read the navigator
- foreword
- tear the truth under the veil! AFN spy Sydney Haidilao
- Australian Chinese restaurants saturated market competition, how long can Haidilao survive?
- Don't forget the original intention: "Chinese food going to sea" survival guide
Foreword
Ancient poem: "A cup of muddy wine at home." To be honest, after staying in a foreign country for a long time, the organs that first reflect the homesickness are actually the taste buds.
Especially in Australia, when I have tasted the mixed "real and fake Chinese food" and the "Chinese fast food" in the food court in the shopping mall, I especially miss it in the dead of night. I have been to a certain restaurant in the corner of the corner when I was in China. An authentic taste.
When "Haidilao", a hot pot chain restaurant full of legends in the rivers and lakes, quietly started its trial operation in Sydney, it immediately set off a "bloody storm" in the circle of friends.
difficult to make a reservation? Is the taste the same? Is the "abnormal service" that the whole world cannot stop?
In recent years, well-known Chinese restaurants such as Huang Jihuang, Tim Ho Wan, The Bund Seafood, etc. have fallen under the background of Australia's "unacceptable water and soil". Haidilao chose to settle in Sydney at this time. Is it a coup or a bad dish? chess? (Click to read ""Survival in the Cracks"? The Survival Status of Chinese Restaurant in Australia")
Recently, "Australian Finance and Economics" (AFN) visited (and tasted) this newly opened Haidilao store in Chatswood. Find answers to this series of questions.
1
tear the truth under the veil! AFN Detective Sydney Haidilao
difficult to book! Is it full of real customers or fake hunger marketing?
In fact, just making reservations can be described as a twists and turns.
Although Sydney Haidilao also called it a "trial opening stage" and did not publicly promote its business, the probability of "successfully getting a table to sit and eat" is not optimistic.
"Australian Finance Insights" was originally scheduled to dine at around 6:30 last Saturday night, but when I called on Thursday to ask if I could book a table, I was told by the customer service that "Saturday seats are already fully booked." However, you can directly queue up at the store from around 4 o'clock on the same day to get your number, but you have to wait until after 5 o'clock before you start calling your number to inform you of your seat. After
asked "whether it is possible to arrange numbers at around 6 o'clock," the customer service said that they would "start issuing numbers from 4 o'clock, and generally no longer continue business after 100 numbers are issued from 5 to 5:30." The customers who come in line later will not be able to eat.” According to the information disclosed by the customer service at the time, the store only opens 5 small tables (accommodating up to 4 people) and 5 large tables (accommodating up to 8 people). People), the rest of the tables will be reserved for guests who come to the store to arrange the number on that day.
customer service explained that there are two main modes of dining in Haidilao: one is to make reservations by telephone, which can only be done by telephone and requires all people to be seated; and the other is to arrange numbers on site. , But it depends on luck if you get it.
So we took the second place and chose to arrange the numbers around 4 o'clock in the evening on another day.
After all, in the vivid description of the customer service, it seems that it is a great blessing to have a chance to eat Haidilao in Sydney. You must first defeat the long line in front of you like a pass. Other diners.
And the facts have proved that the worries of "Australian Financial Insight" are completely redundant. After some members of the team arrived at Haidilao in the Chatswood Westfield shopping mall at about 4:30 pm on Monday night, the front desk welcomed us warmly and informed us that we can directly enter the store and sit for dinner at this time, or we can choose a row number.
The number screen in the waiting area
I glanced briefly at the store. The guests in the store were in twos and threes, not at all like the legendary "one is hard to find."
"Perhaps because of too many negative reviews, they changed their strategy." Yumi had just visited this Haidilao restaurant a week ago. She and her friends walked into this restaurant at 3 pm on a working day during the “cold time of the catering industry”. To her surprise, they waited enough before eatingIt took half an hour to be seated.
Yumi added that there were six students next to them, and they seemed to be coming for dinner after school. The front desk asked them to queue up and sent them away. I think they seemed to be waiting farther than we did. For a long time."
"But we went in and looked at the store later. There were not many people in the store." Yumi said, "They are completely deceiving consumers and deliberately hanging their appetite."
