tend to be conservative in terminal stores.

In the whole outdoor industry, the brands that have entered or are entering are facing increasing pressure. Since 2011, especially the sales of shoes products have slowed down.

Ma Xiaoyu: the problem of owning accounts is rather troublesome. It will not run on credit, but there will be no credit.

This year, we have standardized the credit policy, formulated the annual payment plan, signed the debt contract and the exclusive contract with the customers.

Xu Gaizheng: the cost of rent, personnel, goods and so on keeps rising, and profits and successes are difficult. Recruitment is difficult, talent training is difficult and difficult to keep, store operation standardization, process and institutionalization are difficult; terminal marketing promotion is difficult to implement.

Zhang Lin: the terminal is more scattered, more quantity, but less quality and less controllable. Due to large receivables, the cooperation between agents and retailers is in unhealthy condition. The brand with the shoe city as the main terminal is difficult to highlight the brand characteristics, and it is not feasible to blindly walk away from the shoe city, so that the bottleneck of channel development can be found.

Q3: how do we see the weakness of the current macro sales?

Xu Gaizheng: personally feel that the reasons for the weak sales are: 1, footwear export difficult to do, have fought for domestic sales, resulting in increased brand and goods, but the total consumption has not changed; 2, weather factors, the temperature is unstable, resulting in a large number of consumers have "improvised" mentality, from this year's sales of single shoes can be clearly seen; 3, products gradually subdivided, leather shoes can be substitutes for sports shoes, leather shoes, and these two alternatives are also facing the same great pressure.

However, the weakness of sales is a necessary condition after a sales peak. At the same time, it indicates the coming of the next sales peak. Only when the product development, combination, channel construction, brand promotion, inventory turnover and other aspects are done well, can the enterprise wait until the peak season.

Zhang Lin: the current weakness is only aimed at those enterprises that blindly built brands in the early stage. Enterprises that are purely product centered and flexible in products, pricing and other aspects may not be very weak.

Zhang Yujin: unlike the development of women's shoes and sports shoes, there are obvious echelons and leading brands.

There is also a lack of leading brands and few high-end brands in local brands. Although the current sales are weak, the market space for casual men's shoes is still very large.

Zhang Zhurong: poor environment, outdoor industry sales tend to slow down.

On the branding side, several forces are breaking up the outdoor cake. There are many outdoor brands such as Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Quanzhou in recent two years. Some other small manufacturers that attack the market at low prices have joined the competition.

From the consumers, the durability of outdoor shoes and clothing products makes the product consumption cycle fluctuate, affecting the overall sales growth, and the growth rate of consumers can not keep up with the speed of market brand growth.

Ma Xiaoyu: the macroeconomic environment has no great impact on our consumer population and paction price and volume.

Shoes are necessities of life. We aim at mass consumption.

Q4: how can the brand fall into the "discount" whirlpool?

Ma Xiaoyu: 1, do a good job in the market, price is high or low price discount, according to the consumer, we will be in accordance with the consumer, we will conduct research in each region, and then determine the intensity of discount; 2, constantly improve service levels and brand added value, affect consumer perception, let it feel that our pricing and product matching, in the case of less discount, do VIP management, cultivate loyal customers; 3, management channels, fashion women's shoes should not be single channel, there are flagship stores, image stores, discount stores and many other forms, discount shoes are placed in a specific channel sales, is conducive to maintaining the terminal image.

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Cai Qianhong: the brand must recognize its current stage of development, not to rush ahead, but to push it forward step by step.

Discount is not a mistake. The key is to check the balance between net profit and sales volume. Daphne also often discounts, but its data analysis and profit analysis are very good.

Zhang Yujin: brand manufacturers should start with solving their own problems, including profit models, cost accounting and other existing problems, and improve their own network quality.

Zhang Zhurong: since the second half of 2011, the call for discount on terminal products has become increasingly fierce. Many local outdoor brands have begun to discount on new products, and have entered a fierce price war.

It can be said that most brands are "forced to discount".

If brand manufacturers want to stand out, they must get rid of their own characteristics from the same local style so as to form a loyal consumer belonging to the brand themselves.

Otherwise, price war is inevitable.

Q5: how to carry out sales management and motivate agents to sell shoes?

