chafing dish
Heat the bottom and cook the pot above
A bowl, a chopstick, a plate
Groups of three or five, ready to eat
Listen to hot pot people talk about hot pot
Look at the hot pot industry figure chronicle
At the end of 2014, there were 11,398 hot pot restaurants in Chengdu, and by June 2015, only 7,490 were left, and 3,908 hot pot shops had closed in half a year. This means that for every new hot pot restaurant opened in 2015, two hot pot restaurants closed.
In 2015, I passed sansheng street several times and saw a hot pot restaurant on the 2nd floor of Tulip Plaza that was being renovated. However, what I did not expect was that this hot pot restaurant called "Xiaolongkan" became popular overnight and became a dark horse in Chengdu's hot pot circle.
Mr. Li Shuoyan, Head of Operations and Marketing at Xiaolongkan, shared with us his story of more than a year before and after joining Xiaolongkan.
Eat 100 hot pots in 3 months, just to choose the good taste in your heart
After graduating from university, Li Shuoyan entered a commercial real estate company to work in operations, which lasted for nine years. During this period, he has accumulated rich experience in operation, investment promotion and planning. However, now Chengdu's commercial real estate volume is seriously excessive, and the development of physical commerce has entered the most difficult period. At this crossroads, he had just passed the age of establishment and made a big decision: to start a business.
Li Shuoyan and his friends saw the catering industry booming, although the market competition is fierce, but the potential of the consumer market is also huge. In the end, they determined the format of hot pot, which is something that Chengdu people can't get tired of eating, although it is also a piece of the Red Sea, but they firmly believe that they can do something different.
Therefore, their "post-80s team" began to investigate the hot pot market in Chengdu. I ate 100 hot pots in 3 months and hoped to find one to cooperate with. In the end, they and Xiaolongkan hit it off and decided to build the brand together.
The experience of traditional hot pot restaurants can be used as a reference, but not standard
In 2014, Xiaolongkan Chengdu had 3 stores, and everyone is more familiar with the Shuinian River store. At that time, although Xiaolongkan had a certain reputation in the community, it did not seem to be much different from the traditional hot pot restaurants that could be seen all over the street.
Xiaolongkan Water Mill River Shop
In 2015, the new team joined the concept and experience of commercial real estate development and operation into this traditional hot pot restaurant, and the entire Xiaolongkan team began to run before the sprint. The first thing to establish is the location of the new store, and the high traffic and high recognition are more conducive to the establishment of the brand. The founder, Mr. Wu Dong, continued to check the ingredients and dishes.
Xiaolongkan Chunxi Road store
The Chunxi Road-Hongxing Road business district headed by IFS and Taikoo Li is a city-level landmark, connected to the East Avenue Financial Street, with huge passenger flow and a large number of enterprises and companies. And Tulip Plaza, located at the intersection of Sansheng Street and East Avenue, although the property is slightly old, the location on the 2nd floor of the street has excellent vision.
After the site selection is finalized, it is followed by the preparation of the store opening: decoration layout, dish planning, personnel settings... In addition to ensuring the purity of the taste of Chongqing's old hot pot, the Xiaolongkan team also has a new idea:
Glass with a larger daylighting area enhances the sense of perspective
With exquisite plating and relatively realistic portions, it brings out the value for money
The introduction of specialties, such as "ice hockey goose intestines", has been patented
The waiters are almost all "small fresh meat" after the 90s, and everyone wears a badge with their own name
The large crowds of people queuing up every day prove that the series of decisions made in the first place were completely correct.
Signature dish: Ice hockey goose intestines
For the reason why Xiaolongkan is so popular, Li Shuoyan said: "We think that such achievements are good luck, behind which is the time, place, and people. ”
At present, the domestic high-end catering consumption is declining, and the hot pot is an entry-level restaurant for Sichuan people to eat together, so it is positioned as a civilian hot pot restaurant. On the one hand, it reduces the risk of entrepreneurship, and on the other hand, it is easier to be accepted by the market.
With "time and place", and the most important thing is "people", Xiaolongkan's new and old teams have come together because of the common goal. It not only introduces the concept of business operation into the traditional hot pot, but also forms a system of professional manager management. The team has also grown from a few people to more than 60 people now.