In fact, the review list of the store on Google Maps In, you can already see several negative English reviews:
The user "Jin Zihan" gave the store a 1-star minimum rating: "The worst place! It can't compare with the service of (Haidilao) Chinese stores. We arrived at the store at 3 pm, but the front desk told us that we had to wait until 5 o’clock to be seated. But there were obviously a lot of empty tables! And the opening hours they hung at the door clearly stated from 11 am to 12 am This is like a joke! I think they are deliberately making people line up to make hunger marketing." Another user named "Kevin SHEN"
also made a similar complaint: "We went there at noon I waited for about 20 minutes. I thought how busy the store was, but when I came in, two-thirds of the tables were empty. I really don’t understand, so many empty tables, why let us wait for 20 minutes? Perhaps? The management did this deliberately. I can’t believe that someone would actually use this method.” He gave this dining experience 2 stars and added, “The dining service is still in place, although the price is extremely high. Expensive-two people dine at 150 Australian dollars. "
Some customers also feel that all the long waits are worthwhile to eat Haidilao.
user "Berry C" commented, "The quality of service is the same as before. Waiting for more than an hour is expected. The waiting area will provide juice, water, popcorn and other snacks, as well as nail services, as in China." The user Add, "But the food is average, the fruits are not very fresh, and the sauces are good. In addition, the ramen show and the Sichuan opera face-changing show are very interesting!"
The sauces in the seasoning area are quite complete
, To be honest, Haidilao keeps empty tables in a large room and asks customers to sit outside and wait. It may indeed be deliberately to whet everyone’s appetite, but it may also be due to the lack of staff in the store. It's the customers who enter the store and can't get someone to arrange the service.
In fact, a waiter at the front desk explained when we arrived at the store, “It’s our staff’s meal time. After our staff’s meal is over, we can arrange a seat for you.”
But if it’s the management team deliberately To create hunger marketing, Haidilao’s behavior actually underestimated the basic IQ of consumers and overestimated the loyalty of consumers to the brand.
In fact, after I expressed my inconsistencies and doubts about the empty restaurant on site, "difficulty in making reservations" and "waiting time", the waiter replied,
"We have changed the plan now, and the tables are basically all The reservation is out, only the innermost ones are left."
I immediately glanced at the reservation registration book of the day placed on the front desk. There are about 20 tables on a page (and there are about 40 in the store.)
We have no way of knowing, the customer service said every day Whether the 100 numbers issued at 4 pm actually exist.
I simply passed the arithmetic in my mind:
100 numbers, plus 20 reservations, then 120 table guests.
Although customers who have received a number can enter the store after 5 o'clock, in fact, customers began to fill up the restaurant one after another from around 6 o'clock that day. The closing time of the same day is 9 pm, that is to say, basically the effective business hours of the same night are only 3 hours from 6 to 9 o’clock, and in just 3 hours, 40 tables in the store need Catering for 120 tables of guests.
That is to say, an average of one hour, it is necessary to turn the table once.
Touch your conscience and ask, is this possible in a hot pot restaurant?
78 Australian wagyu beef, 368 bottles of Wuliangye
anyway, the position was finally seated and the meal was ordered. The
menu is basically the same old, with some Australian specialties, such as Australian M8 Wagyu beef for 78 Australian dollars, Australian abalone for 49.9 Australian dollars, and NSW green lobster for 199 Australian dollars. It is worth noting that although the Australian Wagyu beef has been "transformed" into "U.S. Wagyu Beff" (American Wagyu Beff) despite the English interface.
In addition, I also saw a 368 Australian dollar bottle of Wuliangye on the menu, as well as the "Guojiao 1573" that was previously named in the Australian Open and earned enough attention (click to read "Chinese brands nearly billions of dollars sponsored by Australian Open? This money? Is it worth it"). However, ingredients such as iced soy milk, chrysanthemum chrysanthemum, oily gluten, prawns, and oysters have been shown to be in a "clear" state.
It is worth boasting that after ordering with the IPad prepared by each table in the store, the bottom of the pot and the ingredients are served very quickly.
is to test the taste, the bottom of the pot is ordered "net red four square grid", divided into sauerkraut, spicy, mushroom soup and tomato, the taste is quite satisfactory. But in fact, everyone basically follows the tradition and put most of the ingredients into the spicy pot.
