Author: Xiaoshidai (original)
As the catering industry continues to be hot, many big-name restaurant groups that originally insisted on direct sales have all wanted to stand on a new table - joining. One of the latest "players" is Jiumaojiu Group.
A few days ago, He Chengcheng, CEO of Jiumaojiu Group, who has just taken office for more than a month, and his team executives revealed the latest progress of the franchise business to Xiaoshidai and others. "Franchisees can't make money, and we are absolutely not open to joining." He also pointed out that the restaurant group, which already owns brands such as Jiumaojiu, Taier, and Lai Meili Grilled Fish, does not rule out investing in or merging some catering brands.
According to the data, the 46-year-old He Chengcheng took over the post in March this year. Since November 2017, he has served as the general manager of Guangzhou Taier Restaurant Chain Co., Ltd. and was appointed as the vice president in 2020. The founder of the Company, Guan Yihong, will continue to serve as an Executive Director, Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Nomination Committee.
Earlier in February, the catering giant, which had been developing in a direct sales model, began to embrace the franchise wave of the Chinese catering market this year, gradually opening up the franchise business of its Taier sauerkraut fish and Shandi Shan Guizhou sour soup hot pot.
Recently, the senior management of Jiumaojiu Group gave a detailed introduction to its open franchise strategy, the current franchise trend of the catering industry and the construction of the supply chain when communicating with Xiaoshidai.
Now, let's pay attention to it.
tactics
According to the latest financial report, Jiumaojiu Group's total revenue increased by 49.4% to 5,985.9 million yuan last year, while net profit increased by 763.3% to 480 million yuan. In 2023, the company opened 180 new restaurants and operates 726 restaurants in 142 cities in Chinese mainland and some overseas markets
However, these achievements are achieved through direct sales. Even after entering the next level, Jiumaojiu Group has only opened up its two brands to join.
Among them, Taier sauerkraut fish was launched in 2015 and is the main brand of Jiumaojiu Group, with 578 stores as of the end of last year;
In the Chinese market, Taier Sauerkraut Fish will open business cooperation in transportation hubs such as Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan and the airport high-speed rail, and in overseas markets, it will first open up franchise business in Australia and New Zealand. Outside the mountain, Guizhou sour soup hot pot is open to designated shopping malls for cooperative business. In addition, Jiumaojiu Group has also previously given requirements for franchise partners.
For the first batch of regional selections open to join, Jiumaojiu Group gave its own considerations.
Zhao Yuanyuan, vice president of Jiumaojiu Group, said, "Because the management radius of these regions is relatively large, there are certain management difficulties and challenges, and we chose local franchisees for testing in these provinces, because they have a better understanding of local consumption habits and consumer market trends, and can enhance brand adaptability." ”
At the same time, "the number of stores in these areas was relatively small, for example, there were only two Taier pickled fish stores in Xinjiang, while there were no stores in Tibet and Taiwan. Open franchise can effectively increase the exposure and popularity of the brand in these regions. Zhao Yuanyuan said.
She added: "We choose certain channel points, such as high-speed rail stations, airports and other transportation hubs to open up to join, because these places have greater development potential and consumer demand, and the market environment is also suitable for the promotion and development of products." If the test of these franchise regions goes smoothly, we will not rule out the full opening of domestic cooperation in the future. ”
As for the joining of Guizhou sour soup hot pot outside the mountain, which first chose to open the mountain, Jiumaojiu Group also explained.
"At that time, we made this model basically for the franchise to design, why is it suitable for joining? First, its degree of standardization is very high; second, its model is very light, the traditional hot pot brand stores are about 500 to 600 square meters, it is about 200 to 400 square meters, the small area means that its investment is relatively small. He said.
According to He Xiaoping, in early February, Shandi Shan Wai Hot Pot announced the opening of cooperation, and from the initial feedback, "the interest in the market is very high, far exceeding our expectations". He expects that in June, July and August, franchise stores will be opened one after another, and now there are more than a dozen stores in the synchronous promotion.
In contrast, "the hot pot (model) is heavier, the labor is more, and the training of staff dance needs to invest resources to do", He Chengcheng said, which is also another reason for choosing Guizhou sour soup hot pot outside the mountain to open to joining.
When asked about the proportion of directly operated and franchised stores in the future, he bluntly said, "We just announced the opening of cooperative franchises in early February, which is a new attempt for the group, at this stage, we will focus on quality rather than quantity, so we have not set specific targets."
Zhao Ling
Since last year, the "franchise tide" of the catering industry has been surging. Yum China, which is moving towards the goal of 20,000 stores, has vowed to actively embrace the franchise model, and not long ago, Haidilao also said that it will implement the franchise model to promote the expansion of the restaurant network.
The reason why she is willing to join the catering franchise war, Zhao Yuanyuan said to Xiaoshidai: "From the perspective of industry development, the opening of catering enterprises to join is an effective expansion strategy. By joining, brands can quickly increase their market share and influence. The franchise model helps companies promote their brands in a wider region while rapidly expanding their store network. ”
Secondly, in the view of Jiumaojiu Group, the franchise model is convenient to achieve a win-win situation for brands and franchisees.
"Franchisees usually have a better understanding of local consumption habits and consumer markets, and can make appropriate adjustments according to local conditions to help brands better adapt to the local market. The benign interaction and cooperation between franchisees and brands can maximize the value of resources and efficiency, and ultimately achieve a win-win situation for both parties. Zhao Yuanyuan said.
