Did you know? Many people don't realize that in 1996, Sam's opened China's first store in Shenzhen, in a remote area of Futian, which was just outside the city at the time—a warehouse with a small forklift for stock. The store operated for over twenty years, initially unremarkable and slow to gain attention. So why did it suddenly become popular? Do Chinese people only recently learn to do the math? The misconception is that Sam's became popular because consumers suddenly woke up and realized that membership supermarkets are awesome, willing to pay 260 yuan for a membership card and then stock up wildly. The reality is that Sam's became popular because of a business model that hit the right spot at a critical point in China's ten-year consumption environment change—it's a case of timing creating heroes. Sam's success in China is due to being in the right place at the right time, with the right approach, meeting the needs of a certain group of people. These people are wealthy, own cars and big houses, and are willing to pay for quality. Sam's just happened to offer what they wanted. Sam saw an opportunity others didn't: fresh produce and heavy goods that e-commerce can't solve efficiently. Buying milk online costs ten-plus yuan for shipping; strawberries bought online arrive half rotten the next day. But at Sam's, you push a cart and find milk, fruits, meats, daily necessities—all available, cheaper, and with guaranteed quality. That's Sam's cleverness: it didn't directly compete with e-commerce but identified its weaknesses—fresh produce and heavy goods—and perfected that niche. So, the fundamental principle of business is to directly solve user pain points without unnecessary packaging or emotional fluff—just get rid of the emotions and get out.

View Original
post-image
This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.
  • Reward
  • Comment
  • Repost
  • Share
Comment
0/400
No comments
  • Pin

Trade Crypto Anywhere Anytime
qrCode
Scan to download Gate App
Community
  • 简体中文
  • English
  • Tiếng Việt
  • 繁體中文
  • Español
  • Русский
  • Français (Afrique)
  • Português (Portugal)
  • Bahasa Indonesia
  • 日本語
  • بالعربية
  • Українська
  • Português (Brasil)