Sydney food and travel broadcaster "Boiled Dry Silk" commented on the taste of these pot bottoms from Sydney Haidilao, "too flat to leave an impression." He once ate unique sukiyaki pot and curry pot in Japanese hot pot. He added, "Regardless of the taste, it really impressed me and I can still remember it."
Although the amount of ingredients per serving is a bit small for 6 people, the good taste is still the familiar taste.
A whole potato, a total of 10 slices, AU$5.9
The most surprising of the ingredients is that a plate of 78 AUD. I don’t know if it is Australian or American wagyu. Although the beef is partially oxidized and blackened, the meat is delicious and smooth. , It is indeed much higher in texture than a 17.8 plate of ordinary beef.
Wagyu with high-value appearance and snow-patterned roads, a serving of 78 Australian dollars
However, Sydney Haidilao's sanitary condition of food handling also made us a question mark in our hearts.
For all catering companies, food safety is one of the main risks. In the hot pot industry where Haidilao is located, the food is mainly cooked in a short period of time. The requirements for the quality and freshness of the ingredients are higher and the risks are greater.
One of the girls with us had diarrhea after returning home from Haidilao that day, and even took a leave of absence due to illness the next day.
She guessed that it might be because of eating unprocessed clean belly, or other foods that have been contaminated twice.
In fact, she may not be alone. A user named "Just Sharon" commented on Google Maps like this: "I have been suffering from stomach upset after eating last night, and I have been going to the toilet since this morning!!! This happened to my friend too! !!!" The user
was obviously very angry and used multiple exclamation points in a comment. He added, “The service is average and the price is very expensive. This is the first and last time I have been there!!”
In Australia, the hygiene standards of restaurants are far stricter than in China. I don't know if Sydney Haidilao has popularized Australia's food handling standards and hygiene regulations one by one when sending employees to China for intensive training before opening.
At least in my opinion, the employees of Sydney Haidilao seem to be unfamiliar with the new environment.
During the waiting period, I heard two waiters in the shop chatting: "Give you two choices: whether to take off the gloves and pick up the trash and put on the gloves, or throw the trash with the gloves into the trash can?" After receiving the exact answer, the waiter who asked the question smiled and joked, "Yes, this is too troublesome!"
The domestic "perverted service" after going abroad fell to the altar and became "normal"
has become an era of "standardized operation" in hot pot restaurants. What attracts customers to consume is not mainly the flavor of the food, but the unique scene experience and the ultimate service. Haidilao, with its almost "anti-sky" perverted service, has gone from a very humble malatang shop on the roadside to today's 100 billion market value business empire.
said that the domestic Haidilao service "against the sky" is not too much. In addition to the superficial skills of distributing hair ropes to long-haired women, handing protective bags to mobile phones, handing towels to the bathroom, and serving in the waiting area, the detailed observation ability of many Haidilao employees in China is really impressive.
For example, I remember that when I was eating Haidilao in Beijing, a couple of my companions made a few words. I didn’t expect that the clerk in charge of our table would quietly place a love song for them, and suddenly gave it one. Bunch of flowers, and smiled and handed it to the girl: "Sister, I actually don't know why my brother is in conflict with you. But I believe that you must cherish each other very much in your heart. I hope you will reconcile and be happy every day!" The surprise of
came so suddenly that the couple and everyone on the spot were deeply impressed by the ultimate service. To this day, this scene is still deeply imprinted in my mind.
However, the service provided by Haidilao in Sydney seems to be a little lower than the average service level of Chinese stores. In addition to the kung fu performance of the ramen brother in the store,
still attracts attention. In fact, even the "superficial kung fu" mentioned in the previous article may be obtained by asking the waiter. When
was boring waiting in the waiting area, I took the trouble to ask a waiter in the store:
"Do you have board games?"
"I'm sorry we don't have any. Now only chess and checkers are available."
serves as a snack in the waiting area. "Wantwang Senbei" was put away by the "High Sheaf Pavilion" and placed on an elevated shelf in the corner. When I finally discovered their existence, I asked again:
"Can this be eaten?"
