Under the dynamic soundtrack, the dancing style of reachable duck cross raising hands adds a bit of stupidity, plus the funny creativity of Internet friends. Different types of reachable duck pictures and videos quickly appear on the Internet After the duck became popular, it also formed a situation of "one duck is difficult to grab". Many KFC stores have run out of toys, the transaction prices of toys on various second-hand platforms have doubled, and the business of eating on behalf of packages has sprung up.
Reachable duck music box became popular: it was fried for up to 100 yuan on the second-hand platform, and there was a "substitute eating" service
KFC toys are on fire again. Did you grab the "duck" today?
In recent years, among the co branded toys launched by KFC on specific festivals, baokemeng series is the most IP, including Doraemon, little yellow man, etc.
Baokemeng IP + funny video = out of the circle
The popular reachable duck toy is actually one of the toys matched with KFC's children's Day package launched on May 21 this year. According to the inquiry of KFC's applet, you can get a random baokemeng co branded toy by purchasing the specified package of 69 yuan to 109 yuan, and reachable duck is one of them.
Screenshot of KFC applet
KFC's official customer service said that the package containing reachable duck toys is sold nationwide. It is unclear about the distribution quantity of each store. It is recommended that consumers check it on the mobile ordering interface.
A loyal user of KFC IP toys told the surging news reporter that there are many co branded toys in the KFC package, which has always been very hot and will raise the expectations of fans every year. "In 2019 and 2020, KFC's 61 package will have reachable duck toys, and this year's ducks are more 'silly' and more playable than the previous two years, and the two hands can be exchanged. Although there is music every time, compared with the usual ringtones, the theme of this square dance is easier to get out of the circle."
In addition, the user also said that there are few genuine authorized baokemeng peripheries in China. It is not easy to get such a size of reachable duck peripheries for 69 yuan abroad. A pendant of genuine reachable duck doll costs about 200 yuan to 300 yuan.
"If KFC gets the package, it's really cost-effective. After all, the price of an ordinary blind box is about 59 yuan and 69 yuan." One consumer said.
"The package is cost-effective, IP is loved by young people, and the fire is naturally fueled by short videos." According to a senior toy lover, in addition to the normal publicity and introduction of official channels, the most important thing of KFC's joint toy package is the wide-ranging dissemination of short videos, especially the "cute point" of dancing ducks. "Everything I bought is showing videos, and those I didn't buy are also sending videos roast."
A toy lover told surging news, "now I brush short video apps, and almost three out of 10 are about this reachable duck. This toy is very funny. At present, everyone is happy to spread what they want to say through this toy. This may also be the reason why reachable duck is more popular than other toys in this package."
Jigsaw puzzle of netizen's video
"In the commercial field, in addition to the negative, there is no need to push. In any state of queuing behavior, someone must arrange the deployment behind the scenes." Marketing industry insiders told surging journalists that products will not be inexplicably popular, and there are often traces of pushing hands behind them.
"There must be marketing promoters behind the scenes. There are traditional marketing methods, including store sales, promotion and co branding, as well as online marketing methods, such as grass planting, microblogging, Tiktok, etc." Wang Yugang, founder of Shanghai Mission brand planning company, said in an interview with surging news that just as Disney is a paradise for adults, the explosion of KFC and baokemeng co branded toys may also hit the current marketing points. Wang Yugang believes that under heavy social pressure, for adults, baokemeng toys actually have his innocence in them.
Wang Yugang added that with the promotion of marketing, reachable duck toys have become adult toys, similar to a social currency. From the perspective of hunger marketing, the price of toys will be raised, and the value will be set off. At the same time, Shanzhai and high imitation products will emerge.
"This kind of marketing method, many domestic brands basically do not have, or do very poorly." Wang Yugang pointed out that after entering China, KFC and other enterprises have been doing peripheral product marketing, using peripheral products to convey the brand to consumers, cultivate consumers' good impression of the brand since childhood, and the product out of the circle can also increase the influence of the brand.
"One duck is hard to find" in stores in first tier cities: the price of salted fish doubled, and the unit price of batch sales was lower
A KFC social welfare officer told surging news reporters that it is difficult to buy reachable ducks in Shanghai, "very few, now there are no toys." For whether the hot group purchase of reachable duck package in Shanghai is genuine, KFC's official customer service said that its baokemeng toys can only be sold through the official platform.
"For people who urgently want KFC reachable duck toys, instead of fighting KFC's set meal luck, it's better to add some price to Amoy reachable duck directly on third-party platforms such as salted fish." A consumer in Shanghai told the surging news reporter, "it's hard to grab in Shanghai. You can't guarantee that there are reachable ducks in the stores you go to, and many stores also give Set Meal toys at random. Therefore, buying on the platform of 'salted fish' is a relatively fast way to buy."
