What is the profit of bottled water?

The bottled water market in China is highly competitive. Five years ago, local bottled water brands rose, like Ipoh, which was deeply rooted in Guangdong. Robust is one of the few national bottled water brands. In terms of gameplay, except Wahaha, which adopts the form of brand authorization, most other brands have their own water factories, and the channels are all in the form of joining, that is, the water stations in those communities are not manufacturers, but private agents, and many of them are husband and wife stores. The water station market is mixed, because it makes money too fast-the annual return on investment is over 90%, which means that if you invest 654.38+10,000 yuan to open a water delivery shop, you can recover more than 90,000 yuan in the first year. If the agent is some brand-name bottled water, the profit will be more abundant. The house is rented, the bucket is made by the manufacturer, the water delivery worker rides a bicycle, and the core assets of the water station are only customers. Some water station owners run well, have opened several water stations, have a large number of customers in different communities, and have unique confidence in negotiating with manufacturers. We must respect him a little, and we can't offend him. I stayed in Robust for 17 years and was responsible for its drinking water business for a long time. One day four years ago, I felt that the business model of Robust bottled water could be changed, and the direction was that Robust established a customer call center network. That is, if you buy Robust bottled water in the future, you don't need to call the water station next to the community, but call Robust directly, and we will quickly send instructions to the nearest water station according to your location. It sounds simple, but it is a subversion of the past. Because this means that those water stations that have joined before must hand over their customer information to Robust, and this is their biggest bargaining chip. It's ridiculous that my executives are all against me. Fortunately, at that time, the senior management of Danone China (Robust was acquired by Danone in 2000) supported me to make a new attempt. From self-accounting of water stations to unified management by Robust call center, the most intuitive change of the new model is that water stations bid farewell to chaotic and inefficient management methods. Sending water is a physical activity. Generally, the water delivery workers in each water station will be replaced in a short time. At this time, an interesting thing happened. The owner of a water station in Guangzhou, where Robust joined, proudly said that the water delivery workers in my shop have worked for seven or eight years and no one has resigned. After listening to it, I thought he paid the workers a high salary, but I found that this was not the case. When this water station joined Robust's call center network, all these water delivery workers left their jobs. Did I "harm" this boss? On the contrary, I helped him find the reason why these water delivery workers are "loyal" through the new cooperation mode-before the management was loose, some of these water delivery employees resold customer information to other water stations, while others resold buckets and water privately. In short, there is still a lot of oil and water outside. One more thing, some water stations are doing so well that the lines of three telephones and three operators are always busy, but in the new mode, only one telephone and one operator are needed for a water station. In addition, in the past, the water station may be indifferent after receiving the tender and dismantling from customers. Now Robust directly accepts the tender and dismantling, which naturally attaches great importance to it. After the brand of bottled water establishes direct contact with customers, it can also help the water station to allocate customer resources according to the location, and prevent the water delivery workers from running far to send a bucket of water. Vicious competition between water stations has also decreased-in the past, price wars were often fought, and the loser had to sell other water. Water stations can accept the power of transparent prices. First, we promise to help water stations develop new customers through various channels. Second, we have a bold promise: for example, a water station sends 3000 barrels of water a month ago, and we sign a contract for the water station. I guarantee that you can sell 4000 barrels of water a month after joining our call center network. If it can't be sold, Robust will make up the difference. Nevertheless, some water station owners felt uneasy and decided to terminate their cooperation with Robust. Our biggest collaborator is among them. This boss has opened more than a dozen water stores, and the business volume accounts for more than 10% of Robust Guangzhou. I have a bigger plan. The success of the new model test means the birth of the first real chain brand in bottled water industry. The water station we joined has formed a close interest alliance with us. Robust bottled water belongs to the middle and high end, that is to say, the hundreds of thousands of high-quality terminal customers we directly grasp are a big cake with imagination. We can cooperate with banks and other financial institutions, and also with enterprises in other consumer industries. You know, the bucket itself is a good media platform. Because our customers are community-oriented and the water station is near the community, the concept of "community logistics" was born. Logistics industry must be one of the possible industries for China giant enterprises in the future. If Robust's new model of bottled water is successfully replicated in China, nearly 5,000 water stores will join the chain, and water delivery workers will weave a huge community logistics network. Water delivery workers have strong load-bearing capacity. If the customer still needs oil, rice, noodles or even a pack of cigarettes at home, it will be a piece of cake for the water delivery staff, and it will definitely be delivered within an hour or two. What is the profit of a bucket of water? In the past, the net profit of Robust bottled water exceeded 20%, but if the business model changes, it is obviously another figure. Unfortunately, Guangzhou's experience is only copied in Chengdu, and it wants to be promoted all over the country, but Robust's parent company Danone (China) has a complaint. Because Danone's position is very clear, it is a manufacturing enterprise, and now it wants to transform Robust into a service-oriented enterprise. Finally, my plan was rejected, and I left Robust on 20 10. I suggested that He Boquan, an angel investor and the founder of Robust, buy back Robust's bottled water business, but Danone was determined not to sell it.