"Yes."
Did you find the biscuits in the picture?
"Can I drink this water?"
"Yes."
"Can you get me the menu?"
"Ok, wait a minute."
"Can I make an appointment for nail art? "
" The manicurist will be there at five o'clock, wait a moment."
The empty nail area
may be my problem is too many and a bit aggressive, or she is a little shy, the waitress every time she answers She kept smiling patiently, but after she answered, she turned around and wiped the row of red wine glasses behind her.
And these answers, to me who have also worked in the Australian beverage and catering service industry, seem to be "cherish words like gold".
After all, in Australia, just go to a supermarket or bank, and the cashier will have to chat with you for a long time: "Hey How are you? How's your day? What's happening?" (How is today? What are you busy with?)
and In the women's bathroom, although I did not expect a waiter who handed out towels to appear, the large water stains on the washbasin and the mess in the toilet cubicle were unexpected.
The dripping water stains on the sinks of Sydney Haidilao women's bathroom
In fact, to be honest, the quality of Sydney Haidilao's service is still in the middle of the Sydney restaurants, or good, and may even reach the excellent level.
But anyway, from the “abnormal service” of Haidilao in China to the “Average” (general) service of Haidilao in Sydney, in fact, for the old customers who are already familiar with Haidilao’s service, it’s like eating the meat and knowing the taste. After the Australian Wagyu, there is no way to appreciate the ordinary fat cow.
2
Australian Chinese restaurants saturated market competition, how long can Haidilao survive? Before
, "Australian Finance and Economics" has already reported the embarrassing situation of Chinese food in Australia. On the one hand, Western-style Chinese food has sprung up, gradually occupying the Australian market; on the other hand, traditional Chinese food is gradually increasing in Australia.Fading.
Australia's high rents, labor costs and strict hygiene standards have set many barriers to the survival of Chinese restaurants in Australia.
For the survival of a Chinese restaurant, the turnover rate is a very important indicator. Although Haidilao in Sydney has just started business, there is still a long way to go before the average turnover rate of Haidilao's new stores (4.2).
In fact, after the mysterious visit of "Australian Financial Insights", the business hours of Sydney Haidilao have been changed from Google to 11:00am-11:30pm, which is 12.5 hours. But in fact, since hot pots are mostly family or group dinners, few people visit at noon and afternoon on weekdays except Saturdays and Sundays.
Let’s do a simple calculation: if
is still settled from the peak warm-up period of 5:30pm to the closing time of 11:30pm, it will be 6 hours.
means that the table needs to be turned once in about an hour and a half, which also includes the steps of ordering, waiting, and cleaning. For Chinese customers who may need to drink, chat, and exchange feelings when eating hot pot, it may still be a bit nervous. The
turnover rate is not up to standard, which means that the turnover is not enough. The cost cannot be covered, and if there are not enough waiters, it is naturally impossible to provide "abnormal level" services.
In addition, Haidilao’s core “perverted service” has become “normal” in Australia. One of the major reasons is that the portraits of people working in Haidilao in Sydney are actually quite different from those in Haidilao stores in China.
The recruitment information of domestic Haidilao is undoubtedly a huge attraction for migrant workers. Providing dormitories, reimbursement of night shift taxi expenses, even tickets for home visits, and parental subsidies, etc., every point has firmly tied the hearts of these employees.
is also these excellent conditions, allowing them to willingly provide customers with the ultimate service, even if it is kneeling shoeshine.
is located in Australia, it is very difficult to achieve either.
First of all, the rent in Sydney is expensive, and because of legal restrictions, it is impossible for Haidilao to set up high-density staff dormitories. The
treatment is also like a beautiful trap. Although the recruitment notice for Haidilao service staff in Sydney posted on many local Chinese websites in Australia stated that "the trial period will be 20 Australian dollars an hour, and after the official opening, it will be converted to 28 Australian dollars an hour", but there is a small line after that "Require Chinese Fluent, the probation period is 6 months, and only work visa, PR or Australian citizen are recruited."
Let’s not talk about a bunch of Chinese students who have earned points and finally converted to permanent residence. Are they willing to work in a Chinese restaurant for a full 6-month probation period, and then hope that they may one day enter in this unknown store? Management.