Cai Qianhong: the positioning of terminal channel mode should be clear, diagnosis and support, not the same in all parts of the country, the market in different regions is different, each customer's thinking and business practices are different, and the support of the head office should not be the same.

To be a monopoly customer, we should help them organize their products, do well in their image, and cooperate with some publicity and gifts.

And scattered customers only need to plan the sales commission, so they will have enough enthusiasm.

Xu Gaizheng: increase the sales reward amount; give the agent the order reward; have the special outstanding agent commend; set up several key benchmarking markets in the whole country, give strong support; give good support to the agents who perform well.

Zhang Lin: under the current economic environment, the investment environment is more complicated. On the one hand, we should strengthen the profitability of the brand itself, and on the other hand, we should mobilize the enthusiasm of agents and retailers through sales incentives.

We mainly set up regional benchmarking so that customers can learn from each other and compete with each other.

Ma Xiaoyu: rely on the system to mobilize.

1, for example, orders for each pair of shoes can be less than 2 yuan, return to each pair of shoes plus 1 yuan, encourage customers to boldly order, prepare products, so as not to miss a good sales season; 2, do the development plan of the leader of the branch, so that they are consistent with the head office's goals, consistent with action; 3, cooperate with agents to do a good job in sales plan and training plan, through visits and learning interaction, to help agents solve the current problems.

Not long ago, we just made a market sweep. We went to seven provinces in 10 days. We learned more about terminals and service terminals.

Q6: what are the measures to improve the performance of single store?

Zhang Yujin: I suggest "eat less and eat more" in order.

For example, some local casual men's shoes will be put into production in Guangdong. In particular, data needs to be supported to predict new products so as to ensure the delivery cycle, because manufacturers have other customers.

At the same time, orders must be carried out in batches so that inventory can be effectively managed.

In addition, the promotion of internal management, staff sales and other aspects is also the focus of the company's control.

Cai Qianhong: on the one hand is to enhance the image of the terminal, on the other hand is to divide the customer, each agent should select his class a customer, and key management. For example, the agent in Guangzhou has more than 500 customers below, one of which has low customer loyalty and must be cut down.

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Xu Gaizheng: optimize product mix, improve terminal service level, enhance store operation capability, speed up turnover of goods, and achieve early listing, early discount and early processing of stores.

Ma Xiaoyu: implanted PK mechanism, divided into several indicators for PK, and made a clear reward and punishment measures.

Q7: how about the rental of terminal stores and the increase of personnel costs?

Zhang Yujin: in 2011, the rise of personnel costs and rents made great pressure on enterprises.

Shopping malls will shift the upward cost to the brand.

For brands, channel costs are rising.

Zhang Zhurong: this year, the company has a certain percentage of improvement in personnel remuneration, including wage increase in workshop workers above 20%.

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Although we do not have direct stores, we know from customers that their store managers, shopping guides and warehouse personnel costs have gone up.

Xu Gaizheng: shops and personnel increased by about 20%. The base salary of a department store in Shijiazhuang has risen from 1000 yuan to 1200 yuan, and the Commission has also been adjusted. Our annual rent in new Wanbao store in Shijiazhuang has risen from 100 thousand to 120 thousand.

Ma Xiaoyu: store rents and personnel cost increases are common to all of us. This requires us to make a good prediction before opening a shop. We all have a balance sheet, clear the purpose of opening a shop, and do a good job in training before opening a shop.

Q8: what promotions have you made or are prepared to promote sales?

Zhang Zhurong: 1, to evaluate and reform some websites with poor image and winning spreads; 2, take advantage of the shooting of the sand painting with the lion brand culture and the filming of "I will always love you" micro film, narrow the distance from the consumers, constantly enhance the brand image; 3, strengthen the terminal operation ability, standardize the terminal operation system; 4, implement the management mode of "school + army + family" in the company, organize employees to participate in external training, educate and retain people, and truly promote the improvement of the execution ability of enterprises.

Xu Gaizheng: Internal: advance the annual promotion plan and sales promotion support plan, formulate the terminal image promotion plan, advertising plan, material input plan; external: the new shop plan allocation, the existing sales promotion strategy, increase the terminal small advertisement investment.

Zhang Lin: internally combing supply chain system, placing order mode, building sales team, enhancing brand publicity, using brand container to enhance terminal image and strengthening agency support.