Reporters Visited Parkson Stores: Consumers Would Not Buy Clothing Brands At A Discount Of 10%

Some areas of Parkson Sun Palace Store have been deserted, leaving only the modeling platform alone in the aisle.

Parkson, Malaysia's largest department store, has been at the forefront of the storm in recent years. From "the first foreign department store" in the mainland to turning losses by selling properties, Parkson's journey in China has been bumpy. Under the great pressure brought by e-commerce and shopping malls, Parkson said that it is still confident in China and will continue to promote the transformation strategy by strengthening the retail format in the face of the continuous upgrading of China's consumer market. However, in the opinion of industry experts, Parkson's transformation time is too late and faces great pressure. Parkson in Chinese market It is already facing the test of "life" and "death".

　　 Sell off property

Parkson recently made a sudden announcement that it would sell all the shares of its wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary and the creditor's rights of relevant shareholders, which caused a huge uproar. For a while, the voice of "Parkson will withdraw from the Chinese market" was heard all the time. The relevant person in charge of Parkson China subsequently responded that Parkson withdrew from the misunderstanding of the Chinese system. Parkson is not selling its business in China, but only selling Beijing Sun Palace Parkson and all related properties.

The reporter found that Beijing Huadesheng Property Management Co., Ltd., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Parkson Group, was sold this time. The property operated by the company is Parkson Taiyanggong Store located in Chaoyang District, Beijing, which has been in a loss state since its opening in 2010. As of July 31, 2016, the unaudited net book value of Taiyanggong Parkson was 1.032 billion yuan. Parkson said that the group estimated that the net proceeds from the sale of the store would be about 1.9 billion yuan. The receiver was Shenzhen Qianhai Tulan Investment Co., Ltd. The property delivery will be completed by the end of this year.

Obviously, Parkson hopes to improve the company's financial situation and become the capital accumulation of the company's new business by selling the Sun Palace property. Sun Palace Parkson is just a microcosm of Parkson Group. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, the net profit of Parkson Group fell by 58.4%, 34% and 174% respectively, and the loss in 2015 was 183 million yuan. This year's interim report shows that in the first six months of this year, Parkson achieved a turnover of 2.101 billion yuan, down 5.63% year on year; The loss was 124 million yuan, much higher than 15.845 million yuan in the same period last year.

Yum said that the sale of Yum Sun Palace Store will create value for the company, and Yum Group can no longer invest resources in the business that continues to lose money, so as to apply resources to other businesses. In addition, the proceeds from the sale of properties will also improve the financial situation of Parkson Group and invest in the Group Fashion brand And catering brands.

Compared with other operating income, this sudden increase in a large amount of income is slightly embarrassing. The above person in charge also introduced that the funds obtained will be used to improve the performance of existing department stores and develop new retail formats, so as to customize the transformation plan for each store.

　　 Ambiguous positioning

After Parkson announced the sale of the property, it was reported that the Sun Palace Parkson would be closed on October 31. However, the Beijing Business Daily reporter found that Parkson has been unable to recover from this "drag bottle". In addition, after entering China, Parkson, which is famous for its mid - and high-end positioning, is now difficult to bear the reputation of "high-end fashion department stores".

As early as 2014, Parkson Solar Palace has encountered the problem of renting. At that time, after the withdrawal of Oushili, Miaoli and other counters, no new brands were added, and many vacant areas appeared in the store. Due to poor performance and scarce passenger flow, the goods update rate of Parkson Solar Palace is slow, which leads to a vicious circle.

At the end of August, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily found that nearly 1/4 of the shops in Parkson Sun Palace were vacant. In shopping malls, cosmetics brands are offered full discount promotions and Clarks and other brands are offered 30% to 50% discount promotions. The discount is not small, but the rate of consumers' bags is extremely low. In other floors, the situation is even worse. The shops have been occupied by a large number of brands operating silk scarves and umbrellas. There are few women's clothing brands, many of which are selling at a discount of 1%. Men's clothing and men's trousers are sold at as low as 199 yuan, and the high-end is not guaranteed. During the investigation by the reporter of Beijing Business Daily, there were few consumers in the shopping mall.

Coincidentally, the business condition of Yudian Fuxingmen Parkson is not very good, and it is suspected that it is "broken". A reporter from Beijing Business Daily found yesterday that the brands operated on the north and south floors of Fuxingmen Parkson were seriously aging Lane Bryant It is still the main store, and a domestically produced women's cotton shirt costs up to 5000 yuan, which is amazing. Armani and Dunhill on the first floor are paying 50% off, and Zie is a private brand Zac is selling at a discount of 25%, and there are only a few consumers. ECCO stores and other brand stores are offering discounts on many floors. For this reason, the staff of ECCO said that the stores are temporarily opened, and they would not talk more about it.

In addition, there are many "fake" brands and fake brands in the two Parkson brands. Boss sunwen、Frognie Zila and other seemingly high-end brands are actually Chinese clothing companies. A consumer told a reporter of Beijing Business Daily that the famous fake brands are very misleading.

