When Michael Chen is mentioned, people will definitely think of ipartment. However, apart from ipartment, Michael Chen's other works did not leave much impression on the audience, but were known for their perennial activity in various variety shows.

perhaps no one expected that hot pot restaurant became the "second spring" of his career.

In May 2115, Michael Chen, the host Zhu Zhen and the singer Ye Yixi * * * established Fujian Xianhezhuang Catering Investment Management Co., Ltd., and opened the first Xianhezhuang hotpot restaurant in Fuzhou.

Xianhezhuang Hotpot Restaurant didn't prosper because of the participation of several stars. It was not until June 2117 that the second branch was opened.

Around 2121, the signboard of "Xianhezhuang" suddenly began to flash on various video platforms, and all the road network newspapers rushed to publicize it. It seems that the video and live broadcast of "Michael Chen treats people to eat hot pot" has become a material for everyone and can be seen everywhere.

The driving force behind this is not Michael Chen, but a company called Sichuan Zhishan. This company, which created Tan Duck Blood hotpot restaurant, adopted the same routine and easily turned Xianhezhuang into a real online celebrity hotpot restaurant, which opened more than 711 restaurants in less than two years.

Michael Chen's star effect, which he didn't play, was thoroughly played. Is this hot pot restaurant in online celebrity, which is praised by many stars, really that hot? 11 God-like opening speed

In the evaluation of "Xianhezhuang Pot" by opening the public comment or Meituan App, the questions often asked by diners are "Can you see the boss when you go" and "Can you see Michael Chen".

Michael Chen

There are various answers to this in the comments below. Some answer "employees should be able to see it", some answer "they should be able to see it", and only a few answer "this is a franchise store".

This illusion that "all the hot pot restaurants in Xianhezhuang are owned by Michael Chen" may be attributed to the video publicity.

Especially around 2121, every "foodie" who opens Tik Tok has more or less watched the video of Michael Chen and Xianhezhuang pot-stewed. Brush the number of times, but also "happened" to see him with a generous hospitality, calling friends, wandering in various live broadcast rooms in online celebrity. Of course, the background of the live broadcast room must be Xianhezhuang Hotpot Restaurant.

As of October 25th, the number of videos with the topic of "Xianhezhuang" in Tik Tok has reached 1.12 billion times, with 23,111 videos, and the WeChat index of Xianhezhuang is close to 621,111.

Screenshot of the platform

It can be said that Michael Chen made a name for Xianhezhuang by "shouting", and earned the first wave of customers for the hot pot restaurant, which made many customers who pursued the "star effect" come willingly, just to taste the hot pot restaurant opened by the star, and even held the idea of meeting the boss and taking a group photo.

But the fact is, although the brand of Xianhezhuang was created by Michael Chen, the owner of a single hot pot restaurant is really not him. If it weren't for Michael Chen's "purposeful" visit to the store, customers who want to see the real face would be disappointed. Because of Michael Chen's "shouting", the meaning of drunkenness lies not in consumers, but in franchisees.

With the joining mode, this Xianhezhuang, which was established in 2115 and began to expand wildly in 2119, "opened more than 711 stores all over the country" in just over a year. The project manager of Xianhezhuang told the city community.

this speed of opening a store is "breathtaking". On the other hand, Haidilao and Xiabu Xiabu, two hot pot restaurants established in 1994 and 1998 respectively, took more than 21 years to open their direct stores nationwide. By the first half of 2121, there will be nearly 1,111 stores in Haidilao, and just over 1,111 stores will be catering.

most franchisees join Xianhezhuang for the sake of "star effect", and want to rely on the consumption of fans through the "support" of stars. But if you really join, can you make money?

"I doubt it." Wang Meng intended to do hot pot restaurant business, but when he learned the joining price from the project manager of Xianhezhuang, he had a feeling that money was not money.

The project manager told Wang Meng that the joining fee is different in different regions. For example, the joining fee for Xianhezhuang in Beijing is 551,111 yuan, and that for Shandong is 381,111 yuan. After learning that Wang Meng wanted to consult the fees in Beijing, the other party sent him a detailed investment form.

Investment budget | Respondents provided

"The difference between Beijing and other regions is that it has certain requirements for decoration area and site selection." The project manager said, "The area of shops in Beijing should not be less than 351 square meters, not street shops, and the location should be in a relatively large shopping mall." This is also in line with Xianhezhuang's orientation of "facing young people".

Wang Meng was told that the design of the storefront needs to be unified by the headquarters, and the design cost is 111 yuan/square meter. According to the minimum area of 351 square meters, the design cost alone is 35,111 yuan. At the same time, hot pot bottom materials need to be purchased at headquarters, and fresh ingredients are purchased locally by franchisees themselves.