And for "work visas", the most common and easiest to obtain is a working holiday visa, but there are only 5,000 places in mainland China each year, and there are strict regulations that the same employer cannot work for more than 6 months.
In other words, these people are facing the fate of leaving just after the trial period.
is such a huge investment in transporting employees recruited in Australia to China for training, is it worth it?
The ramen master who received a lot of applause and screaming
In fact, the Australian visa application review for China is getting tighter, and even the ramen guy in the aforementioned store actually holds a Tokyo passport.
The "people-oriented" Haidilao may have encountered the problem of "people" when it came to Sydney.
For Haidilao, who just chose to land in Sydney, the "journey of the stars and the sea" is just the beginning.
In 2015, Haidilao only had 112 stores; as of the end of 2017, the number of stores reached 273; in 2018, it plans to open 180 to 220 new stores. At present, Haidilao has 320 restaurants, except for the new one opened in Sydney. It also includes stores in Taiwan, Hong Kong and overseas Singapore, South Korea, Japan and the United States. After the previous fission expansion and the listing of Hong Kong stocks, Haidilao’s future looksIt is a raging fire cooking oil, flowers and brocades, but if you investigate it carefully, you can even find some clues that "buildings are about to fall".
In fact, in the IPO prospectus last year, the sales of Haidilao overseas stores even experienced a negative growth of 2.8% in the first half of 2018.
(Source: Haidilao IPO prospectus)
Although Haidilao’s stock price has fluctuated and increased since this year, at the same time, the price-earnings ratio remains high. Haidilao’s high price-to-earnings ratio of 92.8 is compared with other Chinese restaurants such as Xiabuxiabu (28.0), Quanjude (28.4), International Food (5.3), etc., and many investors can't help but worry that its stock price will become a bubble. Sex.
Haidilao’s stock price trend since its listing to February 20, 2019
3
Don’t forget the original intention: "Chinese food going to sea" survival guide
Since the "people-oriented" road may not work in Australia, then perhaps Haidilao needs to change its thinking .
In recent years, there is a word often mentioned by entrepreneurs and managers-"Don't forget the original intention."
All the time, the star rating standards of Michelin restaurants do not look at restaurant decoration, table layout, or service quality, but mainly through the following five standards: the quality of ingredients, the chef’s ability to control taste and cooking skills, the revealing personality in the cuisine, Whether it is value for money and the consistency of food and beverage standards (Consistency).
Industry insider Mr. Luo told "Australian Financial Insights", "Now there are hot pot restaurants everywhere in Sydney. Although young people are particularly fond of hot pot, the current market is oversupply." Mr. Luo runs an Asian barbecue and hot pot restaurant called Charcoal Pot (食火探味) in Darling Harbour. He added, “This trend will definitely change in the future. Although there are fewer and fewer traditional Chinese foods and more and more specialty restaurants, they may return to the taste of Chinese food in the future. After all, consumers’ taste is the most authentic. Reaction.” At the same time, he analyzed and pointed out that Sydney Haidilao currently operates only for Chinese in Chatswood, which has limitations. “The market for purely Chinese is still too small.” Mr. Luo added, “To be honest, Chinese people evaluate restaurants. The standard of the restaurant is more complicated, and it is difficult for restaurants to meet all the requirements; however, for Westerners, two points should be considered: first, whether the food is good or not; second: the value of the money is not worth it.”
In fact, On the day our team ate, there was only one western customer in the entire Haidilao restaurant, and he was also a special guest of "Australian Finance".
In fact, on the road of "Chinese food going to sea", Haidilao might as well learn from some successful experiences of "Western food going to customs". Pizza Hut Pizza Hut has become a must-visit restaurant for Chinese couples’ dates and family gatherings in China. Western fast food KFC has opened breakfast porridge and rice bowls in China...
END
For me, Sydney Haidilao’s average budget is 60-70 Australian dollars per capita. , I would rather spend perhaps less than half the price for a quiet meal of Medium Rare steak.
As for the obsession and homesickness about Beijing Haidilao, sacrifice was sacrificed.
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