There was once a sector in the A-share market that was extremely impressive; it occupied the most prosperous and prime locations in the city, and had a huge cash flow at its disposal. However, now they have fallen to the brink of industry-wide losses. This is the retail and department store industry.

Recently, a large supermarket opened just 1700 steps away from my home. It was bustling for only a few days before it became quiet. Now, the number of customers visiting the supermarket every day is very few, and the products in the supermarket are not very complete. I can't even buy the paper-skin pumpkin seeds from Qiachacha that I want.

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This has made me start thinking about the retail and department store industry again. At present, the performance of traditional supermarket and department store stocks in the A-share market is sluggish, and some department store stocks have even gone the way of being ST (Special Treatment). In my impression, there are only two companies with good performance in the current A-share department store industry: one is China Duty Free, and the other is Wangfujing.

The reason why China Duty Free's retail sales are so popular is mainly because it has a duty-free license, which is a special permit. Currently, domestic duty-free licenses are relatively scarce. In addition to it in the A-share market, only Wangfujing has obtained a duty-free license, but Wangfujing's duty-free business is not yet mature.

There was a time when the A-share market also set off a wave of speculation on the duty-free concept. Looking back at those commercial and department store stocks that soared at the time, none of them have obtained a duty-free license so far. Now we will find how absurd the duty-free concept speculation was at the beginning. The market is not always right!

If the success of China Duty Free's retail is due to the duty-free system advantage that other traditional department stores do not have, then Wangfujing is one of the few that has opened up a situation with its own real skills. To cope with the impact of e-commerce on traditional retail and department stores, Wangfujing has opened up another path - the outlet store.

The so-called outlet store is a discount store selling world-famous brand products. This requires strong strength to attract world-renowned brands to settle in. Wangfujing has done very well in this aspect in recent years, and its current performance mainly comes from the outlet discount store. Compared with it, Wangfujing's current traditional department store business is in a state of low profit.

From this, it can be seen that even old retail and department stores like Wangfujing have been extremely passive in the impact of e-commerce platforms. If it were not for the outlet model that e-commerce platforms cannot replicate, Wangfujing's performance would also be in danger.

I believe that if traditional retail and department stores want to get out of the predicament, they must focus on managing and selling things that e-commerce platforms cannot manage. Taking the large supermarket near my home as an example, it should vigorously reduce the number of instant noodles, toilet paper, shampoo, and other things that consumers can easily purchase on e-commerce platforms.It should focus its main efforts on items that are difficult to sell on e-commerce platforms, such as vegetables, fruits, pasta, cooked food, fresh fish, and raw meat. For example, this supermarket can sell its own meat pies, roasted sweet potatoes, and boiled corn, which are not only profitable but also not affected by online e-commerce platforms.

Now, this supermarket has completely reversed the situation, with peddlers selling cooked food and pasta in its stores. If I were the manager of this supermarket, I would drive away these peddlers and let the supermarket operate these high-profit products by itself. I would significantly reduce the sales and capital occupation of daily necessities.

Allocate funds and manpower to fresh vegetables and fruits, fish, meat, and freshly made pasta. It is essential to ensure that the supermarket has the most abundant and lowest-priced varieties of vegetables, fruits, and pasta within a radius of dozens of miles. These products are the main sources of profit for the supermarket.

The supermarket should introduce several special-priced products every day to attract local residents to purchase and establish the supermarket's image of low prices. If the supermarket still has spare space, I would rent it to well-known brand merchants, such as KFC, Xi Jia De, and American California Beef Noodle, etc. This way, it can earn rent and also help attract more customers to the supermarket.

I believe that the retail department stores of A-shares have really reached a time when they must transform. They can no longer operate with outdated thinking. I sincerely hope that the retail department stores of A-shares can leverage their advantages, revitalize their vitality, and earn substantial income for themselves and investors.