Research on cost control in the leisure food industry under the new retail model: Take BESTORE as an example
新零售模式下休闲食品行业成本控制研究——以良品铺子为例

Keywords: cost control; new retail; e-commerce model; BESTORE
关键词：成本控制;新零售;电子商务模式;良品铺子

Established in 2006, BESTORE is a professional brand chain company integrating research and development, processing and production, and retail services of casual food ${}^{[1]}$${}^{[1]}$^([1]){ }^{[1]}. In 2019, BESTORE has established “high-end snacks” as its strategic development direction, selecting the best ingredients and building them with care.
良品铺子成立于2006年，是一家集休闲食品 ${}^{[1]}$${}^{[1]}$^([1]){ }^{[1]} 研发、加工生产、零售服务为一体的专业品牌连锁公司。2019 年，良品铺子将“高端零食”确立为战略发展方向，甄选最优质食材，精心打造。

Today, BESTORE has maintained a significant market share in a highly competitive market environment with its comprehensive advantages such as omni-channel, omni-category and multi-brand. However, against the backdrop of serious product homogenisation in the casual food industry, BESTORE’s competitive edge in terms of sales price has been weakened. In the face of rising costs, BESTORE’s cost management and control is an important part of further enhancing its profitability and core competitiveness.
如今，良品铺子凭借全渠道、全品类、多品牌等综合优势，在竞争激烈的市场环境中保持着可观的市场份额。然而，在休闲食品行业产品同质化严重的情况下，良品铺子在销售价格方面的竞争优势被削弱。面对不断上升的成本，良品铺子的成本管控是进一步提升盈利能力和核心竞争力的重要一环。

(1) The principle of comprehensiveness
（1） 全面性原则

The principle of comprehensiveness means that the enterprise controls the entire link and process of cost. Total control means that the company has to control all the costs of the production process. Cost control means that all staff within the company need to have the awareness of cost control, not only to recognise the importance and criticality of cost control but also to participate in the control of costs. The whole process of control means that the company controls the whole process from the production to the final sale of the product, including the development, planning, production and trading of the product, without focusing on a single area. The end result of the control should be reflected in the relevant reports, and the problems in the company’s cost control process should be identified and corrected and improved in due course.
全面性原则是指企业控制成本的整个环节和过程。全面控制意味着公司必须控制生产过程的所有成本。成本控制意味着公司内部的所有员工都需要具备成本控制意识，不仅要认识到成本控制的重要性和关键性，还要参与成本控制。全过程控制是指公司控制从产品生产到最终销售的整个过程，包括产品的开发、规划、生产和交易，而不关注单一领域。控制的最终结果应在相关报告中反映出来，并适时发现并纠正和改进公司成本控制过程中的问题。
(2) The principle of exception management
（2） 异常管理原则

The principle of exception management means that the company needs to focus on some aspects of cost control that are not routine and do not take up a lot of time in the routine control. When the difference between the budgeted costs and the actual costs incurred is not significant, the main causes can be analysed without spending a lot of time. In the day-to-day management, it is important to focus on nonroutine examples, to strengthen monitoring and management, and to provide regular analysis and feedback.
异常管理原则意味着公司需要关注成本控制的一些非常规性方面，并且在日常控制中不会占用大量时间。当预算成本和实际成本之间的差异不大时，无需花费大量时间即可分析主要原因。在日常管理中，重要的是要关注非常规示例，加强监控和管理，并提供定期分析和反馈。
(3) The principle of economic efficiency
（3） 经济效率原则

The principle of economic efficiency means that the measures taken and costs incurred by a company in implementing cost control need to be limited to the most economical extent possible and must not exceed the benefits reduced by the lack of cost control. Economic efficiency refers to economic news from a macro perspective and economic efficiency from a micro perspective, and refers to the ultimate success of economic activities and the comparison of costs incurred and results obtained afterwards.
经济效益原则是指企业在实施成本控制时采取的措施和产生的成本需要被限制在尽可能经济的范围内，并且不能超过因缺乏成本控制而减少的利益。经济效率是指宏观角度的经济新闻和微观角度的经济效率，是指经济活动的最终成功以及产生的成本与之后获得的结果的比较。

