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Whether the demand side can form continuous population penetration or sinking is the key to whether this market can continue to be popular.
Text | Edited by Han Xiyan | Yo Yo
Source: Pencil Road
Camping occupies the social C position this spring. “Go, go camping” has become a new romance for urban young people.
However, unlike the previous camping that only brought a picnic mat, this popular camping has to be marked with the word “exquisite” in the front. Under the wide tent, folding tables and chairs are complete, ovens, baking pans, pots and pans must be complete, and some people have even put the purchase of RVs on the agenda.
Around the industrial chain of exquisite camping, the corresponding profitable business is also developing accordingly. However, although exquisite camping is hot, it seems to be only a “niche activity” in first- and second-tier cities.
Judging from the total camping user data, 74% of camping enthusiasts are from first-tier and new first-tier cities. Among them, Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, and Guangzhou are the top four sources of camping tourists, contributing more than 30% to the total number of camping tourists. Among them, the penetration rate of exquisite camping population is less than 1%.
The sinking journey of exquisite camping will not see results in the short term. Some practitioners predict that the development of exquisite camping in fourth- and fifth-tier cities and sinking markets will only be realized next year and the year after.
As experts have said, whether the demand side can form continuous population penetration or sinking is the key to whether this market can continue to be hot. If exquisite camping wants to become a good business, it has to go out of “Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou”.
-01 –
Exquisite camping, a niche game in “Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou”?
This past May Day, half of the people in the circle of friends were isolated at home to bask in their cooking skills, and did not go out unless necessary; the other half were either camping or on their way to camping.
The photos of Jiugongge in the latter’s circle of friends are very similar: the background is mostly mountains and rivers, blue sky and white clouds and green grass, it looks like a very high-end tent, the barbecue is on one side, and three or five friends sit around and raise their arms. Clinking glasses… Unlike the past that only required a simple picnic mat, the exquisite camping elements are complete, satisfying all the yearnings of the Xiaobai crowd.
Full of longing, Lin Yiwuyi in Beijing opened an OTA platform before, but the search results showed that all the tickets for the Internet celebrity camping spots around Beijing had already been sold out. Through telephone consultation, the owner of a camping base told her that as early as mid-April, the May Day camp had been booked out. In addition, during the Qingming Festival and even ordinary weekends, these Internet celebrity camping bases in the suburbs of Beijing are hard to find.
Like the ski industry before it, exquisite camping has also become a hot business. According to data, from 2014 to 2020, the market size of China’s campsites has increased from 7.71 billion yuan to 16.80 billion yuan, and more than 8,000 and 15,000 campsite companies will be added in 2020 and 2021, respectively. In addition, it is estimated that the growth rate of the camping camp market will reach 18.6% in 2022, and the market size will reach 35.46 billion yuan.
“In 2021, our camp will receive more than 40,000 visitors. This year, the number of visitors to the camp is expected to at least double year-on-year. If the epidemic does not recur, it will definitely double, or even 2-3 times.” Partner Shi Zhengnan previously revealed in an interview with the media.
However, although exquisite camping is hot, it seems to be only a “niche activity” in first- and second-tier cities. Judging from the IP attribution of consumers who posted photos on Weibo, most of them are users in first- and second-tier cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Xi’an. Mafengwo’s “2022 Camping Quality Research Report” also shows that 74% of camping enthusiasts come from first-tier and new first-tier cities. Among them, Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, and Guangzhou are the top four sources of camping tourists, and their contribution to the total number of camping tourists exceeds more than Thirty percent.
A practitioner in the camping industry predicted that if 2020 is the “first year of camping”, and this year’s first- and second-tier cities usher in development dividends, then camping wants to develop in fourth- and fifth-tier cities and sinking markets, the earliest is next year and the year after. thing.
However, it is not as easy as imagined to develop the camping economy in the sinking market. A camping entrepreneur said in an interview before that his project establishment criteria must meet: the city’s population should not be less than 8 million, the local housing price should not be less than 10,000, the distance from the city center should not exceed 80 kilometers, and the driving distance should not exceed 1 hour, preferably a place south of the Huaihe River in Qinling with a mild climate.
