Category Archives: New Business Model

In class, we discussed the convenience of the 4 Cs and discussed Convenience stores. Because of this, I decided to look into whether there is a “sustainable” convenience store, and I found one! Let me introduce you to PBX, a convenience store in Stockholm that strives to be the world’s “most sustainable convenience store.”

According to Reitan Convenience Sweden, the mission of PBX is to inspire customers, retailers, and suppliers to be more sustainable. To become “sustainable” in operation, they look into their product’s content, origin, and packaging to ensure what they have in store is better for the environment. For instance, a few actions that had taken were stopping stocking cigarettes since it has a significant environmental footprint. Also, according to the article, they have set a limit of 100 grams on sweets. Moreover, another large project they worked on, the one I love the best, is to set up a Coca-Cola machine you will see in theatres, where you can purchase the drink in your own container. For this initiative, they collaborate with Glacial, a beverage container, so you can purchase the bottle to fill your drink. This new concept would significantly reduce the need for packaging, especially the PET bottles that could end up in the ocean!

I love this new concept of a convenience store, but it made me think maybe it also defeats the whole purpose of a “convenience store.” The convenience store should provide you with convenience; if I have to bring my container to get a soda or purchase a bottle just to get a drink, maybe it is not convenient. Because of this, people might just turn around to go to another store. One thing I think they can do is have this machine available in the store. Still, instead of asking people to purchase a brand new bottle, they could have the “share bottle” system and be able to return the bottle conveniently, such as in all stores owned by Reitan Convenience Sweden. Another question that pops up is whether this system can be adapted in Asia as Asian convenience is hugely different from the ones in American and perhaps Europe countries, as we discussed in class. Furthermore, to consider the store the “most sustainable convenience store,” besides the products, they also have to look into whether the store itself is sustainable, such as whether the shop is run with renewable energy.

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Have you ever had an experience where you buy an item and only use it once? I did. I remember I bought this specific sauce from Save On Foods just because I wanted to recreate an authentic Thai dish- Pad Krapow Gai; after my cravings were satisfied, I never used that sauce again, and then it expired, so I had to throw it out. 

This kind of activity has created lots of waste. But, in Saskatoon, a sustainability living store called “” has found a way to tackle such a problem: having a “Library of Things.” This new business model works exactly like a library, but instead of books, are things!

The “Library of Things” is a volunteer-led initiative where the store “encourages sustainable living” by reducing waste generated by those “one-time” use item but also help save money for people. How the “Library of Things” works is that people visiting the store can borrow or reserve the items they want. According to the owner, there is stuff ranging from kitchen appliances such as bread makers to spices such as ginger powder that one might buy for one-time use only. All this stuff gathered in the store is also donated by the Saskatoon residents, which further builds a community.

In the earlier classes, we discussed ways 20 business model innovations for sustainability, and one of the categories is diverse impact. For example, the “Library of Things” targeted the shared resource aspect of it. With this, people do not have to own a specific product and hence will decrease the waste generated. Another element is that for people who are unsure whether they want a particular item, these borrowable products can serve as a try-out, so it also helps decrease the risk and uncertainty of owning a product. Other examples of shared resources are AirBnB or Evo Cars.

Everything has a risk. One risk is people sabotaging shared resources. For example, in some cases, Airbnb owners found out their houses were trashed and some items were stolen. To tackle those issues, the shop owners should notify the borrower about specific use rules or have them put in a deposit.

Besides the risks, I  would love to see if Vancouver shops will be willing to tap into this business model soon as this could change consumer behavior of buying things whenever to borrow when needed.

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