Too many stores should be expanded in a short period of time, leading to problems in the management level. Compared with more than 411 new stores in the previous year, Dicos obviously slowed down the pace of opening stores in 2115, and it is expected to open 211 new stores this year. "This is the new normal of Dicos. The number of stores opened next year and the year after next must be more than this year, but it is definitely no longer the norm to open 411 or 511 stores in the previous year." Li Mingyuan, vice president of catering business group of Dingxin International Group, the parent company of Dicos, said.

In addition, in the past, new Dicos stores were mainly concentrated in big cities, but this year, the distribution of 211 stores will be relatively even, and the proportion of each region will be similar. Just two years ago, Wei Yingxing, one of the founders of Dingxin Group, also said that Dicos would expand at a high speed to achieve the long-term goal of 25,111 stores in mainland China in 2141. But now, Dicos began to emphasize more: "What we are pursuing is not the blind growth of the number of stores, but the growth of store quality."

Blind expansion once made Dicos pay expensive tuition fees. In 1996, Dingxin Group acquired Dicos brand and opened its first store in Chengdu. At that time, Dingxin Group formulated a strategy of "blooming everywhere" for Dicos, and distributed it all over the country. However, at the same time, new market businesses such as Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu were launched, which made Dicos, which lacked a solid foundation and a complete structure, unable to do anything at once. When the financial storm hit in 1998, Dicos' strategy made him "black and blue".

"At present, the distribution of Dicos in municipalities and provincial capitals has been basically completed, and this framework has been set up. After that, our resource system and operation system have basically been completed. Next, we are not in a hurry to open a store, but we have to go back and make every store successful. " Shao Xinmou, general manager of Dicos Business Headquarters, said.

The reality is that it is difficult for fast food brands to continue to expand at present due to the changes in operating costs, market prosperity and consumption habits. McDonald's lowered its goal of opening stores this year from 311 last year to 251.

At present, Dicos has more than 41 stores in Shanghai, 32 in Beijing and 25 in Guangzhou. Li Mingyuan believes that the strategy in the market of Beishangguang should be to establish the height of Dicos brand and its psychological share among consumers (referring to the ratio of the brand's weight in consumers' hearts to the total category), rather than rushing to open many stores. How to open a successful store is more important than opening many stores quickly, and it is also a commitment to franchisees.