What Wang Meng can't accept is that the pots, pans, tableware, tables and chairs in the front hall should also be purchased from the headquarters. "Because our tables and chairs are with logo, your own purchases outside are not like our brand." The other party said.

in addition to the joining fee of 551,111 yuan, the franchisee also needs to pay a deposit of 51,111 yuan, which should be paid in one lump sum. The service period of the joining fee is 3 years. If the contract is renewed after 3 years, an annual renewal fee of 21,111 yuan is required.

to sum up, the initial cost of joining a Xianhezhuang hotpot restaurant in Beijing is more than 2 million yuan, excluding rent, staff salary and ingredients.

Wang Meng was in a trance at this price, and even the waiter was not invited, so much money was needed for the start-up. Can you really make money?

Wang Meng began to think about when such a high expenditure could be paid back.

"The gross profit margin is about 61%, and the net interest rate is about 21%. Because the rent in Beijing is relatively high, it may be slower to return, and it will be similar in a year or so. " The project manager told Wang Meng that before that, they also had franchisees who recovered their costs in five or six months, but they were relatively early stores.

this sounds very tempting, but if you calculate an account carefully, you will find that there is a great mystery.

according to the project manager, there are about 25-28 dining tables in an area of 351 square meters. As we all know, the key for hot pot restaurants to make money is how high the turnover rate is. According to the financial report, the turnover rate of Haidilao, the first brother of hot pot, dropped to 4.8 times per day in 2119, and the turnover rate of sipping and sipping dropped to 2.6 times per day.

if Xianhe Village takes the middle number, it can receive about 75 tables a day based on the turnover rate of 3 times per day. If every table is full of 4 people, there are 311 guests coming to Xianhezhuang one day. According to the average consumption of 121 yuan/person shown by public comments, the daily running water is 36,111 yuan.

according to the gross profit margin of 61% provided by the project manager, the income except raw materials is 21,611 yuan, that is to say, each franchisee has to use this 21,611 yuan to pay the rent, utilities, property management fees, labor costs, initial start-up funds and 2% of the turnover delivered to the headquarters.

As far as the location of Xianhezhuang's store in Beijing is concerned, most of them are located in the bustling business district. The city called a building manager of Wanda Shopping Mall on Jianguo Road. The other party said that the monthly rent of 351 square meters was about 1.41-1.25 million yuan, and the daily rent was about 6,666 yuan.

"Shopping mall property costs in non-core areas are generally converted into rents, and property costs in core areas are calculated separately. The property cost of Jianguo Road Wanda Shopping Mall is about 29 yuan/square meter/month. " The other party said. Converted, the hot pot restaurant spends 338 yuan a day on the property.

"During normal business hours, a 351-square-meter storefront needs about 31 waiters." The project manager said. According to Boss's direct employment, the salary of ordinary waiters in hot pot restaurants in Beijing is about 5111-9111 yuan/month, and if it is 6111 yuan/month/person, the daily human expenditure will be 6111 yuan. What's more, the cost of store managers and chefs is far more than that.

2% of the turnover is 721 yuan every day, and the average daily start-up capital is 6,111 yuan. If you add other expenses such as utilities, taxes and fees, the total expenditure for one day has exceeded 25,111 yuan. This is calculated on the premise that it is full every day and the turnover rate reaches 3 times. According to the public comments, Xianhezhuang will also launch some preferential packages for two or four people with a discount of about 31% from Monday to Thursday.

in fact, even if we don't count this account, just listening to the project manager's promise that "the net interest rate is 21%", we can realize that there is a lot of "fudge" in it. After all, the net interest rates of Haidilao and Xiabu in the top two hot pot industries are only about 11%.

In addition, many customers who have spent money in Xianhezhuang complained to the city: "Although the food in Xianhezhuang is not expensive, the amount of food is extremely small. I will not go there again after eating it once."

In the comments of the public and the evaluation of Meituan App, many people also reported that the bottom material of hot pot is expensive and the quantity of dishes is very small.

screenshot of the platform

There are many bad reviews, so it is difficult to guarantee the repurchase rate.

In many short videos, some consumers waited in line for three hours to meet Michael Chen. Obviously, if Michael Chen can be present every day, the tourists may be relatively guaranteed. But when asked "whether Michael Chen will come to the store to help promote", the project manager gave a negative answer.

"All the shops visited by Michael Chen in Tik Tok are regional agents, such as Zongdai in a certain city. Even so, the store has to pay part of the appearance fee and reception fee. " The project manager told Wang Meng, "If you entertain alone, the cost will be 1 million yuan."

