It'S Time To Test The Department'S Resilience.

The outbreak of the new crown pneumonia has brought an unexpected respite to the department store industry. In these two months, is the whole staff to retreat, implement the defensive measures, or separate operations and deduce contingency strategies? Through action, we can compare the different vision and ability of similar competition groups.

Wang Yao, vice president of China Merchants Association, pointed out that the problem of department stores is not two or three months, but that the long-term development strategy has not been resolved. We should use these two months of careful planning to accumulate energy for consumers to win the future.

The author tries to list the following three questions.

　　 1. Decide on the strength of product structure.

Department stores are getting more and more squeezed by the market. Especially in the past five years, department stores have lost their characteristics, and the main reason for losing their competition with online stores and franchised stores or other integrated shopping centers or shopping centers is that their differentiation characteristics have been seriously compromised.

Within the enterprise, this functional shaper belongs to the investment management team, and has become a priority option for their role functions, how to adjust their positioning and adapt to the changing trend of social consumption.

The comparative advantage of department stores in the past and at the moment is still a unique product with high performance price ratio and scarce quality, rather than a big cake shop area and a discount store level price game.

The main body of action that decides the characteristics and value of department stores is mainly the decision-maker and investment management team, and its action ability and result depend on the market business role orientation, professional ethics and business accomplishment of the main body.

In the past three years, the trend of the closure and transformation of traditional department stores, besides the oppression of market factors such as the Internet, the intervention of the inherent factors of the business itself may be the primary problem.

Many traditional retail businesses have so far been constrained by the already established suppliers' channels of cooperation and liaison, so that some business decision-makers are hard to exert their right to speak in their own shops. Some shops have been talking about transformation and transformation for many years but have never seen any action. Some of them seem to have made some adjustments and changes, but many beautifying the environment are actually not. Some fundamental problems such as aging of products are involved; some admit that third party data companies provide technical analysis tools and products, but they can not be included in the company's short and medium term business decisions.

Usually there is no energy to consider. If we plan carefully in this interim period and strategically adjust and reconstruct the operational control power, we may be able to get a glimmer of hope for the department store to really break away from stereotypes and innovate.

　　 Two, the role and status of digital tools.

Can network digitization technology tools, as a simple market supporting tool, or a core power of strategic decision making, can it be incorporated into the management system of rule by man?

There are at least two levels and two different points of view in terms of cognition, not limited to department stores, including the digital strategy of other retail stores.

The first is based on entity retail experience, with digital technology tools as a general auxiliary service and analytical means, without involving management system and decision-making level.

The new crown pneumonia epidemic forced some traditional retail outlets to launch online sales tools, and use clumsy methods to make up classes. For example, the WeChat group of temporary organizations sent customers information scattered and random in the store, unable to answer customers' questions at the first time, and could not ensure the delivery time at the time and place of customers.

The second is to thoroughly optimize the management system of retail enterprises including department stores. In order to change the trend of social consumption, the cloud platform is introduced into the core operation and decision-making process. Digital tools guide investment, sales management and after-sale services, to a certain extent, to replace the rule of man management.

If you have such ecosystem conditions, in addition to systematized high-quality online sales, you can also engage in cultural communication with members and potential customers, including the brand story, new life style sitcom, epidemic prevention science lecture, etc., and use the unexpected temporary break to promote the brand of enterprises. This value is even greater.

In the face of solidified operation system and information tools, as well as the slow management concept and implementation attitude, more than two months' rest period can plan something and focus on medium and long term strategic development. This somewhat rigid situation will change sooner or later.

　　 Three, the direction of product selection.

The future value orientation of department stores will be debating in the process of adjustment and transformation, the relationship with online stores, cooperation with other related retail formats, or cross boundary cooperation. The management team should make use of these two months to demonstrate in depth and produce a strategic plan.

Austan Goolsbee, a professor at University of Chicago business school, recently wrote that the value orientation of an entity department store is lost or confused, and it can not adapt to social changes at the economic level, which is the main reason for the stalemate of Osten Gulsby.

He believes that online shopping is not the main threat force of physical retail stores, and the proportion of us online shopping in the total retail sales is only 11%. Compared with online shopping, there are three factors that threaten the physical store. First, the discount stores and super commercial centers of the membership system are increasing at the rate of exceeding the electricity providers. Two, the middle class income faced by general department stores shrinks and the disposable consumption power weakens, while the shops with high income and low income are relatively better. Three, the public is more enthusiastic about buying services than physical goods. Every 10 years, the percentage of Americans buying physical goods continues to decrease, and the expenditure on purchases of services continues to increase.

Professor Li Fei, a retail research expert at Tsinghua University, has a unique insight into the value orientation of store management. According to the author's understanding, if a shop loses the reason for patronizing customers, that is, the characteristic value attribute, then the shop will be abandoned by consumers sooner or later.

Beijing SKP's business value orientation is "high lifting and high beating", insisting on doing business with high-end wealthy people, providing refined services, and achieving outstanding achievements and reputation for several years. In the face of sharp teaching cases, there are still a number of retail outlets in Beijing that are closed or hard to support. Is this comparison a bit awkward?

It may be that other affairs are too busy, or the concern is not here. In any case, it will be helpful to study the value orientation and development direction of the shops in the two odd months of the unexpected rest period.