Whether the demand side can form continuous population penetration and sinking is the key to whether a market can continue to boom. If you can’t sink down and can’t get out of “Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou”, it is difficult to call exquisite camping a “good business”.
– 02 –
“Limited” sinking, “difficult” business
For the sinking market, the development of the exquisite camping business does face multiple obstacles.
Although exquisite camping is good, the wallet needs to bear the corresponding pressure, which also makes some intended consumers persuaded to retreat outside the gate. A picnic mat and an ordinary tent are certainly not worthy of the title of “exquisite camping”. Under the wide tent, folding tables and chairs, ovens, baking pans, pots and pans must be complete, and even the purchase of RVs has been put on the agenda. Exquisite camping consumers are looking for a life experience of getting in touch with nature on a certain material basis. With a full set of equipment, the price is several thousand yuan to the top and not capped, and some tents cost one to two thousand yuan.
△ Image source networkAn e-commerce operator of a professional outdoor brand told Pencil Road that most of its products are sent to big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. “There are very few orders from small cities and small counties.”
Some practitioners revealed that “the current population penetration rate of exquisite camping is less than 1%, and as a whole, millions of people have experienced it.” The matter of exquisite camping is related to the development stage of the city, as well as the consumption habits and purchasing power of urban residents. . People born in the countryside would be very surprised that these “city people” would go to the wild in a group, and they had to pay huge sums of money to “get close to nature”. In addition, camping also includes some basic expenses, such as camp tickets, transportation costs, food costs, etc., which does not include other additional potential costs.
Even a one-stop camping “just go” isn’t cheap. Taking “Hot Wilderness” as an example, there are currently camps in 10 cities including Sanya, Huizhou, Zhuhai, and Beijing, which mainly provide standardized “check-in” experience packages for camping enthusiasts. Brand products are divided into two categories: in addition to the 128 yuan player camp that only provides venues for guests but no equipment, the other is 1598 yuan for overnight camping in double tents. The price includes admission tickets, welcome refreshments, dinner, Overnight tent and breakfast the next day.
In non-first- and second-tier cities, practitioners mostly play the same way. The manager of a camping brand told Pencil Road that their rule is to charge per head, park the car in the parking lot, contact the camp steward, and they can transport people and goods to the camp. If you need tents, you must make an appointment in advance. and self-service camps. In the self-service camp area, you can rent a canopy, but you can’t stay.
In the fifth-tier city where he is located, this can definitely be regarded as high-end consumption, so the passenger flow is not high. If he hadn’t caught up with the “camping wind” of May Day, he would not have experienced the treatment of full camps. And after May 1st, the camp was beaten back to its original shape, and the occupancy rate of the camp was less than 30%. In the sinking market, the “weekend effect” of the camping business is particularly obvious, and there are still a few consumers who “have money and leisure”.
Even if the camping sinks, it is only a “limited” sinking. A person in the venture capital circle analyzed to Pencil Road that the penetration rate of camping in China may not exceed 10% in the next ten years.
For the sinking market, “camp” is also a problem. Some cross-border practitioners think that it is enough to have a piece of open space and set up a few tents, but the reality is far from it.
Camps in our country are still in their infancy, and the infrastructure is not perfect. There are very few places that are really suitable for camping. Many parks prohibit tents or camping. At present, domestic camp operators often can only rent land from scenic spots or hotel resorts. In first- and second-tier cities, camping is not only an economic industry, but also a way to improve the quality of life and regional happiness index. Camping resources will be relatively abundant. However, in the sinking market, qualified and high-quality camps are generally in a situation of more monks and less porridge, and there are not many camps built according to professional standards.
In this case, practitioners also face pressure from their peers, and the popularity of camping has also attracted more entrants. In addition to the owners of homestays and restaurants, tourism companies are also developing campsites by taking advantage of their resources, and housing companies and outdoor equipment companies also want to get a piece of the pie.