Li Shuoyan and his entrepreneurial partners
In the process of operation, products and services are two key elements. In terms of products, in addition to Mr. Wu Dong's control of taste and products, excellent service is another major reason for Xiaolongkan's success. After the 90s, who are almost the same as the front-line staff, under the management policy of the store manager responsibility system, these energetic young people are more efficient in service and more sensitive to consumer reactions. In Li Shuoyan's view, good service can form a good reputation, and a good reputation will make the brand better disseminated.
Young and dynamic team
Once, a table of customers repeated the order, canceled it, and then there was no seat, so there was a dispute and gave a bad review on the review website. After xiaolongkan's service team learned about the situation, they invited the customer to eat a hot pot for free, and used this time to communicate with the customer, and finally everyone became friends. And this table of guests is the elite of the hotel industry in the Chunxi Road business district, so later the reception of this hotel Xiaolongkan is almost contracted.
Another time was when the ifs large account manager complained about being in line, and after successfully handling it, he also became a VIP guest here. From these two things, Xiaolongkan realized the importance of maintaining business circle relationships, which will lead to the sharing of resources.
A few hundred meters away from the tulip shop, the 24-hour concept store located on the second floor of the Times Huazhang at the intersection of Hongxing Road highlights Xiaolongkan's determination and courage to innovate and break through himself. The same is the intersection of the street, a wider view, more convenient transportation, here is the center of the rich nightlife of Chengdu, a new first-tier city, even after 2 a.m., you can still see no less than 10 tables of guests.
Start queuing early
Improving the traditional dining experience (products and services) without changing the essential attributes of hot pot (price and local atmosphere) is the precise market positioning that Xiaolongkan found.
Xiao Long flipped out a big force, and what he wanted was not to follow the rules
While Xiaolongkan continued to be popular, Xiaolongkan's entire team realized that the brand should be upgraded, and entering the mid-to-high-end market was both a strategy and a market demand.
On the one hand, in the red sea of cost performance, more than profits, more may be just shouting. On the other hand, due to the popularity of Xiaolongkan itself, waiting for hours to eat has become the norm, and "no queue" and "more comfortable environment" have also contributed to the upgrading of stores and brands. As a result, the first "small dragon over the river" located in the wide and narrow alley came into being.
The name of this not-so-"hot pot" gives people young momentum and unruly thinking. Li Shuoyan said that this is taken from a sentence in a song they created by themselves, "Ten thousand pots steaming and making trouble, the little dragon can also turn over the river." ”
Xiaolong flipped the river with the same name signature dish
The location of "Little Dragon Over the River" has more tourist attraction attributes, which also matches the team's positioning. Adopt more upscale decoration to highlight the Culture of Bashu. However, is "Little Dragon Turning the River" a high-end brand with high consumption? In fact, this is more like an advanced version of Xiaolongkan. The per capita consumption of Xiaolongkan is 7 or 80 yuan, while the per capita consumption of Xiaolongdu Dajiang is about 100 yuan. The common denominator is that customers are allowed to eat more than expected experiences at the average consumption of the market. To say that the cheesy point is to eat a high price at a high price.
A more comfortable dining environment, more suitable for the brand positioning of business banquets
Different from Xiaolongkan,which is positioned as a daily eating and gathering place for ordinary people, "Xiaolong Over the River" is more suitable for business reception, whether it is a banquet for foreign guests or Chengdu people, it is an ideal place. On the other hand, it also carries the vision of scenic landmarks and cultural business cards. It is reported that the Xiaolong Tuan Dajiang 2 store is also scheduled to open in October.
A little dragon that fell from the sky
Xiaolongkan is deeply loved by young people, and it is not unreasonable to stay up and keep vigil in line. The young team makes quick decisions internally, successfully crosses the experience of business operations into the traditional hot pot, has both taste and appearance, does a comprehensive service, and pays attention to the marketing of the brand of word-of-mouth communication.
These elements are the important components that make it a popular hot pot in Chengdu.
Written | Scallions
Some of the images are from respondents and the Internet