Text: Minimalist popular science
Minimalist popular science
Preface
With a loss of 700 million yuan in three years, from "chasing by the whole people" to "being scolded by 10,000 people", what mistakes did Quanjude, the king of roast duck, make?
If you have been to Beijing Qianmen, you will find a strange phenomenon, whether it is an individual or a tour group, there are always tourists rushing to check in and take pictures at the door of Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant. Although the entrance is bustling, there are very few diners who come into the restaurant. Who would have thought that this 159-year-old roast duck restaurant would be reduced from a top-class restaurant to a backdrop for tourists to take pictures?
Not only do tourists not pay, but Beijing locals also shake their heads when they mention this old store. The attitude of diners is also reflected in Quanjude's financial report, in the three years from 2020 to 2022 alone, the brand has experienced three consecutive years of losses, accumulating nearly 700 million.
It wasn't until the first half of this year that this data looked a little better, achieving a net profit of more than 20 million. Funnily enough, these profits are not earned by the hard work of the company, but by investment income and financial support from the government.
In other words, this time-honored roast duck brand, which has lasted for 159 years, has lost money in its main business for four consecutive years, not only can it not continue its glory of the year, but it even has to rely on external financial support to barely maintain it.
In fact, as the strongest representative of Beijing roast duck, Quanjude used to be the most shining golden sign in Beijing's catering industry. Even our beloved Premier Zhou has received foreign guests here 27 times, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a die-hard fan.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the century-old store still has a supreme glory. In the first half of 2001 alone, Beijing Quanjude's turnover was as high as 350 million. You must know that in that era, Beijing's per capita income was only 5,000 yuan, and it was only the head office of Qianmen, with an annual turnover of more than 100 million yuan, which was definitely the only top stream in that era.
It is precisely because of such dazzling data that the brand received 380 million yuan in financing in 2007 and became the first time-honored brand listed in the catering industry. Until 2012, it was still the top among Internet celebrities, especially after the 2008 Olympic Games, Quanjude's fame even extended abroad. Many foreign friends come to China from thousands of miles to taste the taste of Peking duck.
However, in 2014, Quanjude's reputation plummeted, and not only Beijing natives scoffed at it, but tourists from other places also stopped chasing it. And the source of all this turned out to be because of a photo.
Back then, a Beijing netizen posted Quanjude's "sky-high bill", and after countless people's comments, this century-old brand became the target of the whole network. A set of 6 hot dishes, roast duck, plus staple dessert and drink, the bill amount is more than 1,000 yuan. What's even more exaggerated is that a pot of watermelon juice was sold for a high price of 168 yuan, in addition to a 10% service charge.
This price is really beyond the level that ordinary people can accept. According to this netizen, he took customers from other places to eat that day, and originally wanted to let people feel the flavor of old Beijing, but he didn't expect that he became a big wrongdoer. In front of customers, he didn't have a good seizure, but he couldn't swallow this breath, so he posted this "sky-high bill" on the Internet, hoping to help other diners avoid lightning.
Before the release, he was still a little apprehensive, after all, it was a national brand, would he be questioned by other netizens if he complained like this? Unexpectedly, after the release, he actually found a lot of "victims" who were sympathetic to the same disease. Many people who have spent money in Quanjude say that the store is now typically expensive and unpalatable.
Not to mention the 258 yuan for a complete set of roast duck, there is an extra cost for a single order of dipping sauce and lotus leaf cakes, and a casual vegetarian dish costs about 50 yuan, and meat dishes can easily cost 100 yuan. Five or six people go to eat a meal, at least a thousand, and there may be no enough to eat.
What's even more outrageous is that the service attitude in the store is getting worse and worse. Some diners reacted, and the waiter fell and beat while serving the soup, with a reluctant face, and finally even accidentally splashed on the customer's body. However, he didn't apologize, turned around and left. With such a quality of service, it is simply ridiculous to dare to charge the so-called service fee.
However, in the face of these bad reviews, Quanjude never took it to heart. They still focus on the promotion of time-honored brands, what has been inherited for a hundred years, from the court, and even the 31 processes of roast duck have become selling points. But they forgot that as a restaurant, affordable consumption and warm service are the secrets of their 100-year history.
