The chain of snack shops that has been in Hong Kong for nearly 30 years has been very popular among independent travelers in recent years. However, due to the impact of the epidemic and the fact that it has been unable to clear customs with the mainland, it has finally announced its closure. However, its spokesman said that it cannot be ruled out. In the future, there will be a "comeback".
In fact, although the name of Youzhiliangpin contains Japanese, it is not a Japanese company. It expanded to 90 branches 20 years ago. It was once one of the largest pure snack chain groups in Hong Kong. its branches.
Several surveys have also shown that Youzhiliangpin is one of the favorite brands of mainlanders. Its business reached its peak in 2003 when it began to promote mainland tourists to come to Hong Kong for independent travel. Postponing the graduation day a little.
As the saying goes, you can travel freely if you succeed, and you can travel freely if you fail. Youzhiliangpin relies too much on the business policy of mainland tourists, resulting in the loss of local tourists.
Li Zhaobo, an honorary teaching and research scholar at the Asia-Pacific Institute of Business Studies of the CUHK Business School, said bluntly that “The most fatal thing is that there are no mainland tourists. It’s like Ocean Park is too dependent on mainland tourists.” Retaining our strength will help us to make a "comeback" in the future.
In 2016, there were people coming and going outside the Shangshui store of Youzhiliangpin.
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Many self-use shops are rented, and there are traces of the closing of excellent products.
Youzhiliangpin was founded in 1993. The most well-known snacks include shredded squid, dried mango and plums. In recent years, the business direction has changed to focus on independent travelers. Therefore, its spokesperson also admitted that the company suffered losses due to the impact of the customs closure.
It seems that there are traces of the completion of the excellent quality products. Earlier, they have successively rented out shops in popular districts that they have used for many years, including Wuhua Street in Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan Market Street, and the base on Nathan Road in Jordan, etc., and they have also withdrawn. Lee Garden Hill Shop in Causeway Bay for many years.
However, from the many ground-floor shops held by Youzhiliangpin, it can also be seen that its owner, Li Xiantai, is good at investing.
In fact, as early as 1997 after the financial turmoil, he was actively looking for properties with high interest yields. In the past 20 years, he has been “buying more and selling less”. In 2000, he successively purchased Kwai Chung Commerce Plaza and the whole building of 25 Yiu Wah Street, Causeway Bay. Commercial buildings, a total of 154.8 million yuan was used.
Its branches once reached 90 in 2003, all over Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories, and more than 100 overseas authorized dealers. That was the golden age of the company.
Of course, it is also because the group and its major shareholders are the owners of its many ground-floor shops that it has been able to endure more than two years of closure.
The first batch to enter the mainland but encounter infringement
Youzhiliangpin also took the lead and entered the market through franchising as the first batch of brands to expand in the Mainland.
Since 1998, after more than 3 years of development, Youzhiliangpin had 50 franchise stores in the Mainland in 2001. At that time, the daily turnover of domestic stores ranged from 3,000 to 12,000 yuan. Salary costs are low, and the average gross profit is 40%. Among them, the franchise stores in Guangzhou Avenue are the most prominent.
However, due to the imperfect intellectual copyright laws in the Mainland at that time, many famous brands in Hong Kong suffered from infringement, and excellent products were also one of the victims.
Taking Youzhiliangpin as an example, the signboards, interior decoration styles and uniforms of shop assistants in Shenzhen’s old refurbishment store are almost unreal. At that time, in addition to being exposed to sell inferior snacks, the old refurbishment store also recruited franchise stores, the only flaw that can be detected visually. In order to also sell soft drinks, cigarettes, etc., it is different from the main store in Hong Kong.
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Youzhiliangpin became a popular brand in the mainland, and it was once planned to be listed and finally shelved
However, the infringement issue did not prevent Youzhiliangpin from "making a fortune in China". It even took advantage of the free travel to open up and launched large-package snacks designed for tourists. At that time, Youzhiliangpin's branches were all over the busy districts, including Causeway Bay, Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, etc. Mainland tourists come to Hong Kong freely and must go to the popular district. Every day, many tourist buses are parked outside the door to pick up tourists for shopping.
It is reported that when the freelance business was at its hottest, Youzhiliangpin once considered listing. However, due to the fluctuation of turnover, a reasonable listing valuation could not be determined. Therefore, after many studies, it was finally put on hold. Listing plan.
Today, perhaps Hong Kong people usually choose chain snack stores such as 759 Ashinwu, Snack Talk, and Youpin 360° when they buy snacks. A survey conducted by CUHK and a 2011 study by CUHK showed that the most popular Hong Kong brand among mainlanders, Youzhiliangpin, is among them, and the list also includes well-known retailers such as Watsons and Chow Tai Fook.
Scholars say mainland tourists are like narcotics
Why did the excellent and good products that were once popular for a while end suddenly ended?
Li Zhaobo, Honorary Teaching and Research Scholar of the Asia-Pacific Institute of Business Studies, CUHK Business School, pointed out that Youzhiliangpin is different from the snack brands currently popular with Hong Kong consumers. For example, Youpin 360° also sells tobacco and alcohol, daily necessities such as masks, etc.; Storytelling focuses on selling Japanese snacks, takes a higher-end route, and regularly offers discounts to attract customers; on the other hand, Yuzhi Story focuses on its own brand, which is not as diverse as other competitors, and it is launched to cater to mainland tourists. Large packaged snacks ignore the needs of local customers, resulting in a single source of customers.
Li Geng said that mainland tourists are like narcotics. In the past, they could earn income "without wasting their efforts". When they disappeared in Hong Kong, if the online shopping market has not been developed, they will be unsustainable.
Li Zhaobo, Honorary Teaching and Research Scholar of the Asia-Pacific Business Institute of the CUHK Business School.
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Retaining strength after graduation is beneficial to make a comeback
However, Li Zhaobo agrees with the policy of "Hidden and bide your time", and believes that if you continue to operate reluctantly, you will only end up "burning money", including rent and salaries and other monthly regular expenses will be like "throwing money into the sea". Therefore, it is a feasible strategy to retain strength. It is estimated that after the epidemic is over, the shops will be cheaper, which will be beneficial to "resurrection" in the future.
Li also emphasized the importance of "risk assessment" and said bluntly: "The most fatal thing is that there are no mainland tourists. It seems that Ocean Park is too dependent on mainland tourists. Just like Disney, mainland tourists account for 1/3, but all of them have local tourists. , without immediate death."
Excellent Quality Products confirmed that more than 20 employees were affected by the closure of the whole line. Spokesperson: Long-term lack of customs clearance caused losses and losses. Excellent quality products are suspected to be closed. The opening hours of the Tsuen Wan branch are closed. Japanese citizens made a special trip to say goodbye to the Red Lobster American lobster restaurant.