liu ge: "big brands, small stores" may become the mainstream of the fast food market
2024-09-04
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recently, din tai fung, a well-known taiwanese restaurant brand, announced that it would withdraw from the north china market by the end of october, which has attracted attention. 20 years ago, din tai fung led the catering trend with its steamed buns, but in mainland china, it took the path of high-end chinese food development. things are changing, and the catering industry is undergoing model iteration at an unprecedented speed and in an unprecedented way. din tai fung's business model is no longer suitable for today's social needs. it has been able to survive in such a fiercely competitive high-end catering market until now thanks to its brand effect.
business model is an extension of lifestyle, and lifestyle is essentially determined by the process of industrialization. china is currently in the process of transitioning from the mid-industrialization to the late-industrialization. this transition is profound and complex. the changes it brings will reconstruct people's behavior patterns and consumer psychology, and will also bring about huge changes in the business model in the consumer field. this is the first iteration; at the same time, the digital revolution is also profoundly changing the consumer economy as always, which is the second iteration. the "double iteration" of china's consumer service industry will give rise to new development trends for the catering industry.
in my opinion, fast food that meets the daily eating needs of ordinary people still has huge room for development. this kind of fast food will adopt the business model of "big brand, small store".
in the 1950s, the fast food chain industry swept the united states. at that time, the united states was transforming from the middle stage of industrialization to the late stage of industrialization, and consumption became the dominant force in the economy. movies, television, sports games, theatrical performances, a richer lifestyle and a faster work pace made cooking at home a luxury. a large number of american families rarely cooked on weekdays except on weekends. fast food chains grew rapidly in this context. although fast food is cheap, it is not exclusive to the poor, but an important part of the solution for the high-paced operation of the entire society.
most of these fast food restaurants are street stalls that do not provide dine-in services. they have small store areas and low costs, but they are all big brands that provide standard and pre-made food. take mcdonald's as an example. it was not until more than 20 years after its opening that it opened restaurants that provided dine-in services after the company went public. since american fast food entered china with a strong brand advantage, most of them followed the model of large stores, which led to misunderstandings in the catering industry about the fast food model. in fact, american fast food is gradually returning to its "small store model" in china.
in fact, "three meals a day, eating on time" is the alienation of human lifestyle brought about by the production needs of the industrial age. industrialization requires a large number of people to start and end work at the same time, and the labor intensity is high. eating three meals at fixed times has been solidified and has become a living habit for the entire society. this habit has only been around for 200 years worldwide, and it was formed even later in countries where the industrialization process started late.
in the late stage of industrialization, people's working methods have changed, and eating on time is no longer a rigid social demand. more people may not eat at a unified time, and fast food restaurants distributed throughout urban and rural areas and available at any time have become people's 24-hour canteens, which can meet diners' dining needs at any time of the day.
fast food restaurants also demonstrate efficiency comparable to that of the manufacturing industry. compared with specialty restaurants, fast food is not for enjoying life, but for solving problems. it is used to solve time-constrained situations and provide food that is acceptable in terms of price, hygiene, taste and speed to one person, a family or a group of colleagues.
cheaper prices and wider adaptability are the key factors in the expansion of fast food. let's look at the most important attribute of fast food - price. take mcdonald's as an example. in the 1950s, the price of a hamburger in the united states was 15 cents, coffee was 5 cents, and fries were 10 cents, that is, a meal cost 30 cents. at that time, a white-collar worker in the united states had a monthly salary of about 300 to 400 us dollars, which could eat about 2,000 hamburgers. according to this standard, in beijing, if an ordinary person earns 5,000 yuan a month, it is equivalent to 2.5 yuan a hamburger, plus drinks and fries, about 5 yuan, which is about this level. at this price, you can buy two steamed buns, one meat and one vegetable, and a cup of soy milk at a stall in beijing. only when low- and middle-income consumers can eat every meal without psychological burden can it be truly fast food and popular fast food. in beijing, the most ordinary small shops now, a set meal of noodles, side dishes and drinks usually costs no less than 40 yuan, and it is impossible for ordinary wage earners to patronize without burden.
to achieve low prices, the following points must be achieved: first, through factory production and fast logistics, chef wages, the most expensive labor salary expenditure in the industry, are eliminated; second, modular and standardized product production and service processes are used to save labor costs to the maximum extent; third, through large-scale procurement contracts, cheap and safe ingredients and kitchen facilities are obtained. in addition, choosing a location with cheap rent to open a store in the initial stage, expanding franchise chains in the development stage, and controlling the number of management employees at the headquarters can all reduce costs.
currently, the most mainstream fast food chain brands in china have mostly entered shopping malls, high-speed rail stations, airports and basements of high-end office buildings in first- and second-tier cities. due to the high rents to be shared, their consumers can only be business people and families who make occasional purchases while shopping.
from a development perspective, it will not be these high-end fast food chains that will truly become the "mcdonald's of china", but brands that have developed from small cities or even counties. once they are able to break through management bottlenecks, their innate genes determine that they are more in line with the inherent laws of the chain fast food business model. from the most essential characteristics of the chain restaurant business model, by establishing a strong brand influence and gradually replacing numerous small street shops through franchising, the original intention and destiny of chain restaurant brands to achieve a major iteration of the catering industry is that "big brands, small stores" may become the mainstream of the fast food market. (the author is a financial commentator)
