Wang Pin Ji recently announced that it has closed four stores of the group's underperforming ita catering brand, while the vegetable brand "Shuguo New Milan Shushi" has closed three stores, leaving only the Taipei Fuxing North Store which has been transformed into "Su/Food European Light Food".
Wang Pin Group said that the staff of the original stores of "ita" and "Shuguo" will be transferred to other brand restaurants to continue to serve customers, and the welfare, seniority and rights of the relevant employees will not be affected in any way. In addition, if consumers hold paper or electronic coupons of "ita" and "Shuguo", they can use them in other brand restaurants of Wang Pin Group or get a refund. Wang Pin Group ensures that consumers' rights and interests will not be affected.
Wang Pin is a chain restaurant group in Taiwan Province, which was established in 1991. In recent years, the development focus of Wang Pin Group has gradually shifted from western food to Chinese food, locking in Guangdong cuisine and Sichuan cuisine, adopting the strategy of "developing multi-brands and separating markets", and constantly expanding new brands by cutting into the big market with small differences, and choosing the opportunity to go to the mainland after laying a good brand foundation in Taiwan Province. At present, more than 23 catering brands such as "Goose Lady" and "Shu Sanwei" have been launched one after another. According to its official website, as of February 2118, there were 421 stores in Wang Pin Group, 267 in Taiwan Province, 151 in mainland China and 2 overseas.
"Shuguo New Milan Sparse Food" was founded in 2111. It is a restaurant that takes vegetables and fruits as ingredients and presents vegetarian dishes by Italian cooking methods. At present, there are four stores in Taiwan, among which Taipei Fuxing North Store tried to switch from pure vegetable food brand to European light food last year, and changed to a new type of "Su/food European light food". Now, except for the store's initial success in transformation, it will be preserved. From mid-February to the end of February next year, the other three stores of "Shuguo New Milan Sparse Food" will be closed one after another.
"ITA" is the first Italian restaurant brand under Wang Pin Group, which was founded in 2114. It has a wide selection of staple foods, and its quality and quantity are well received. It has set a record of making a profit in the first month and opening four stores within half a year. At present, the brand also has four stores in Taiwan Province. According to Wang Pin, considering the brand's lack of breakthrough in the future, all four stores will be closed before the end of February next year, and the original location does not rule out the possibility of entering other brands under the Group.
Wang Pin revealed to the media that the total loss of Shuguo and Yita brands this year is estimated to be 25-31 million yuan, and the total loss of store closure is less than 21 million yuan, which has little impact on Wang Pin's revenue. Indeed, according to Wang Pin's financial report, as of August 2118, Wang Pin Group achieved revenue of 1.558 billion yuan, up by 1.21% year-on-year. Among them, Taiwan Province reached 912 million yuan, up 2.88% year-on-year, while mainland China achieved 656 million yuan in revenue, down 1.99% year-on-year.
Wang Pin said that although this adjustment will bring short-term revenue decline, it will be beneficial to brand development in the long run. In the process of diversified development, Wang Pin will constantly adjust the catering brand combination and business scale of the Group from the strategic height of the Group, so as to achieve the best business configuration.
since the beginning of this year, Wang Pin has shifted the focus of its expansion and growth back to Taiwan Province. In September, it not only opened a number of new stores in Taiwan Province, but also launched a new type of Power Center (compound restaurant) in the food court for the first time. On October 5th, Wang Pin's newly-created Chinese catering brand Xiangya officially opened. In February, Wang Pin's new brands, such as Fenghe Rili, also opened their doors in Taiwan.
People in the industry praised Wang Pin's multi-brand development strategy, but some people held different opinions. On the one hand, with this multi-brand strategy, Wang Pin has quickly opened up a number of sub-category markets, such as the roast goose brand "Goose Lady" and the Japanese brand "Dance Fishing" which won the Michelin one-star restaurant, and so on, which have all become representative brands in their respective categories.
on the other hand, the multi-brand model is feasible in a certain period of time, but with the extension of multiple business lines, the management cost will also increase.
In addition, for many sub-brands in Wang Pin, it is true that "Dashu" (Wang Pin Group) enjoys the cool under it, but there is often no grass next to "Dashu" (the first brand of a certain category). Although Wang Pin can gather the strength of the group to help its new brand rise quickly, there are also many brands such as Shuguo and Yita that the group can't bring.
and more importantly, in the future, with the intensification of market competition, only when the brand truly becomes the representative of a certain category or the first, can it be truly invincible in the competition. But I'm afraid it's unrealistic for Wang Pin to sit at the top of the category in all the fields he entered. So is its multi-brand strategy really feasible?