Source of this article: Times Finance Author: Li Xinting
"Consumer 100" is an interview program that conveys the new voices of business leaders, and it outputs opinions, insights and reflections to inspire everyone who is curious about the world of consumption. This is the second issue, see how Jiumaojiu faces the sense of crisis.
"The epidemic has really accelerated the process of reshuffling for our industry. Zhao Yuanyuan, vice president of Jiumaojiu, said.
Although the revenue and profit have reached a new high in the past year, Jiumaojiu still has a strong sense of crisis for the future.
More than two months ago, Jiumaojiu officially announced that it would gradually open up its Taier sauerkraut fish (hereinafter referred to as "Taier") and Shan's Shanwai sour soup hot pot (hereinafter referred to as "Shanwai") to join and cooperate with business.
For Jiumaojiu, which has been focusing on steady development for a long time and "strong centers and weak stores" in terms of organization and management, it is not easy to bid farewell to the all-direct sales model. However, the rushing army of catering franchises, the exponential increase in market competition, and the complexity of the market outside the existing management radius have made Jiumaojiu aware of the limitations of the existing business model.
It is imperative to make changes with the knife edge inward. In addition to the open franchise and cooperation model, more changes are also taking place and brewing within the group in terms of store type adjustment and management system.
"In fact, it is not only open to joining, but also the brands of the entire group are making corresponding adjustments to the current consumption trend and the changes in the entire consumer market. Recently, the CEO of Jiumaojiu, who has just been in office for more than a month, said that in an interview with Times Weekly and other media, he further revealed the progress of the group's franchise business and future business planning.
Founded 28 years ago, such a proactive external communication management methodology is rare in the development process of Jiumaojiu, which may also be one of the signals of its change.
Joining is a trend
"We released the open franchise information around February 3, and we received a lot of resumes before the year, and many people asked why we didn't interview yet, so we went to work on the fourth day of the new year. He revealed that at present, Taier, the group has screened 60 projects across the country. It is expected that in June ~ August, cooperative stores will be opened in major cities across the country.
In the catering industry in 2024, all direct brands will be opened to join one after another. Following Jiumaojiu, in March, Haidilao, which has been established for 30 years and has opened more than 1,300 stores by relying on its self-operated model, and Sister Pei, who is the direct leader of Chongqing hot pot, have successively announced that they will open to join.
In He's view, the successive opening of all direct brands is a reflection of the maturity of the catering franchise system, so that the brands can better balance the relationship between the income of franchisees and brand protection. At the same time, the increasingly fierce market competition has also put forward higher requirements for the efficiency and market insight of catering brands, and the franchise model can help brands accelerate market penetration and make up for resource shortcomings.
"The group has opened stores in about 150 cities around the world, and in the process, we have found that franchisees have a better understanding of the local consumer market and consumption habits, and if they help us manage the brand, they will also be able to make adjustments to local conditions in terms of product structure, pricing and marketing. This kind of fine-tuning can allow the brand to better adapt to the local market and enhance its competitiveness in the local market. He said.
Based on the above considerations, Taier is currently mainly open to Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan and other provinces and autonomous regions with a long management radius, domestic airports and high-speed railways and other transportation hubs with special requirements for business qualifications, as well as Australia and New Zealand, which have certain business barriers compared with China.
Source: Taier sauerkraut fish
As for which brands to choose to open up franchise cooperation, Jiumaojiu has also carefully considered: Lai Meimei's profit model of grilled fish in sour soup has not yet met expectations, and the dance training requirements of hot pot are high, which is a great burden for franchisees. In contrast, Taier has the highest reputation and the strongest brand potential in the group, and the business model of Shanwai, which focuses on sour soup hot pot, is specially designed for franchise formats.
"First, the degree of standardization outside the mountain is very high, and the staff can quickly get started after training; second, the brand model is very light, the traditional hot pot brand requires 500~600 square meters for the store, and the store outside the mountain can be 200~400 square meters, the area is small, and the investment is relatively small. At the same time, the number of workers in the store is slightly lower than that of Taier, so the training and management cost of personnel is also lower. He said in an analysis.
In addition, the per capita consumption of Taier and Shan Wai is relatively close to the people among the group brands. According to the annual report, by the end of 2023, Taier's per capita consumption was 75 yuan. At present, the per capita consumption in first-tier cities is 80~90 yuan.
In the selection of franchisees, Jiumaojiu insists on "expensive and not expensive". He revealed that opening up and joining is a new attempt for the group, and at this stage, the group will focus on quality rather than quantity, so it has not set specific goals for the time being.
