Night moves
The average lifespan of a bar or nightclub in Guangzhou is about one year. After this, one of three things usually happens; the owner closes the bar down and opens another in a new location, the inside of the bar is completely renovated, or the name is changed while the interior is left pretty much the same.
One reason is that most clubbers are a fickle bunch. Local tastes are attracted more to novelty than quality. Another reason is that bars and clubs rarely give their clients a reason to stay.
Such is the case in the recent battle between two of Guangzhou's hottest clubs, F4 and Baby Face. Last year, F4 opened its doors when Sars was in full force. It did not miss a beat. F4, located on Liuhua Lu down the block from the China Hotel, served a full house seven days a week. Like Studio 54 in New York during the 1970s, everybody wanted to be seen at F4 because it was the place to be.
Business was so good that the club started issuing VIP cards and even refused some customers entry. That was about the same time that Baby Face, located near the Pearl River on Chang Di Da Ma Lu, opened to a crowd that was hungry for something new.
Since its opening last September, Baby Face has been crammed just about every night of the week. The club contains two separate bars and a dance floor hopping with an assembly of female teenyboppers, 20-something local guys dressed in leather, and middle-aged businessmen. Most of these people were once faithful attendees at F4.
The interesting part of this whole
bar-nightclub drama is that Baby Face is owned by a larger company called Face Entertainment, which also owns Face Cafe and Face Club, which were once Guangzhou's most popular clubs before F4 opened.
And so the cycle continues. Now that Baby Face is starting to limit its clientele by issuing VIP cards, a fateful decision made by F4, people are looking for another new place. They will probably find one soon when the owners of F4 open another club.
Instead of treating their clients like chattel, it would be better if these club owners offered quality service with a personal touch, not just a cool place to hang out. But in a city that thrives on short-term profits rather than long-term gains, that is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