Table 1: Data relating to operating income, 2019-2021
表 1：2019-2021 年营业收入相关数据

BESTORE’s operating revenue continued to grow during 2019-2021, with revenue growth achieved across all channels and year-on-year growth of approximately $21\mathrm{\%}$$21\mathrm{\%}$21%21 \% and $16\mathrm{\%}$$16\mathrm{\%}$16%16 \% for online and offline respectively in 2021. However, along with the growth in operating revenue, BESTORE is also caught in the dilemma of increasing revenue without increasing profit. The following is an analysis of BESTORE’s cost control in four major areas: R&D, purchasing, sales and overheads, as shown in Table 1.
良品铺子营业收入在 2019-2021 年期间持续增长，2021 年所有渠道均实现收入增长，线上和线下收入分别实现约 $21\mathrm{\%}$$21\mathrm{\%}$21%21 \% 同比增长 $16\mathrm{\%}$$16\mathrm{\%}$16%16 \% 。然而，在营业收入增长的同时，良品铺子也陷入了增加收入而不增加利润的困境。以下是良品铺子在研发、采购、销售和间接费用四大方面的成本控制分析，如表1所示。

Table 2: Data relating to $R\mathrm{\&}D$$R\mathrm{\&}D$R&DR \& D costs 2019-2021
表 2：2019-2021 年 $R\mathrm{\&}D$$R\mathrm{\&}D$R&DR \& D 成本相关数据

BESTORE’s R&D investment costs for 2019-2021 will increase year on year, but the growth is small and accounts for less than $1\mathrm{\%}$$1\mathrm{\%}$1%1 \% of revenue. 2021 will have little effect, although the Company continues to increase its investment in product R&D to achieve continued breakthroughs in product technology development and focus on core category R&D and cutting-edge technology reserves, as shown in Table 2.
良品铺子 2019-2021 年的研发投入成本将逐年增加，但增长幅度较小，占收入的 $1\mathrm{\%}$$1\mathrm{\%}$1%1 \% 比重较小。2021年影响不大，尽管公司继续加大对产品研发的投入，实现产品技术开发的持续突破，并专注于核心品类研发和前沿技术储备，如表2所示。

Table 3: Data relating to procurement costs 2019-2021
表 3：2019-2021 年采购成本相关数据

BESTORE has established a “sales-based” procurement model in line with the company’s own development characteristics. As sales grow in size, purchasing costs increase accordingly ${}^{[2]}$${}^{[2]}$^([2]){ }^{[2]}. In 2021, BESTORE’s procurement costs will account for over $70\mathrm{\%}$$70\mathrm{\%}$70%70 \% of its revenue, which will inevitably place a heavy burden on the company, as shown in Table 3.
良品铺子根据公司自身的发展特点，建立了“以销售为主”的采购模式。随着销售规模的增长，采购成本也相应增加 ${}^{[2]}$${}^{[2]}$^([2]){ }^{[2]} 。2021 年，良品铺子的采购成本将占其收入的超 $70\mathrm{\%}$$70\mathrm{\%}$70%70 \% 额部分，这必然会给公司带来沉重的负担，如表 3 所示。

Table 4: Cost of sales related data 2019-2021
表 4：2019-2021 年销售成本相关数据

BESTORE’s cost of sales fluctuates significantly during 2019-2021. 2021 BESTORE’s promotional expenses increase significantly, and the Company promotes exposure to attract traffic by increasing the cost of accurate promotion to drive sales growth, where the social e-commerce business increases with the increase in scale and the investment in promotional expenses, as shown in Table 4.
良品铺子的销售成本在 2019-2021 年期间波动很大。2021 年良品铺子的推广费用大幅增加，公司通过增加精准推广成本来推动销售增长，促进曝光引流，其中社交电商业务随着规模的增加和推广费用的投入而增加，如表 4 所示。

Table 5: Data relating to administrative expenses 2019-2021
表 5：2019-2021 年行政费用相关数据

BESTORE’s management costs have fluctuated over the past three years. 2021, the change in BESTORE’s management costs is mainly due to the increase in personnel costs. On the one hand, with the scale of the company’s business growth, and the upgrading of the company’s talent strategy; on the other hand, the personnel costs in the same period of the previous year, there are some regions to enjoy local policies to reduce the social security costs, as shown in Table 5.
过去三年，良品铺子的管理成本一直在波动。2021 年，良品铺子管理成本的变化主要是由于人员成本的增加。一方面，随着公司业务规模的不断壮大，以及公司人才战略的升级;另一方面，在人员成本方面，与上年同期相比，部分地区享受地方政策降低社保成本，如表5所示。