Empower stores and franchisees
"Overall, in the future, the dual model of direct sales and franchise will better exert synergies, and at the same time, the operating standards and delivery quality of directly operated stores and franchised stores will be consistent. He said. According to Jiumaojiu's plan, next year or the year after, the group will also adopt a franchise model in overseas markets with small market capacity and high development costs.
Since the door to franchise has been opened, it also means that you need to bear more tests and take corresponding risks. The loss of control of management and the failure of product quality to meet unified standards have affected the brand and reputation.
Source: The official Weibo of the hot pot
It can be said that the short-term development of the successful franchise model depends on the team, the medium-term development depends on the brand, and the long-term development depends on the supply chain.
How to ensure the taste and quality of the products of the franchise cooperative stores, He has his own thinking, "The standard for measuring products can be divided into two dimensions: taste and taste, the taste is mainly affected by raw materials, and the taste is affected by seasonings. Taking Taier as an example, in order to ensure product quality, 70% of the core raw materials and seasonings of Taier's franchise stores will be supplied by the group. ”
Behind this is a complete supply chain layout. By the end of 2023, Jiumaojiu has a total of 726 stores worldwide. At present, Jiumaojiu has established 3 self-operated warehouses and 18 third-party warehouses across the country, and material distribution covers 24 provinces and more than 100 cities across the country. At the same time, the construction of Jiumaojiu's national supply chain center base in Nansha, Guangzhou, is also accelerating, and the construction of a production base and a central kitchen for hot pot base and compound seasonings in southwest China, as well as the supply chain headquarters in East China in Songjiang, Shanghai, are under construction.
While strictly controlling the quality of franchise stores, Jiumaojiu also regards franchise stores as a powerful tentacle for communication between the headquarters and the first-line market, and opens up certain business adjustment permissions for franchise stores.
"For the local market, if the franchisee deems it necessary to carry out some marketing activities, adjust the price of the product, or provide some product development solutions. On the premise of meeting the brand tonality, store profitability model and food safety requirements, we will seriously consider it. He said.
In terms of internal management system, Jiumaojiu is also trying to become more flexible. "In the past, the group was 'centralized', with a strong voice at the headquarters and not much decision-making power for store staff. At present, we are slowly adjusting the management structure, allowing the front-line store manager-level staff to go out and bring more customers in. He said.
"It's not just about young people"
By the end of 2023, the total number of Taier stores has reached 578, and the goal for the next stage is to open 1,000 stores. In addition, this year, third- and fourth-tier cities will also open Taier's directly-operated stores.
However, at present, consumers who pay more attention to cost performance, and the market environment filled with gunpowder, also force catering companies to adjust their existing business models.
In the past year, Tai Er, which used to only accommodate four or fewer guests, has opened up six-seaters, and in the takeaway business, Tai Er has also launched a one-person meal. The tweaks happen in the minutiae, but the results are significant. According to He Xiaoxiao, previously, Taier stores, which had launched single-person takeaway packages, saw a 60% increase in takeaway orders, and the increase in the store's turnover contributed to it by about 15%.
Jiumaojiu will also adjust the direction of store type, management system and new brand incubation.
For different customer groups, Jiumaojiu will launch different types of stores. For example, Taier's airport store will be designed to be smaller than the regular store, and more oriented to the single dining scene, and the speed of serving food will be faster; and the main brand Jiumaojiu and Taier will also open a takeaway specialty store with an area of 40~50 square meters in the future, mainly radiating the surrounding area of 5~10 kilometers without brand stores; in terms of brand incubation, Jiumaojiu has been paying attention to some growth potential targets in the market, especially the business model can create synergies with the existing business, which is in line with the goal of the group's multi-brand development strategy.
It is worth mentioning that while more and more consumer brands are focusing on young consumers, Jiumaojiu chooses to further expand the consumer base. "In the past two years, there have been some subtle changes in consumer trends, and Jiumaojiu hopes to broaden the target market by adjusting the pace of development and build a comprehensive product matrix to cover more age groups. Zhao Yuanyuan, vice president of Jiumaojiu Group, said.
The catering industry is in a stage of development that accelerates the reshuffle. According to the "White Paper on China's Catering Brand Power 2023", from January to August 2023, the number of registered catering enterprises reached 2.197 million, and the number of cancellations of catering enterprises reached 762,000, which has exceeded the whole year of 2022.
In the big waves and sand, Jiumaojiu also saw an opportunity. "In our view, the F&B industry is showing a new dynamic. If there is really a brand in the field of Chinese food that has the ultimate cost performance, delicious and nutritious to meet everyone's requirements for health, and has a full consumption scene and a full consumer group, then such a company will definitely be able to run out in the highly competitive market. Zhao Yuanyuan said.