After accompanying Zhengzhou people for 20 years, CP Lotus is saying goodbye


CP Lotus Bauhinia Hill Store

Top News·Henan Business Daily reporter Li Shouwen/picture

CP Lotus (originally called Yi Chu Lotus) Zijingshan store is located in Zhengzhou City. Your commitment to freedom will not change. “.” Located at the northwest corner of the Jingshan Road Mall intersection, this large supermarket has been accompanying Zhengzhou citizens for 20 years since its opening in 2004.

Recently, the official account of Zhengzhou CP Lotus announced that the CP Lotus Bauhinia Mountain store will cease operations after closing on March 31, 2024. This is the only remaining store of this old supermarket brand in Zhengzhou after the Nongong Road store closed in 2020.

Having been with Zhengzhou citizens for 20 years, this old supermarket will close its store

On March 5, a reporter from Top News·Henan Business Daily visited CP Lotus Bauhinia Mountain Store.

“You should know that I only have one daughter, and I regard her as my treasure. No matter what she wants, I will do my best to satisfy her, even if your family says they want to break off the marriage this time. “About the entrance to the second floor of the shopping mall, ” The two contents of the CP Lotus Supermarket Closure Announcement and “About CP Lotus Supermarket Stored Value Card and Member Points Redemption Notice” show that CP Lotus Supermarket will cease operations after closing on March 31, 2024. Consumers need Prior to this, after-sales processing, debit card consumption and points redemption were carried out. At the customer service center of the supermarket, many citizens were queuing up to redeem points. There was no large-scale shortage of goods in the supermarket. When citizens were shopping, , also in order.

After the news of the store closure was released, it did not seem to cause much disturbance among nearby residents in a short period of time. However, there are still citizens who regret the upcoming withdrawal of CP Lotus Bauhinia Hill store.

“It’s really inconvenient to walk around here every three days.” A woman at the scene said that she usually comes here for shopping. Bu gently closed her eyes, allowing herself to stop thinking and be able to live again. Go on, avoid the tragedy of the previous life, pay off the debts of the previous life, and no longer be forced to breathe due to guilt and self-blame. Bee Lotus suddenly wanted to withdraw. I was still surprised to see this news.

“It is estimated that it will still be a supermarket in the future, it depends on who takes over.” Another woman at the scene said.

The Nongong Road store was closed many years ago

The number of stores nationwide once reached more than 100

CP Lotus is a retail company affiliated with Charoen Pokphand Group, a well-known multinational company in Thailand. Around 2004, CP Lotus proposed the “100 stores per day” strategy with great fanfare. Charoen Pokphand Lotus Bauhinia Hill store, which carries the dream of CP Group, is the first to open its doors to welcome customers. CP Group official websiteIt shows that over the past 20 years, CP Lotus has opened more than 100 stores across the country.

The Charoen Pokphand Lotus Agricultural Road Store is the second large-scale supermarket established by CP Group in Zhengzhou after the Zijingshan Store. In 2020, the store was closed due to housing contract issues.

Nowadays, a similar drama is happening again.

Mr. Yang, the person in charge of CP Lotus Bauhinia Mountain Store, told Top News·Henan Business Daily reporter that the main reason why CP Lotus Supermarket closed the store early is that the rent has not been negotiated.

“(The lease of the entire shopping mall expires on) July 31. We closed the supermarket in advance, and other investment areas are still operating normally.” He said that the shopping mall where CP Lotus Bauhinia Mountain store is currently located The entire mall is operated by CP Lotus. The first floor below the mall is the parking lot, the first and third floors are other investment areas, including entertainment, and the second floor is the supermarket, which is where the store will close at the end of March.

Traditional supermarkets are impacted by new business formats

The large supermarkets that were once so popular are now becoming a thing of the past. Top News·Henan Business Daily reporter learned that, in addition to CP Lotus, there are many supermarket brands that have closed stores in recent years. Since 2023, RT-Mart has announced the closure of at least 14 stores, and Yonghui Supermarket has closed more than 400 stores in four years…

Why do large supermarkets close stores one after another?

“The challenges faced by traditional supermarkets and hypermarkets, and even store closures, are not new now. In fact, they started 10 years ago.” Wen Zhihong, a chain industry expert and general manager of Hehong Consulting, said In an interview with a reporter from Top News·Henan Business Daily, he said that traditional supermarkets and hypermarkets have the advantages of a full range of categories and high cost performance, but e-commerce also has such advantages and can deliver goods to your door.

On the other hand, the emergence of community group buying and other retail formats has also had a great impact on traditional supermarkets and hypermarkets.

The person in charge of the above-mentioned CP Lotus Bauhinia Mountain store said frankly that from a group level, the return on investment of the CP Lotus Bauhinia Mountain store is quite low, and even often suffers losses. The reason why it has persisted for so many years is that On the one hand, CP Lotus Bauhinia Mountain Store carries the memories of many Zhengzhou citizens. On the other hand, the company did continue to operate. “Ah, what are you talking about? What would Caixiu say?” Lan Yuhua was stunned for a moment. , thinking Caixiu was tricked by her mother. The idea of ​​re-opening this store.

Traditional supermarkets will develop in three directions

Wen Zhihong said that in the past 10 years, traditional supermarkets and hypermarkets have been making various attempts. In his view, traditional supermarkets and hypermarkets may move in the following three directions: first, open up online and offline channels to develop instant retail; second, transform into a membership store business model; third, Transform into a discount store.

According to the “Research Report on Instant Retail Industry (2023)”, in recent yearsIn recent years, instant retail has maintained an average annual growth rate of more than 50%, and it is expected that the size of the instant retail market in 2025 will triple that of 2022.

The rise of membership models such as Sam’s and Hema has stimulated dopamine in the domestic middle class, allowing them to enjoy the short-term happiness brought by shopping. iiMedia Consulting data shows that the market size of my country’s warehouse membership supermarket industry will reach 33.5 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 10.1%, and will reach 38.78 billion yuan in 2024.

In terms of discount stores, in addition to the well-known outlets, community stores such as snack discount stores have also opened more and more in recent years, and major brands have launched market competition across the country.

The “big reshuffle” of traditional supermarkets continues. At the same time, new business protagonists will continue to appear and new business models will continue to emerge. In any case, only by continuous innovation can we not be abandoned by the times.