– 03 –
From a commercial point of view, the camping business is not as easy to do as I thought.
First of all, the input cost of the camp is not low. At present, the main risks of investing in the camp mainly come from the problems of industry threshold and continuous growth.
Some practitioners revealed that the investment in a camp is in the order of hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan. Depreciation is also an expense that camping companies have to consider. Fixed camp maintenance, mosquito disinfecting, inflatable mattresses, cotton tents and other equipment are prone to moisture and need to be replaced regularly. Rent and labor costs are just needed investments, and the scale is hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Some media have reported that the “Hot Wilderness” camp requires 5 to 6 staff members, and the annual labor cost exceeds 500,000 for operations, customer service, pre-sales and after-sales, e-commerce, and delivery. Facilities, kitchen facilities, and the canopy add up to about 500,000 yuan, with a total investment of over one million.
Camping bases are an asset-heavy business with a long return period, and some camping bases have only maintained small profits. According to the Huaxi Securities Research Report, from January to October 2021, the net red camping base brand “Big Hot Wilderness” has an operating income of 10.96 million yuan, a net profit of 102,100 yuan, and a net profit rate of only 1%.
This is the achievement achieved by the industry’s top projects in first- and second-tier cities. If it sinks, I am afraid it will be discounted again. In fact, many camping companies are currently in a loss-making stage.
At present, the development of the camping industry is still in the early stage, and all links are imperfect, and ordinary investors face many risks. How to maintain long-term operation is a big problem. There is even a possibility that the camping, like the previous homestay, will gradually become cooler.
This is also the concern of many investors. According to the data, there are only a handful of camping companies with financing information. In November 2021, “Big Hot Wilderness”, which has only been established for one year, disclosed two rounds of financing information, both of which amounted to tens of millions of yuan. In March this year, the exquisite camping brand “Hi King” wild luxury camp also received a million-dollar angel round of financing. Since 2021, only 4 camping brands have received financing, and they are all in the early stage.
“As far as I know, there is no one that specializes in covering. Just like VCs who invest in hotels, there is no reason to do so, and there is no chain brand for homestays. Camping is more suitable for individual investors.” Investors said.
Camping is difficult, but that doesn’t mean there is no opportunity for camping. An investor in the consumer industry told Pencil Road that he is more optimistic about other projects in the camping industry chain, such as camping equipment, which is a good direction for entry. In the camping industry, the camp business is regarded by practitioners as the most difficult to make money, the most underrated, and the most introverted. In contrast, those who have made money are those equipment manufacturers. Judging from the response of the primary and secondary markets, capital is favoring the equipment track. On a year-to-date basis, outdoor camping gear maker Mugao Di has risen 67.9%.
Tent manufacturers may be the first players in the camping industry to gain dividends. Although tents are not very profitable at the manufacturing end, the net profit can be around 15%, but some tent manufacturers can achieve annual sales of 40 to 50 million yuan. For another example, a camping cart priced at 300-500 yuan can also sell over 10,000 pieces in a month on Taobao.
As far as the camping industry is concerned, there is currently a lack of original brands in the market, and the camping industry involves many sub-categories. Therefore, there is still an opportunity to enter the camp to start a camping equipment business, which is the time to create an excellent domestic brand.
In the camping industry, there has never been a standard development model, and many projects are now expanding the “camping +” model, such as “camping cafe”, “camping blind date”, “camping script killing” and so on.
After all, what consumers care more about is always the mood to look forward to camping, and those who go camping with them. Camping projects must continue to explore richer consumption scenarios, then its wind will continue to blow, and it is possible to develop more prosperously in the broader sinking market.
References:
1. Partner of “The Wilderness of Great Heat: The penetration rate of domestic camping will reach 5%-10% in the next 5-10 years”. Bright Company
2. “Explosive Camping: “Qian Jing” is polarized, some people earn tens of millions a year, and some people step on the pit all the way. Tech Planet
3. “Every time you “spend 100,000 yuan”, who is earning camping money? 》.Wall Street News
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