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C
The charm also comes from the owner himself.
For future planning, Chang holds no expecta-
tions. “That’s a road paved by pioneers; I just
need to step on their footprints to walk well.”
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Trial and Error for New Birth
The Burrow at Zhongdao Street is the second store
of the brand. In 2018, when Chang was a film student
at the College of Communication, he chose coffee as his
first career to avoid falling into anxiety and uncertain-
ty after graduation. He opened the first store on the
campus. “It was decent, tidy and easy to start.” The
hasty decision led to a loss, but it was not unexpected
for Chang. “The biggest misjudgment of the campus
store was to do school business under the idea of an
independent brand. Idealistically, I wanted most young
people to grab their first cup of specialty coffee from
my store. However, going against the market rule of
targeting certain groups will backfire eventually. What
students need is a study room that serves coffee.”
Afterward, he traveled around the country to
visit many coffee stores and insiders. Back in Cheng-
du, he decided to set up a coffee space primarily for
courses. He chose the chicken coop at Zhongdao Street
at first sight.
From the refined store, customers can still get a
faint glimpse of its previous appearance. The team did
not make any structural changes to the space, but rein-
forced the entire house with steel for safety, and re-
placed all the previously decayed wood with new beams.
About this decision, Chang explains that “a large part
of Vintage culture lovers are a combination of complex
emotions, such as dissatisfaction with the current world
and longing for a bygone era.”
This spirit is carried over into the brand opera-
tions, with a brand position of “unconventional, de-ho-
mogenized and highly free”. “We like interesting things
that are differentiated from other brands. It should be
not easy to imitate and have a high degree of customer
inclusiveness. We opened this store with labels of ‘vin-
tage’ and ‘steampunk’. We love the products of the
‘steam era’. They are very unstable, colossal and pow-
erful. All of these are fascinating.”
The charm also comes from the owner himself. For
future planning, Chang holds no expectations. “That’s
a road paved by pioneers; I just need to step on their
footprints to walk well.”
With two start-up experiences, Chang has also
learnd a few lessons. “The purpose of opening a business
is to make a profit, so I would suggest following the
market environment when you lack a better idea. When
you make the first step through trial and error, my advice
is to control the cost, just like how Ning Hao and Nolan
made films in the beginning. Observe the market at a
lower cost, since stores are extremely varied complexities
which require constant judgment and innovation.”
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