It is precisely because of Quanjude's high position that in just ten years, the Beijing roast duck industry has actually formed a situation where hundreds of schools of thought are contending. Brands such as Four Seasons Minfu and Yongle Restaurant continue to rise, and they have retained the hearts of more foreign and local diners with higher cost performance and high-quality service.
In the face of such a declining trend, where should the brand Quanjude, which has been inherited for 159 years, go?
The national time-honored brand is all in Jude, and its reputation is gradually collapsing. From being high up to putting down the body, can the two major self-help measures save the hearts of diners?
From an annual turnover of hundreds of millions to a loss for three consecutive years, it took less than ten years for Quanjude to fall from the altar. The unit price of the dishes is inflated, the service is crotch-pulling, and this century-old roast duck restaurant has actually become a "Tiankeng" brand that everyone complains about.
In order to recover the decline and win back the hearts of consumers, in the second half of 2020, the general manager of the brand announced a comprehensive price reduction of dishes, with an overall decrease of about 10%. even directly canceled the service fee that was criticized by everyone, and even the signature product roast duck was reduced from 258 yuan to 238 yuan a set.
Although the attitude is sincere, it has little effect. In particular, the store losses for four consecutive years show that the price reduction measures have not touched the hearts of consumers. In this regard, Quanjude is also confused. Everyone says I'm expensive, and I'm willing to reduce the price, but why can't I meet the requirements of the diners?
In fact, the decline of Quanjude is not all its own problem, and the information in today's society is more transparent. Whether it is local or foreign diners, they are no longer blindly pursuing time-honored brands. People even prefer small shops with good reputation and good taste, and even find them more attractive than big brands.
In desperation, Quanjude was also forced to find another way and began to enter the liquor industry. However, this decision presents a very different picture in the capital market and the consumer market. After the listing of Quanjude's liquor series, the investment market was very good, and even pulled out 6 price limits in more than ten days.
But the strange thing is that the actual sales of these alcohol products are frighteningly low. Judging from the data of Taobao and Jingdong's flagship stores, the sales volume of the two star liquor products is only in the triple digits, and it really can't stir up a wave in the sales market.
Crazy self-help but unable to return to the sky, today's Quanjude brand seems to be really going to a strange road. And a little bit of the glory of what was once "produced by the royal family"?
The century-old roast duck brand Quanjude, even if you haven't eaten it, you must have heard of it. But I'm afraid few people know that the predecessor of this duck brand is actually a dried fruit shop?
In 1834, Yang Quanren, the founder of Quanjude, fled to Beijing, when he was still a 15-year-old boy who had to work as an apprentice in a slaughterhouse in order to make ends meet. Although there is a place to stay, Yang Quanren's life is still poor. As the lowest-ranking guy in the shop, although he handles countless ducks every day, he rarely tastes ducks.
In such a day-to-day life, Yang Quanren has a life goal in his heart, that is, to open a roast duck restaurant, so that he can eat all-you-can-eat. So, for the next 30 years, he worked hard to save money while learning the craft. Finally, when I was 45 years old, I saved enough money to open a store.
After that, Yang Quanren began to look for shops on the street, and soon he found his target, a dried fruit shop called Judequan. At that time, the store was on the verge of collapse due to poor management, so Yang Quanren sold the whole shop at a low price.
However, after all, it was a store that had closed down, and he also had a trace of apprehension in his heart, afraid that the feng shui of this location was not good. Therefore, before the opening, Mr. Feng Shui was specially invited, but after some investigation by Mr., he actually gave Yang Quanren a thumbs up: the location of this shop is excellent, but the name is not good, if the name is reversed, the business will naturally prosper.
So Yang Quanren slapped his thigh and quickly gave his roast duck restaurant a new name "Quanjude". He also spent a lot of money to invite Chef Sun, who was born in the imperial dining room of the palace, and the two improved the roast duck recipe together, which led to the Quanjude roast duck that was sought after by everyone later.
Although it has a long history and the taste originates from the Qing royal family, until now, the national brand Quanjude is still difficult to reverse the decline. It seems that the century-old inheritance is not a gold medal for avoiding death, and if you want to develop for a long time, you still have to continue to cater to the market in order to stay ahead. In addition to Quanjude, what other time-honored brands do you know that are gradually declining? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss.