The Third And Fourth Tier Cities Will Become The Access Points And New Markets For The Development Of Clothing Retailers

Recently, the China Chain Store Association released the list of China's top 100 chain stores in 2011, and the data shows that the sales scale of chain stores in 2011 has basically maintained a stable growth. Today, multi-channel selection conditions are far more than before. There are various forms of online, shopping malls, department stores, specialty stores, etc. From the perspective of business type, supermarkets and department stores have prominent differentiated development, and high-end supermarkets, convenience stores, specialty stores, online retail, shopping centers and third and fourth tier cities have become Clothing retail Developing access points and new markets.

At present, China's overall consumer retail industry is in the process of transformation, and there are many internal and external factors affecting the entire consumption and retail. clothing The situation faced by enterprises is basically the same at home and abroad. For the retail industry, it has benefited from the urbanization process in the past few years and maintained a good development trend. With the younger consumer population, the post-80s and post-90s generation have become an important force in consumption. In addition, the increase of population income has directly driven the production of high-end consumers and high-end business types.

After years of rapid development, the growth rate of China's retail market has slowed down significantly in recent two years, and some major business types have changed. Urbanization has intensified the demand for fashion, diversification, specialization and personalization of the market. Franchised stores and specialty stores have become the two fastest growing formats in 2011. At the same time, the development of shopping centers has provided good property conditions for various franchised stores and stores, and the expansion mode of direct marketing, supplemented by franchise, has become the expansion mode of various professional categories such as clothing, jewelry, infants and children.

With the continuous segmentation of the market, Department Store The positioning of the store is also constantly refined. Many department stores have become shopping centers, and boutique department stores, theme department stores, and mass stores are emerging. At present, fashion categories such as clothing and cosmetics still rely on department stores for sales. Among the top 100, there are 32 department store chains, including 19 enterprises with sales of more than 10 billion yuan.

However, there are still big problems in the business form of department stores, which is reflected in the weak trend of average unit price, the gross profit margin is only about 14%, and the business model of joint operation is widely discussed. In addition, the external competitive pressure of the department store industry has strengthened, and the rise of shopping centers, commercial streets, and specialty stores has generated certain competitiveness for the high-end market. In the low-end market, in addition to the large supermarket Outlets, the impact of online retail on low-end department stores is also very significant. However, today's online retail is mainly driven by push capital, and online stores are prone to huge losses. Supply chain and logistics are "congenitally deficient", and the service quality of goods is also unsatisfactory.

Many traditional retailers have a one-sided understanding of online retail, believing that online retail is to open an online store on Taobao or Tmall. However, today's foreign retail enterprises are not limited to this. For example, Macy's has introduced online technology, settings and equipment to physical stores, and used consumer technology to provide consumers with electronic shopping guides and social comments. Through the price comparison service, it realizes the combination of online and offline, not just the absolute separation of the two, which truly makes the consumer experience convenient.

Retailers at home and abroad have always paid attention to the innovation of business types. For example, at the World Retail Conference, there are two awards called "Business Innovation Award" and "Retail Innovation Award". The core of innovation is how to be considerate of consumers. If we can grasp the needs of consumers, new formats and marketing models will naturally emerge. In foreign countries, many department stores attach great importance to the privacy of customers and the creation of environment, which is highly praised by consumers.