Recently two totally unrelated acquaintances mentioned the idea of starting food places in 3rd-tier Chinese cities. When asked for input, I gave both of them the same advice: make your place nice enough that you could bring a date.
I’m neither a retail expert nor someone who has been on a huge number of dates in China, so please bear with me, and let me know what you think.
Chinese culture places huge pressure on dating. Parents go to parks early on weekend mornings armed with pictures of their twentysomething children, hoping to play matchmaker. Lavish weddings, preceded by white-dress photo sessions, have become an enormous industry.
Image Source: Lordofdesign.com
People need places to play. The word “play” (wanrrrrr in Beijing dialect) has less of an age limit than it does in English, and people over the age of five use it all the time.
Sure, there are options for play. Malls. Local restaurants. KFC and Pizza Hut. McDonald’s. Starbucks. DQ. Parks. But parks are nicer in the summer than the winter, and the other options are not terribly romantic.
The romance factor is one reason why Haagen-Daz has done well in China.
Beijing’s Nanluoguxiang is packed every weekend with a combination of young, hip Chinese and foreign visitors staying at the nice hotels and hostel on the lane. Many of these people come as couples.
Image Credit: CRI
A day trip to Nanluoguxiang, which is on several major bus routes, could include window shopping and Wen Yu Nai Lao (a popular place that makes cheese that is a bit like fluffy, not-so-cold frozen yogurt often topped with red beans) and is well within the budget of China’s Gen Y.
The Chinese like to linger in cafes, chatting. It is far nicer to linger in a nicely decorated place.
What do you think? How about you, Enovate? Do date-worthy places in China do well? What else would you add?
4 Responses to China Retail: Make it Date-Worthy
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I'm Leslie and I connect entrepreneurs in Chile, China, California, and beyond — especially through translation, training, and trade. More about me.
I have often thought about opening a restaurant/brewery. And the more time I spend in china the more I think that this is the place for it. But making it “date worthy” is not something that I would consider. I think in China people go to places like Starbucks, Häagen-Dazs, and other similar western style places is simply just that. It’s western and therefore inherently kitschy and cool. I have time and time again seen couples on “dates” in parked cars on the street or sitting on a bench at a park. I think its more common to go on those kinds of dates and to save their money for the special occasions when they do go to the western style places. And those are my observations from living in the 4th largest city in the country.
I’m sure that a 3rd tier city will be even harder to get customers. While the middle class is growing in china and they are starting to embrace the idea of credit its still a long way from being adopted like it has been in the west and because of that in growing cities to open a restaurant and to make it date worthy is not the way to go. Sure you should make it a nice place to eat and socialize, but that’s not the key to tapping into the youth market. They key is price. If you can offer a range of food and services from cheap to expensive along with a good mix of beverage choices you can capitalize on the regular friendly hang out as well as the fancy occasional date. If you truly want to do business in china and cater to the Chinese, as a westerner, you have to have your establishment pull double duty. It can’t just be a nice place to go out and eat. In 1st tier cities like Beijing how often do we see places go and come because they cant connect with the local Chinese customer base and cater almost exclusively to foreigners and the richer Chinese. In a 3rd tier city you cant afford that.
Thanks so much Ankur for your thoughtful comment. I think that you and I are defining “date-worthy” in different ways. I guess my definition means a nice place to sit and chat and enjoy some food and beverages. I am not necesarily referring to upscale places like Capital M (though I do personally know a chef there and can personally attest to her skills in the kitchen!) I agree that price is a huge factor, and making the place affordable for young Chinese people is absolutely crucial. When I lived in Jiaxing we once went to a “Western restaurant” in the new mall anchored by Wal-Mart, which featured overpriced spaghetti and “Country Roads” and “Yesterday Once More” on repeat. Totally not date-worthy.
Also, here is a bit more information about the original situation. One person I gave this date-worthy advice to is interested in starting a coffeeshop; the other wants to introduce a sweet snack popular in his hometown.
Well, first i should say that in most Chineses’ mind “dating” is a kind of luxury. After long discussion with my chinese friends, i came to this conclusion: dating = a western pleasure. Keep in mind that lots and lots of chinese get married not because they love their partner, they do get married because of what they call “chuantong” (meaning tradition). The rule is simple: get married before 25 and have a child the next year. No other options. Love, romance and of course dating are new concepts and lots of chinese think that choosing your partner is still today a privilege. A privilege that comes from western countries. So i guess a date worthy place means a romantic, clean, with western style decoration and, an expensive place. Because boy, if you don’t have the money, the girl just can’t be with you! Yes, in China, criteria such as money, height, background are more important that love!
Xiao Ma!
I am so happy to see you here. I miss our classes. I really learned so much in the 3.5 months or so I studied with you and Xiaofei and Jintana and Xiluo and the others. Now I work with all Chinese people, so every day could be unofficial Chinese class.
I do agree with you. I have spoken with a bunch of Chinese friends who think dating is a luxury. But I think that luxurious things sell really well in China. Fancy face cream is really popular, as are top-level private schools, and expensive jewelry.
Also (and correct me if I’m wrong since you know much better than I do!) it is possible to go on dates after getting married. At this point people might have a bit more money and less parental pressure. But my personal definition of date-worthy does not mean expensive.
And yes, in China, money, height and background matter much more than love. What is love anyways?
