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Recently, many well-known catering brands, such as Lao Xiang Ji, Haidilao, and Tai Er Pickled Fish, have begun to try to open satellite stores. These satellite stores are low-cost and small in size, and mainly rely on takeaway business revenue. A Beijing Youth Daily reporter went to the Lao Xiang Ji satellite store in Xisanqi and saw that the store was not on the street, but on the second floor of a shopping mall, and there were no dine-in seats. So, can such a satellite store that relies solely on takeaways really make money?

Branded restaurants are opening takeaway “satellite stores”

Recently, some catering brands have begun to try to open satellite stores that specialize in takeout, including well-known chain brands such as Lao Xiang Ji, Haidilao, and Tai Er Pickled Fish. These brands' satellite stores are usually located in areas with lower rents, with smaller store areas, mainly focusing on takeout, and can receive 400 to 500 orders a day. Some stores only need 150,000 yuan and can realize a payback in less than a month.

The Beijing Youth Daily reporter went to Building 1 of the Parkview Wangfa Comprehensive Trading Market in Huilongguan, Beijing, and saw that the building was mainly used for extracurricular education and training, and there were also a few catering businesses, with occasional guys coming in and out of the market. The Hometown Chicken store is not like a traditional small store on the street or on the first floor, but is located on the second floor of the mall. However, under the guidance of the staff in the building, the Beijing Youth Daily reporter saw that the Hometown Chicken stall was brightly lit, clean and tidy. In the stall of more than ten square meters, five staff members were busy serving meals in an orderly manner. Rows of dishes were neatly placed in the warming cabinet, and from time to time, guys came to pick up meals.

A Beijing Youth Daily reporter consulted as a consumer, and the clerk said that this store is a "satellite store" that mainly serves takeout and does not provide dine-in seats, but there are seats for employees to eat nearby. "You can order food on the spot and sit there to eat, but it's a little hot, or you can take it home directly. Our packaging is all packaged."

The clerk said that the current business is very good, with hundreds of orders being served every day. Although the store is hidden, the nearby guys can find it because of the large number of orders. In addition, the store has also opened a live broadcast online, and the monthly sales are shown as "9999+". "We only do takeout, and the food is served quickly," said the clerk.

A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily saw that Haidilao has also opened a "satellite store". Haidilao Satellite Store is a new product line for Haidilao's delivery business, which will be officially launched in June 2023. Some of these satellite stores are dedicated to an area in the original restaurant network, and some are brand-new stores in non-core locations in core business districts, mainly selling hot pot dishes and staple food combination products with various flavors. Nearly 10 maocai meal sets have been launched, including Australian Wagyu beef luncheon meat maocai meal set, Angus beef tendon maocai meal set, seven butterfly shrimp maocai meal set, etc., with three soup base flavors to choose from: spicy butter, tomato, and "milky pot". Through discounts on takeaway platforms such as Meituan, the price of a meal is just over 30 yuan.

Tai Er Pickled Fish also opened 4 new satellite stores. The takeaway satellite stores are named "Tai Er Lao Tan Zi Pickled Fish Takeaway Store". They are street-side stores with a small area and no dine-in seats. They mainly focus on back-kitchen and takeaway services. The menu includes a variety of single and double set meals, signature dishes and seasonal vegetables, and the prices are lower than those of dine-in stores.

Why do restaurant brands transform into satellite stores?

Why transform into a satellite store? Tai Er told the Beijing Youth Daily that the opening of a takeaway store was mainly due to the brand's insight into the takeaway market. "For example, in some stores that offer single-person takeaway packages, the growth in orders and contribution to turnover are very good. So we chose to open stores of about 40 to 50 square meters in some places where there are no stores within a few kilometers around to specialize in takeaways."

According to data from Hometown Chicken, the satellite store previously opened in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, opened in 2023 and received 18,000 orders in the first month. At present, the store's average daily traffic exposure exceeds 20,000, the order conversion rate exceeds 35%, the average monthly order is 21,000, and the repurchase rate is as high as 15.54%. Shu Xiaolong, chairman of Hometown Chicken, said, "The business logic of takeout and dine-in is different. There is still a lot of room for optimization in better serving online customers. The satellite store model is of great value for expanding consumption scenarios, improving user experience, optimizing cost structure, and improving labor efficiency and floor efficiency. Digital tools such as AI site selection provided by the Meituan platform can also help us make better decisions."

Zuideyi Home Cooking King, founded in 2013, previously mainly operated Chinese restaurants with an area of ​​200-300 square meters, with an average cost of about 40-50 yuan per person. A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily learned that Zuideyi opened its first satellite store specializing in takeout in mid-March 2024, located in Xiamen Mingfa Commercial Plaza. This satellite store covers an area of ​​less than 60 square meters and focuses on takeout services, receiving four to five hundred orders every day.

Zui Deyi's rotating chairman Xu Yimin admitted that in the year of recovery, it is difficult for the catering industry to grow. Zui Deyi has also begun to slowly transform into a multi-business sector. We believe that the home delivery business is also a very important sector. At the same time, we have also observed that customers' dining habits have changed a lot in the past three years, and embracing takeout seems to be something that must be actively faced. So, with the help of the AI ​​site selection and product selection functions provided by the Meituan platform, an investment of about 150,000 yuan was made to try to open a satellite store. "Under the involution of the industry, the store opening rate has soared, and popular stores have become a scarce resource with high costs. The locations in good Class A business districts are limited. When choosing a location, chain brands, in addition to assessing whether the payback period is reasonable, also need to consider whether this location can supplement customer cognition."

What is the reference value of the catering “satellite store” model?

Professor Hong Tao, Vice President of the China Consumer Economics Society and Director of the Institute of Business Economics at Beijing Technology and Business University, said that merchants like the "satellite store" model mainly because of its cost-effectiveness. Satellite stores are usually smaller in size and have lower rental costs, but can achieve the same effect as dine-in stores. They mainly rely on takeaway services, thereby combining the advantages of the two formats and achieving a market radiation amplification effect at a lower cost. "In this way, the advantages of the two formats of stores are "linked" together at a lower cost, and at the same time, because of the network effect, it has a better market radiation amplification effect." With the popularization of the digital economy, traditional commercial stores face the challenges of vacancy and format adjustment, and failure to adapt to the impact of new formats in a timely manner may lead to losses and bankruptcy. "Satellite stores" are a transformation that merchants are trying.

Professor Hong Tao also said that the "satellite store" model has important implications for the development of my country's catering industry. "Traditional formats can be continuously innovated and integrated with modern new formats, thereby making full use of the limited dining area and achieving better economic, social and ecological benefits."

Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Wen Jing Intern/Qian Hanqing

Editor/Tian Ye

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