E-cigarette Stores Once Flooded Shopping Malls: Expansion or Closures?

The land grab and subsidy wars that were blindly rushed into in the first half of the year have ultimately come to an end in the second half, leaving a mess behind.

As the year-end approaches, the wave of store closures is intensifying.

Under the new policies, raising the threshold for e-cigarettes will undoubtedly lead to a decrease in the number of existing e-cigarette stores.

On January 6th, during Beijing's "Two Sessions," Beijing Municipal People's Congress representative Xu Zewei shared his suggestion this year to "increase control over e-cigarettes around shopping malls and campuses, and raise the entry threshold for e-cigarettes."

One point: Industry standards for e-cigarettes should be established, raising the entry threshold, and only one integrated e-cigarette store with several brands should be allowed in shopping malls.

This has certain reference significance.

Currently, it is common for a shopping mall to have multiple e-cigarette stores, especially in first-tier cities.

Firstly, there are many brands with varying quality;

Secondly, having multiple e-cigarette stores in one mall affects the regulation of e-cigarettes;

From this perspective, integrated stores are bound to be a trend.

As policies gradually take effect, the integrated store model will likely spark a new wave of franchise enthusiasm.

The sales channels for e-cigarettes will ultimately trend towards a fast-moving consumer goods model, where multi-brand, full-category integrated stores can better meet the consumption needs of the new generation of young consumers.

From the consumer's perspective, there is a differentiated demand for different device shapes, e-liquid flavors, tastes, and prices, hoping to accurately find their favorite brand and flavor upon first contact with e-cigarettes, reducing the trial and error costs of switching brands and flavors;

From the retailer's perspective, if only a single brand is sold, there are issues such as slow flavor iteration, quality control lagging leading to user loss, few SKUs, and low efficiency; if the brand lacks strength, it should expand to multiple brands, combining both well-known and niche products, offering a rich variety of goods that complement each other, saving customers' selection time, creating internal competition, and forming external synergy.

From the brand's perspective, there are challenges such as difficulty in financing, high pressure to open dedicated stores, and unprofessional operation of offline channels.

The emergence of integrated stores will create a win-win situation for consumers, retailers, and brands.

In contrast, traditional tobacco shops do not follow a model of one brand per traditional tobacco retail store.

How can specialty stores survive? Transforming into a differentiated integrated store model may provide an opportunity to break through bottlenecks and find a way out.

Choosing the right brand is crucial for transforming into a differentiated integrated store model. After the new policies are implemented, the clouds will clear, and a bright future awaits.