Although BESTORE is branded as a “premium snack”, the cost of R&D investment is too low and the allocation of the cost of expensed R&D investment and the cost of purchased intangible assets is not in line with common sense. Although BESTORE has achieved some success in product development in recent years, the amount of $R\mathrm{\&}D$$R\mathrm{\&}D$R&DR \& D investment is insufficient and the percentage of $R\mathrm{\&}D$$R\mathrm{\&}D$R&DR \& D investment in the main business has decreased compared to previous years, which means that there is a clear lack of R&D investment.
虽然良品铺子打着“高档零食”的标签，但研发投入成本太低，支出研发投入的成本与购入无形资产的成本分配不符合常识。虽然近几年良品铺子在产品研发方面取得了一些成功， $R\mathrm{\&}D$$R\mathrm{\&}D$R&DR \& D 但投入金额不足，主营业务 $R\mathrm{\&}D$$R\mathrm{\&}D$R&DR \& D 的投入比例较往年有所下降，这意味着存在明显的研发投入不足。

BESTORE is a retailer of casual foods and most of its products are produced using the OEM model ${}^{[3]}$${}^{[3]}$^([3]){ }^{[3]} The OEM approach reduces the company’s involvement in the production of its products. This method of OEM reduces the company’s involvement in the production of goods to a certain extent, and at the same time increases the cost of returns due to the lack of supervision. Although a quality monitoring system is in place between the company and its suppliers, it does not prevent problems with the quality of the products.
良品铺子是一家休闲食品零售商，其大部分产品均采用 OEM 模式 ${}^{[3]}$${}^{[3]}$^([3]){ }^{[3]} 生产。OEM 方法减少了公司对其产品生产的参与。这种 OEM 的方法在一定程度上减少了公司对商品生产的参与，同时由于缺乏监管而增加了退货成本。尽管公司与其供应商之间建立了质量监控系统，但它并不能防止产品质量问题。

In recent years, BESTORE has been selling through a combination of online and offline channels, forming a sales pattern that is “constantly close to the terminal, providing services anywhere, anytime”. Although the large investment in endorsement and advertising costs can increase the company’s popularity, excessive investment can put financial pressure on the company.
近年来，良品铺子一直通过线上线下相结合的渠道进行销售，形成了“时刻贴近终端，随时随地提供服务”的销售格局。尽管在代言和广告费用方面的大量投资可以提高公司的知名度，但过度投资会给公司带来财务压力。

After-sales service is an important part of sales and affects the after-sales cost of the company ${}^{[4]}$${}^{[4]}$^([4]){ }^{[4]} The after-sales service is an important part of sales and affects the after-sales cost of the company. Highquality, high-quality after-sales service can to a certain extent enhance the company’s reputation and reputation, and can to a certain extent increase the goodwill of the relevant consumers. By browsing through the reviews of the BESTORE online shop, it is evident that many products have bad reviews underneath. The reasons for the bad reviews are various, such as the date not being fresh enough, the packaging being damaged, the product not tasting as expected, the product being sent and missed by mistake, etc. All these factors can lead to a decrease in customer satisfaction and increase the company’s after-sales costs.
售后服务是销售的重要组成部分，影响着公司的 ${}^{[4]}$${}^{[4]}$^([4]){ }^{[4]} 售后成本。售后服务是销售的重要组成部分，影响着公司的售后成本。高质量、高质量的售后服务可以在一定程度上提升公司的声誉和美誉度，并在一定程度上增加相关消费者的商誉度。通过浏览良品铺子网店的评论，可以明显看出很多产品背后都有差评。差评的原因多种多样，例如日期不够新鲜、包装损坏、产品味道不如预期、产品被发送并误错过等。所有这些因素都会导致客户满意度下降并增加公司的售后成本。

BESTORE has to improve the relevant R&D system mechanisms and enhance the company’s R&D capabilities and levels. First of all, the company needs to improve the R&D management system ${}^{[5]}$${}^{[5]}$^([5]){ }^{[5]}. The
良品铺子必须完善相关研发体系机制，提升公司的研发能力和水平。首先，公司需要完善研发管理体系 ${}^{[5]}$${}^{[5]}$^([5]){ }^{[5]} 。这