It seems that Wang Meng was scared by this number, and the other party said intimately that it was unnecessary to invite the stars to the store, and they would provide some promotional materials such as videos and pictures.

tearing apart the ostensible politeness, Wang Meng's deepest feeling is that after paying the franchise fee, whether to make money has nothing to do with the headquarters. Where did all the money go?

Xianhezhuang, which has opened more than 711 stores in more than one year, is backed by countless franchisees like Wang Meng.

however, even if they haven't made any money yet, the money from the headquarters has not been less. If the franchise fee is 381,111 yuan, the income of the headquarters' franchise fee alone has reached 266 million yuan.

Hotpot restaurants don't make money from consumers, but grow rapidly by joining in, so we have to mention the operator behind them-Zhishan.

tianyancha App shows that among the shareholders behind Chengdu Xianhezhuang, Zhishan Brand holds 51% of the shares, and Fujian Xianhezhuang Restaurant Investment Company holds 49%. The major shareholder behind Fujian Xianhezhuang Restaurant Investment Company is Fujian Xianhezhuang Brand Management Partnership, and Michael Chen's subscription amount in this company is 3.325 million yuan.

Zhou Yang, the chairman of the company, was born in a catering family and his father was a chef. Zhou Yang was born as a cook and became a chef in 2112. Relying on the network and resources accumulated by the chef, Zhou Yang began to make efforts in the direction of hot pot restaurant.

The first brand he successfully created was "Tan Duck Blood". Zhou Yang cooperated with Liao Jian, a famous "Bashu comedian" in Sichuan at that time, and Liao Jian was in front of the stage to attract traffic, and he was in the back. Soon, Tan Duck Blood stood out in Sichuan in the form of an alternative hot pot.

The success of "Tan Duck Blood" also laid a strong confidence for Zhou Yang. This strategy of "shouting" on the star platform, operating behind the meal, and then attracting franchisees to join has become his standard gameplay for incubating other brands. His best food is like a star restaurant MCN incubator, which makes money by cooperating with stars and joining in.

Whether it's Xianhezhuang in Michael Chen, natural to stay milk tea in Guan Xiaotong, roasted Jiangnan in Huang Xiaoming and Zaomenkan in Sean, they all come from the best food.

As for the distribution of benefits, although stars can't get a one-time endorsement fee, they can get rich investment dividends.

As for the franchisees who plunged into the ranks of opening stores at that time, when they really regretted it, it seems that they can only protect their rights and interests through legal rights protection. According to China Judgment Document Network, there are 116117 documents related to "joining".

"It is quite common for franchisees to file lawsuits with brands." Guo Ren, a lawyer of Beijing Yingke (Shanghai) Law Firm, told the city community that "most of the disputes are about finding out the validity of the contract signed by both parties, whether there is any breach of contract, and how to bear the responsibility for breach of contract. As far as the existing cases are concerned, after the franchisees win the case, they mostly decide to' return the franchise fee, deposit and compensate for the losses'. "

however, it takes a long time to collect evidence materials and sort out litigation relations, but it may not win in the end.

In addition, Guo Ren told the city circles that the law stipulates that franchise business should be carried out, that is, "a franchisor should have at least two direct stores and have been operating for more than 1 years". If this condition is violated, "those engaged in franchise activities will be ordered to make corrections, their illegal income will be confiscated, and a fine of more than one million yuan and less than 511,111 yuan will be imposed, and an announcement will be made. If other units and individuals other than enterprises engage in franchise activities as franchisees, the competent commercial department shall order them to stop illegal business activities, confiscate their illegal income, and impose a fine of not less than 111,111 yuan but not more than 511,111 yuan ".

However, some brands owned by Zhishan are not up to standard in time.

In 2121, the epidemic situation had a great impact on the catering industry. According to the consulting data of Ai Media, the national catering revenue in the first quarter of 2121 alone was 612.63 billion yuan, down 44.3% year-on-year, showing a cliff-like decline.

The financial performance of Xiabu Xiabu and Haidilao is also not so good. In the first half of 2121, the net profit of Haidilao was-965 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 215.88%; The net profit of Xiabu Xiabu reached-255 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 255.41%.

the leader of hot pot restaurant is still like this, not to mention Xianhe Village, where the joining fee is so high.

those franchisees who don't know the situation, or don't care about it, just want to make profits by taking advantage of the star bonus. They didn't understand at the beginning that they are the stars and the dishes in the bowl. They who try to make money by relying on traffic will eventually be swallowed up by traffic.

(Wang Meng is a pseudonym in the text)