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Recently, L'Atelier 18, a high-end restaurant with an average per-person fee of 1,580 yuan, was revealed to have suspended operations, and along with the closure came news that employees were owed wages.The Bund No. 18 is a landmark of high-end dining in Shanghai. Its rise and fall is a microcosm of the market and the industry.

Screenshot of the video from Oriental Net

L'Atelier 18 responded to the message on the platform saying that (the restaurant) has suspended operations for internal adjustments

On August 19, the news that #Michelin restaurant started selling poor person’s meal packages# also became a hot search on multiple platforms, attracting market attention.

Since the beginning of this year, many well-known high-end restaurants have closed one after another! What happened?

"The Bund 18" suspends business! Diners: 5,000 yuan has not been spent

According to Dongfang.com, Pierre, a Shanghai diner, found that he had eatenFrench restaurant L'Atelier 18 suddenly closesAt the same time, former employees also revealed that the restaurant owed wages and social security.

L'Atelier 18 is located on the third floor of No. 18, The Bund, by the Huangpu River. In the past decade, it has changed hands many times. Robuchon, one of the world's most high-end restaurant chains, and Frédéric Anton, a Michelin three-star chef, have all moved in.Are high-end restaurants in prime locations with famous chefs no longer able to operate?

The exact reason why L'Atelier 18 suddenly closed is unclear to the outside world.

According to the Securities Times, on the morning of August 19, the reporter called the restaurant several times.No one has answered the call. A blogger on social media quoted restaurant staff as saying, "The restaurant owner gave a short notice to close the restaurant. He has not yet paid the severance pay and is also in arrears with wages and housing fund.。”

Hot discussion among netizens:"Aren't high-end restaurants very profitable? How could they delay paying their employees' wages?" Others believe that "there's nothing strange about returning to rational consumption."

Many high-end restaurants in Shanghai have closed down one after another

Many well-known restaurants have closed down this year, and the high-end catering business has become increasingly difficult.High-end dining is actually Fine Dining (hereinafter referred to as FD)The translation of "food and beverage" generally refers to food and beverages with an average per capita consumption of more than 500 or even thousands of yuan.Usually Western food, French food and Omakase are the main dishes.

Since the beginning of this year, the reshuffle of the catering industry has accelerated, and many FD restaurants in Shanghai have fallen into operational difficulties.KOR Shanghai on Nanjing West Road, Shanghai Yuzhilan on Julu Road, Osteria Oyster Seafood Restaurant, Mingluchuan, a Sichuan restaurant with a per capita ceiling of 2,300 yuan, etc. have announced their closures one after another.。

According to the data from Hongcan, in the past five years, restaurants in Shanghai with an average customer spending of more than 500 yuan accounted for 1.35% of the total number of restaurants, or about 2,700.By July this year, the number had dropped by more than 1,400, with more than half of the stores shrinking.

Screenshot of the 2023 China Catering Consumption Trend Report

High-end dining is not selling well? Big discounts on set meals

Zhu Danpeng, a Chinese food industry analyst, said in an interview with Securities Times that the current group buying activities and discount strategies of high-end restaurants are increasingly showing their "down-to-earth" side.It was found that the prices of set meals in many high-end restaurants have been significantly reduced, becoming more in line with the consumption levels of the general public.

The picture shows a high-end restaurant that is still open near Nanjing West Road. The decrease in restaurant customer flow is also a reality that can be seen with the naked eye.

The above-mentioned diner Pierre revealed that it used to take at least half a year in advance to book a seat at the Michelin three-star restaurant uv.The original price of the package was 8,888 yuan per person, but now it has been discounted to 6,888 yuan per person.

The restaurant reminds regular customers of discount information via WeChat

“High-end restaurants are choosing group purchases and limited-time promotions to adapt to changes in Chinese consumer thinking and habits.. With consumption declining, high-end restaurants must consider both quality and price ratios. ” said the above analyst.

In the context of consumption downgrade, consumers are no longer willing to pay high premiums.High-end restaurants can only try to survive by reducing prices.：

Xin Rong Ji launched a "poor man's meal" for 398 yuan;

Lamelouse's package includes coffee and sparkling water worth nearly 200 yuan on top of the downgrade;

EHB, with an average price of 4,400 yuan, has reduced the price of its classic set meal by nearly one-third, and the dishes are not much different.

Screenshots from social media users

1 million restaurants cancelled or revoked their licenses in half a year! A large number of restaurants closed

According to the Securities Times, the pressure on the catering industry in many cities is gradually increasing, not just in Shanghai.

Tianyancha data shows thatIn the first half of this year, the number of newly registered domestic catering-related companies reached 1.347 million, while the number of cancellations and revocations reached 1.056 million.

Analysts at Kaiyuan Securities believe that although the number of restaurant closures has increased significantly, the number of new restaurant companies is still greater than the number of cancellations and revocations, which means that market supply is still increasing.It is expected that under the fierce competition, the catering price war will continue, and "active price reduction" will make most catering companies enter an era of small profits.

Leading restaurant companies cut prices

Many leading restaurant companies have chosen to lower prices to cope with the fierce competition in the consumer market.

Image source: 21 Financial News

In mid-May this year, Xiabu Xiabu released a new menu showing that the prices of single and double set meals were reduced across the board, with the average price of a single meal at 58 yuan and the average price of a double meal at 130 yuan, with the average customer spending no more than 60 yuan. In addition to the set meals, other dishes also saw price cuts to varying degrees.

Previously, the average price of a single-person meal at Xiabu Xiabu was 65 yuan, and the average price of a double-person meal was 145 yuan, which means that the average price of Xiabu Xiabu's new menu meal has dropped by more than 10%.

Recently, Shuang Hotpot, owned by Jiu Mao Jiu, has also carried out a new round of adjustments to its dishes and prices. An announcement was posted outside a store saying: "Soup base starts at 8 yuan, meat dishes start at 9.9 yuan, vegetarian dishes start at 6.6 yuan, and all-you-can-eat stewed rice is 6 yuan." This is also seen as a major move by Shuang Hotpot to officially announce a price reduction.

Transformation and price reduction may become a new direction

The 2023 China Catering Consumption Trend Report shows that the new generation of consumers are more concerned about the availability and high cost-effectiveness of food.The "lipstick effect" (the trend of preference for low-priced products) is becoming increasingly prominent, and consumers will prefer high-quality, cost-effective dining experiences.

Some new trends are influencing the market. For example, the bistro that has emerged in recent years has become the direction of transformation for some FD operators.

Bistro originally refers to a cheap small restaurant on the street in France, but in the domestic context it has developed into a boutique restaurant with an average price of about 200-400 yuan per person.

Have you beenDo you prefer "The Bund 18"? Or do you prefer to go to affordable boutique restaurants? Please leave your comments.

Source: 21st Century Business Herald compiled from Eastday.com, Xinmin Evening News, Securities Times, 21 Financial News, netizens’ comments, and public information

SFC

Editor of this issue: Jiang Peipei

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