　 E-commerce chicken ribs

While large-scale shopping centers and e-commerce continue to erode the market share of department stores, department stores are also seeking transformation.

Li Mingtao, Vice President of the Research Institute of the China International E-commerce Center under the Ministry of Commerce, said that traditional department stores should be more involved in the whole commodity supply chain when they set foot in e-commerce. At the same time, the combination of department stores and e-commerce can also meet the needs of consumers to improve their offline consumption experience.

In fact, Parkson Group has been planning e-commerce since 2014. Chung Tingsen, founder of Yum! And executive chairman of Malaysia Golden Lion Group, said two years ago that Yum! Had always planned e-commerce channels. It is reported that from this year to next year, Parkson has hundreds of private brands that will give the group a strong competitive advantage. Parkson will directly cut into the source, with both price and unique brand advantages.

Two years later, although Parkson has opened an online shopping mall, WeChat official account and mobile phone app, its e-commerce plan is nothing but superficial. The reporter of Beijing Business Daily found that Bonia was the only brand in the category of women's luggage sold online on Parkson's official website, and Mango and Zie were the only brands in the category of women's clothing Zac two brands. In addition, Zie Zac, which is sold in offline stores at a discount of 2.5%, is sold at an online discount of 30%.

Parkson mobile app has become an "empty shelf". The beauty of Parkson's mobile phone is the main force, but when Beijing Business Daily reporters tried to buy multiple lipsticks, blushes and sports shoes of different brands, they were told that the stock was insufficient and could not be traded.

On the Beijing Parkson WeChat official account, consumers can only view store activities, WeChat shopping and query member information, but can't view the brand information of each Parkson. In Parkson's microstore, although the product categories include cosmetics, home appliances, boutiques, household goods, flash goods and luggage accessories, only household goods and home appliances are available for purchase, and the rest are no goods. Consumers also need to go to the store to pick up goods after purchase, and cannot enjoy points.

　　 Life and death are unpredictable

Yum Sun Palace reflects the current situation of Yum Parkson in the Chinese market, and even to some extent reflects the difficult global department store industry.

The continuous decline of Parkson's performance is inseparable from its foreign capital blood. Zhao Ping, deputy director of the Consumer Economy Research Department of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, believes that the market response of foreign-funded department stores is not keen, and most foreign-funded enterprises need to listen to the opinions of the headquarters. However, under different cultural, life, consumption and other backgrounds, the headquarters' lack of understanding of China's commercial culture and consumer psychology has led to the fact that the final strategy decision cannot be 100% matched.

Industry insiders told reporters that department stores are faced with unfavorable factors such as too small size, single business type, isolated stores, and inconvenient parking. In the increasingly fierce physical competition, it is difficult to build business circles and gradually cultivate them. The department stores that are positioned at the top end have suffered a greater decline due to the rapid shrinkage of luxury goods and high-end consumption. Under the background of market depression, Parkson's business adjustment is not in place, and it can only rely on a large number of closed stores to "break the arm" to protect itself.

In addition to closing stores, Parkson has accelerated the pace of transformation this year. In January this year, Parkson and South Korea Elion Group opened Shanghai Parkson Youke City Plaza; In June, its Qingdao Golden Lion Plaza opened, and Parkson entered the field of shopping centers in China; This month, Parkson's first independent supermarket will be opened in Shanghai Xiexin Starlight Plaza to optimize the group's retail business; In October, Hakenpu, a baking brand introduced by Parkson from Taiwan, will also open in Shanghai Xintiandi.

The relevant person in charge of Parkson Commercial Group said that the business transformation of Parkson will bring about new changes in the integrated online and offline omni channel business, shopping centers, department stores with fashionable life elements and Aolai. Parkson Group will adjust its operation and customize the transformation plan for each store.

Lai Yang, a specially invited researcher of the Beijing Institute of Commerce and Secretary General of the Beijing Society of Business Economics, told the reporter that the traditional department stores have no future in the world. Comparing Taiyanggong Parkson and Aegean Shopping Center, we can find the development trend of different business models, and the decline of department stores is inevitable. "Many brands have withdrawn from Fuxingmen Parkson, and Parkson's current investment attraction is just to make it look good. If Parkson wants to recover, it must change. There is only a dead end to the development of the past model, but it is not easy to transform to a shopping center."

Some analysts believe that the transformation from a department store to a shopping center is tantamount to crossing from the Red Sea to another Red Sea. According to the data, the number of shopping centers in China has grown rapidly at the rate of 300 every year, reaching 4000 by the end of 2015. After the transformation of Parkson, how to break out of the shopping center has become the key. Guo Yi, director of the marketing department of Yahao, believes that differentiated positioning will expand the attraction to customers and help to stand out.

Guo Zengli, director of China Shopping Center Industry Information Center, told reporters that department stores will increase the proportion of self operated brands and exclusive goods, and adjust according to changes in consumer behavior, which will also attract consumers of a certain category or region, and cultivate core competitiveness.