Culture shock: the feeling of disorientation experienced when you are suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture or way of life. Just as visiting an unfamiliar city or country can require a period of integration, I believe retail shock can also knock you off balance.
I travel to England frequently for family visits. On recent trips, I’ve found that many local businesses—smaller mom-and-pop shops—did not survive the COVID lockdowns. Filling the void are something called “Turkish barbershops,” joining the cell-phone repair shops, nail salons and cafes.
In case you were not familiar with them, a Turkish barbershop is one that gives men’s haircuts, but also provides additional services such as hot towel shaves, eyebrow trimming and nasal hair waxing—which sounds really painful. I was not familiar with this type of haircutter and was surprised that there was such an actively marketed category of hirsute services. After I noticed one of them, I started seeing them everywhere—retail shock!
I’ve found, however, that the model provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs to open their own business offering a wider set of grooming services for men than haircutting chains such as Supercuts or Sports Clips.
What a Concept
Similarly, boba tea shops are proliferating. You might be familiar with these beverages from shopping malls and retail centers. Originally from Taiwan, the shops offer creamy milk-tea drinks poured around flavored tapioca balls. Served with a large straw, the drinks offer two types of refreshment: drinking the tea and chewing the tapioca balls.
I recently read that the Mixue boba tea and soft-serve ice cream chain, with 22,000 franchises, is the fifth-largest food retailing chain in the world after McDonald’s, Subway, Starbucks and KFC, but I had never heard of it.
So what does boba tea have to do with Turkish barbershops? They are both the result of the adaptation of retailers, and retailing space, to the demands of the consumer. Where there is a vacancy in the market, either physically or for a product, someone will create a concept to meet a customer need.
Nimble Thinking
What are the lessons we can learn? The first one is that you, as a convenience retailer, must always be on the lookout for new competition. We are all competing for the same consumer dollar, and you need to know who the new retailers are and what new products are being introduced in your market.
Opening a Turkish barbershop is similar to opening a non-fuel convenience store; it can be opened in any space, the investment cost is low, and the success of the business is driven by the products and services it sells. It’s not about the barber shop; it is about the business model. Watch what is going on in your market and who is moving in down the block or across the street from you trying to steal your customers.
The second lesson is that you need to continue to adapt and find the items that your customers want. Tastes and expectations change over time, and you need to be nimble enough to spot the opportunities and change to meet them.
Boba tea shops have become popular because they offer an alternative to the ubiquitous coffee shops and appeal to a younger audience. Talk to your customers to see what they want. Ask your friends, relatives and suppliers what new ideas they are seeing being offered in other stores. Read and listen to food and convenience industry media to find out what is going on in other markets.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you open a barbershop or a boba tea store in your retail space (although the latter may not be a bad idea). What I am suggesting is that you keep your eyes open for whoever is going to be competing with you so that you are ready to challenge them.
Continue to look around for new opportunities to sell products your customers want. Tastes and cultural trends are always changing, and a good retailer stays one step ahead of what their customer wants. Something that is happening across town, in another city, or on a different continent may give you insight into what your customer wants. You don’t have to be the first to offer it, but you don’t want to be the last.
Roy Strasburger is CEO of StrasGlobal. Contact him at roy@strasglobal.com.