The consumer experience is also taken into account. Jiumaojiu Group believes that the local stores opened by franchisees not only make dining more convenient, but also introduce innovative dishes and special services to meet the growing and diversified needs of consumers. "Overall, we see open franchise as a win-win strategy. She said.
increment
In addition to opening up franchises, in order to cope with the background of further accumulation of confidence in the catering consumer market, Jiumaojiu Group has also been adjusting its strategy to find new increments.
"In response to the changes in the current consumption trend, the group is not only doing franchises, but also making adjustments (to other businesses). Our main positioning is to play cost-effective, mainly to further strengthen and expand the brand of Taier, and then open up the joining success outside the mountain. Jiumaojiu said.
These adjustments are mainly reflected in the product mix, product mix and average customer value. He pointed out that the main thing is to make the efficiency a little higher and the model a little lighter, so as to make the pricing more cost-effective and more competitive.
Specific to each brand, Jiumaojiu Group is planned like this.
Taking the main brand Taier Sauerkraut Fish as an example, "there are now more than 600, and our goal in the first stage is to open 1,000 stores." He said. But he did not say when he hoped to achieve that goal.
After being upgraded this year, Lai Meili Grilled Fish with rattan pepper has now been renamed Lai Meili Grilled Fish in Sour Soup.
For this brand, "we are still in the adjustment stage, our principle of opening up to join is whether franchisees can make money, franchisees can't make money, we are absolutely not open to joining." At present, the profit model of Lai Meimei's sour soup grilled fish has not yet met expectations, and when the adjustment is completed in the future, it will be possible to open up the franchisee to make money. He said.
He also said that some takeaway specialty stores will be opened, including Jiumaojiu and Taier Sauerkraut Fish. "Takeaway specialty stores are in some blank markets, such as places where there are no stores around 10 or 5 kilometers, and open a store of about 40 or 5 square meters (there are also a few tables) dedicated to takeaway. ”
For the layout of takeaway specialty stores, it mainly comes from the company's insight into the takeaway market.
He Zhili further explained: "There was no single meal before the takeaway Taier sauerkraut fish, but we also know that the takeaway scene is more of a single meal, and the data we took from the platform showed that 70% of them were ordered by a single person, so Taier sauerkraut fish was on a single takeaway package." According to the statistics of Jiumaojiu Group, "the number of orders in the stores with single-person takeaway packages has increased by about 60%, and the contribution to turnover has increased by about 15%, which is very good data." ”
In addition, Jiumaojiu Group also launched sauerkraut fish prefabricated dishes in Sam's and Costco respectively. It is reported that compared with the products in stores and online products, these prefabricated dishes are completely differentiated by channel and do not overlap, and each has its own different characteristics.
It is worth noting that Jiumaojiu Group also has the possibility of external acquisitions. "In fact, we have been keeping an eye out for some high-quality F&B brands in the market, and we do not rule out investing in or acquiring some brands. He said. It was revealed that the group's acquisition direction will still focus on catering, "and it may be that there is no current involvement and there is no high degree of overlap (brands)".
supply chain
For the catering industry, the foundation of open franchise and smooth operation lies in the supply chain.
Jiumaojiu Group has carried out preparatory work earlier. "We have now established 3 self-operated warehouses and 18 third-party warehouses across the country, and the material distribution covers 24 provinces and more than 100 cities across the country. Zhao Yuanyuan introduced that in the future, it will continue to adjust the layout of warehousing and distribution, optimize distribution routes, improve the full load rate, and provide fast and high-quality logistics and distribution services for stores.
In terms of supply chain layout, Jiumaojiu is establishing a national supply chain center base in Nansha, Guangzhou, which is expected to achieve an annual output value of more than 3 billion yuan in 2027 and is currently accelerating construction;
How will these layouts provide support for the franchise model? Jiumaojiu Group said to Xiaoshidai that it can be elaborated from three dimensions.
The first is standardized operation management. "Through a rigorous training and evaluation system, we ensure that each store can follow a standardized process. Use information technology to establish a quality monitoring and traceability system to realize real-time monitoring and traceability of product quality, and effectively reduce food safety risks. Jiumaojiu Group said.
The second is the advance layout of the upper and middle reaches. "For example, by raising home-grown sea bass and home-brewed sauerkraut, the quality and supply of the main ingredients are ensured. In the process of raw material procurement, strict quality control standards and inspection procedures are implemented. Jiumaojiu Group said.
In addition, in terms of expanding production capacity. Jiumaojiu Group said, "The group has carried out the construction of central kitchens and supply bases in Nansha, Chongqing and Shanghai, and at the same time purchased new production facilities and equipment, introduced lean production and continuous improvement methods to improve efficiency and reduce costs." ”
In the view of Jiumaojiu Group, the group operates more than 730 stores around the world, which verifies the ability of the group's supply chain system. In the context of open franchise, these supply chain measures are designed to ensure that the Group can continue to provide high-quality products and effectively control costs while expanding rapidly.
At present, in the catering industry, the battle of supply chain has become more and more important. Strong supply chain management capabilities facilitate the company to run out of scale, and then gain more considerable market space. With the help of the franchise strategy, it is also convenient to accelerate the chain process.
It is not difficult to find that the supply chain has become one of the "moats" that Jiumaojiu Group strives to build. So, does this mean that the group intends to transform into an asset-light development model in the future?
In this regard, Zhao Yuanyuan told Xiaoshidai that opening up to join is an attempt to add a new business model to the group, and the original model (i.e., direct sales) is still the highest in terms of proportion. "It cannot be said that we have turned to asset-light, it can only be said that the two models have formed a discussion of business models that complement each other's advantages. She said.