The consumer said that the transaction price of the dancing duck he placed on the "salted fish" platform in recent days was 120 yuan, and the merchant rose to 160 yuan the next day. "Recently, the most expensive price seen on various platforms is 269 yuan, which is certainly not the most expensive. However, the average price of this toy on salted fish is about 110 yuan to 150 yuan."
Another consumer said, "in addition to big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, it's easier to grab ducks in small cities. You can go to the store and add waiters to book via wechat to let the other Party keep the goods."
There has even been a "substitute food" business. A seller who made "substitute food" for the first time told surging news reporters that he felt "interesting and cool", so he made "substitute food" to play, "I don't make money. The package is 69 yuan, and I pay the postage for 66 (selling)."
According to the seller's observation, it is mainly buyers in first tier cities who come to him to buy reachable duck. The baokemeng package in their own city has not been sold out. "If you have (place an order) reachable duck, buy some and give it to your colleagues. We (people) should not care about baokemeng very much."
According to KFC customer service, KFC baokemeng set meal is divided into double meal and family bucket, with a baokemeng toy attached. "Just ask the counter sister and see if you can discuss it. Your attitude is better." The aforementioned seller said that he could ask KFC counter staff to specify duck toys to be reachable.
There are "ticket" sellers and "professional" food substitutes. A seller posted "the last three! Reachable ducks 2022, KFC eat on behalf of others and send them in seconds in stock" on the second-hand trading platform. The picture is a reachable duck toy with five or six floors, with a price of 69.99 yuan. The surging news reporter said after inquiry that a single spot duck can sell for 180 yuan per second. In less than half an hour, the link has shown "sold".
KFC baokemeng toy "substitute eating" service on the second-hand trading platform
The surging news reporter inquired about the salted fish platform and found that, in addition to some individual sellers reselling the toys they chose, the price of reachable duck in the hands of "toy dealers" is generally lower, and many toy dealers accept batch reservation.
One of the sellers told reporters that one of the dancing duck toys in his hand was 89 yuan, and the more he bought, the cheaper he was. For example, the unit price of a box of 60 can be reduced to about 65. The spot price will be cheaper in about 5 days, and it will be cheaper in all parts of the country.
"It's hard to see the authenticity of such toys. The IP popularity of baokemeng series has been not low and easy to imitate." Several senior players told reporters that the goods in the hands of some secondary dealers in salted fish are not authentic, and the source of goods is not necessarily received from consumers who buy reachable duck packages. There may be goods from processing plants.
"In order to ensure the quality and authenticity of toys, I usually choose to place an order with an individual buyer, who will have a package purchase record for further evidence." A senior toy lover told reporters.
Yum China's performance dilemma under the epidemic
Behind the hot marketing is the dilemma of KFC parent company Yum in China.
On May 4, yum China Holdings Co., Ltd. disclosed the results of the first quarter of 2022. In the first quarter of this year, the company's total revenue was US $2.67 billion, an increase of 4% year-on-year (compared with the same period of last year); The net profit was US $100 million, down 57% year-on-year.
For the decline in net profit, yum China said that it was mainly due to the decline in operating profit and the loss caused by the company's market capitalization equity investment in meituan. During the reporting period, the company's operating profit was US $191 million, a year-on-year decrease of 44%.
Specifically, in the first quarter of this year, the same store sales of Yum's two major Chinese brands KFC and Pizza Hut fell by 9% and 5% respectively, and the operating profit fell by 33% and 50% respectively.
Yum China's performance in the first quarter of 2022
Yang Jiawei, chief financial officer of Yum China, said in the financial report that due to the deterioration of the epidemic since March, the company's operating performance in the first quarter was seriously affected and suffered a loss in March. If the COVID-19 can not be significantly improved in May and June, the company expects an operating loss in the second quarter of this year.
At present, yum China expects the same store sales in April (on the premise that the sales store has been open for at least one year, the sales of the same sales store in the same period) to decline by more than 20% year-on-year. According to Yum China, in April, when about 10% to 15% of its stores in Shanghai were operating, yum China's revenue reached 40% to 50% before the closure.
Although the second quarter will face greater challenges, yum China said it is still optimistic about the long-term opportunities in the Chinese market. The company's target for fiscal year 2022 remains unchanged, and it is expected that about 1000-1200 stores will be added this year; Capex is about $800-1 billion. Yang Jiawei pointed out that in the future, yum China will continue to increase capital expenditure in enhancing digital capacity, supply chain infrastructure and store network expansion.
After Yum China disclosed its first quarter results, several major banks including Furui, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase lowered Yum China's target price one after another to maintain the original "buy" or "overweight" rating. As of the afternoon of May 24, yum China rose 0.19% to HK $324.