In the first quarter of 2024, Haidilao, a well-known hot pot chain brand, dropped a bombshell: announcing that it would accept to join. As soon as the news came out on March 4, the entire catering industry was boiling. In response to this decision, we put forward four core questions:
On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, Haidilao announced its franchise policy through its official website and WeChat. According to the announcement, Haidilao will adopt a franchise model to promote brand expansion with diversified business strategies. Future franchisees will enjoy a full range of services provided by Haidilao, including personnel training, chain support, management experience transfer, etc., to ensure high standards of food safety and customer experience.
For the selection of franchisees, Haidilao has set a high threshold: identify with corporate culture and values; Willing to cooperate for a long time; Have strong financial strength (may require tens of millions of liquidity); as well as business management experience and local property resources. In addition, the franchise application must involve at least one or two stores and a maximum of five or more, and the application area must span at least three provinces.
It can be seen that the franchisees sought by Haidilao are not ordinary entrepreneurs, but senior investors with abundant capital and business resources.
Franchising is widely regarded as an effective means of expanding the market. With Haidilao announcing its 2023 earnings forecast, the market generally believes that the brand is in a good opportunity to expand again, especially in the sinking market. The "China Hot Pot Business Development Report (2024)" also pointed out that the chaining rate of the sinking market is gradually increasing, which provides huge development space for China's more than 2,000 county-level markets.
If Haidilao enters the sinking market, it may have a "siphon effect", which will greatly increase the number of stores and turnover. Compared with the fierce competition in first-tier cities, the hot pot industry in the sinking market still retains a large space for development and can undertake the consumption upgrade brought by the head brand.
Haidilao, as a catering empire supported by many subsidiaries, chose to open up to join at this time, showing its first-class chain advantages and the feedback effect of incremental stores. The brand has begun to transform many years ago, from a pure catering business to the field of food ingredients, and now has a low-cost and efficient operation model.
This opening to join does not mean that Haidilao is facing financial pressure or business decline, but is a strategic layout after careful consideration. Through franchising, Haidilao is expected to maintain the long-term development of the brand and promote the high-quality development of the Chinese catering industry.
The news of Haidilao's joining has attracted attention in the industry. However, most industry insiders believe that this move will not have an impact on the hot pot track, on the contrary, it may encourage other high-quality hot pot brands to explore a benign franchise model, thereby promoting the healthy development of the industry.
With the increasingly rational franchise market, franchise is no longer just a matter of capital investment, but also involves the comprehensive consideration of brand concept, management ability and market insight. The franchise policy of Haidilao, Hefu Lao Noodles, Jiumaojiu and other brands may guide the industry to a more professional and independent franchise service field.
To sum up, Haidilao's franchise policy not only provides opportunities for potential franchisees, but also poses new challenges to practitioners in the entire catering industry.