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This year, the catering industry has set off a "price reduction trend". However, recently some consumers reported that the prices of some dishes at Saizeriya have increased by 1-2 yuan. Why did the king of affordable Western food increase prices against the trend?

The increase in raw material prices has led to a small price adjustment

On July 15, a reporter from Shell Finance called the Beijing subsidiary of Saizeriya, and the relevant staff told the reporter that there has been no price increase in Beijing. As for whether there will be price increases in the future, the staff said that they have not received any notification. As of press time, the reporter has not received a reply from Saizeriya's Shanghai and Guangzhou subsidiaries.

However, the reporter consulted the staff of two Saizeriya stores in Shanghai, and the staff said that some dishes have increased by 1-2 yuan after the menu was updated in June. One staff member said that the prices are adjusted uniformly by the Shanghai headquarters and the price adjustment is consistent in all stores. As for the reason for the price increase, one staff member said that the prices of the dishes in the store will fluctuate every year, "If the purchase price is expensive, it must be adjusted, and of course there are also dishes with price cuts."

Staff at three Guangzhou restaurants told reporters that the price increase of some dishes is true and all restaurants in Guangzhou have made the same adjustment. One staff member said that after the menu price adjustment in May, some dishes increased by 1-2 yuan, but it was not the only increase in price, "there were also dishes that were reduced in price last year."

Subsequently, the Shell Finance reporter compared the menus of Shanghai Saizeriya in November 2022 and June 2024, and found that the price of grilled squid increased by 2 yuan to 21 yuan, while the price of two baked lamb chops and three baked lamb chops decreased by 5 yuan, and the latest prices were 40 yuan and 59 yuan respectively.

Guangzhou Saizeriya's December 2023 winter menu and 2024 summer menu show that some dishes such as tuna salad have increased from 11 yuan to 12 yuan, cooked shrimp salad and porcini chicken cheese baked rice have increased by 2 yuan to 15 yuan and 20 yuan respectively.

The menu prices of Beijing Saizeriya in November 2023 and July 2024 show that the Durian Pizza, Popcorn Chicken and Corn Pizza, and Smoked Bacon Pizza have increased by 2 yuan, and the latest prices are 25 yuan or 27 yuan. The Sausage and Meat Sauce Doria Rice, Meat Sauce Doria Rice, etc. have increased by 2 yuan, and the latest prices are 16 yuan or 18 yuan.

Some industry insiders said that Saizeriya focuses on high cost-performance, and the price increase of some dishes this time may be caused by the increase in its raw material costs and operating expenses.

"Italian Shaxian snacks" are still cost-effective

Regarding the price increase, Zhu Danpeng, a Chinese food industry analyst, believes that the price increase of some dishes of Saizeriya will not have a big impact on the company. "In the current consumption environment, consumers want quality-price ratio and cost-effectiveness. Even if some dishes of Saizeriya increase slightly, the cost-effectiveness is still very high."

Zhu Danpeng also pointed out that compared with some small and medium-sized single stores, these large chain stores that adopt a low-price strategy will further highlight the benefits of their brand effect, scale effect and fan effect in the future due to their high cost-effectiveness.

Founded in 1973, Saizeriya mainly serves Italian dishes, but it is indeed a Japanese company. In 2003, Saizeriya’s first store in China opened in Shanghai. In recent years, with its extreme cost-effectiveness of only 30 to 40 yuan per person, Saizeriya has become a favorite of many Chinese consumers and is known as the "Italian Shaxian snacks."

Pasta at 9 yuan, salad at 10 yuan, pizza at 22 yuan...behind the low prices, there must be cost control. As a "major pre-prepared meal company", Saizeriya's dishes are processed in the central kitchen and then delivered to various stores. The stores only need to heat these semi-finished products before serving them, which greatly saves rent and labor costs.

In addition, Saizeriya has integrated the supply chain and achieved direct supply of raw materials. It has established its own farms and processing plants in Japan, Australia and other places to reduce raw material costs.

As the affordable king of the Western food market, Saizeriya has achieved outstanding performance. On July 12, Saizeriya released its third quarter financial report for fiscal year 2024 (September 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024). The report showed that the company's sales in the reporting period were 163.2 billion yen, an increase of 23.6% over the same period last year, and operating profit and net profit attributable to the parent company were 10.065 billion yen and 5.176 billion yen, respectively, an increase of 182% and 94.9% over the same period last year.

According to the financial report of Saizeriya, the company's divisions include Japan, Australia and Asia. In terms of Asian performance, Saizeriya said that due to the continuous opening of new stores and the increase in the number of stores, the sales of the Asian division reached 58 billion yen, an increase of 30.1% over the same period last year, and the operating profit reached 8.2 billion yen, an increase of 66.3% over the same period last year.

In terms of the number of stores, as of the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, Saizeriya has a total of 1,549 stores. In the Chinese market, it has 466 stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. It is worth noting that Saizeriya is currently 100% directly operated stores, with no franchise stores. According to the Zhaimen Canyan, Saizeriya currently has 487 stores in China.

According to media reports, in March this year, Saizeriya announced an increase of US$30 million in capital for its Guangzhou subsidiary. Saizeriya will use this capital increase to build a new factory in Guangzhou to produce sauces, pasta, pizza and other products, and transfer production from the existing factory to the new factory in order to stabilize product quality and reduce costs and enhance competitiveness. The new factory will begin operations in 2026.

Wei Boya, a financial reporter of Beijing News Shell

Editor: Yue Caizhou

Proofread by Chen Diyan