At the "China Catering Innovation Conference-chengdu railway station", Li Hong shared the groping process behind the rural base, and also showed us that enterprises should actually explore their own unique value from their genes if they want to be bigger and stronger.
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Dining boss internal reference Dai Lifen | finishing
Li Hong talks about the instant stir-frying of fast food. "Customers don't dislike the gap of 10%, but take delicious food as the premise."
Qin Dynasty: In addition to the epidemic this year, Chongqing has a double test of floods. Does this have any great influence on the development plan of the rural foundation? Li Hong: Our Chongqing people are optimistic, positive and not afraid of difficulties.
Therefore, in the face of these two disasters this year, we can still ride the wind and waves. Our brand Mr. Rice has nearly 160 direct stores in Wu Hanyou. During the Spring Festival, all stores in Wuhan were closed, and many of our employees stayed there. In the first half of the year, Mr. Rice was basically giving free meals to local nurses and doctors.
After June, the epidemic situation improved, and we got the first resumption certificate of catering enterprises, and then opened up new stores, which was also the first enterprise to make profits. Despite such a big epidemic this year, we are still actively and optimistically exploring the market.
Qin Dynasty: The rural base mainly focuses on Sichuan-style fast food, while Mr. Rice is a fried fast food. From the naming of these two brands, it seems that some regionalized attributes have been deliberately removed. What kind of consideration is it when doing brand re-building? Li Hong: Since the beginning of the business, the rural base has maintained the current speculation.
We have been insisting for 24 years, and have always put the current frying and pot gas in the first place. Mr. Rice also focuses on the current frying. 20 1 1 year, when we made the brand structure of Mr. Rice, we didn't set what kind of fast food it was. We were headquartered in Changsha at that time, mainly focusing on Hunan cuisine and small fried meat, supplemented by Sichuan cuisine.
The difference between the two brands is that the rural base mainly focuses on business circle and family community catering, while Mr. Rice mainly focuses on white-collar fast food, focusing on working meals.
Qin dynasty: Mr. rice brought a big wave of fast food with the concept of instant frying in China. For a long time in the past, Chinese food could not be chained on a large scale because it relied too much on chefs to operate it. Now we have moved the scene of stir-frying to the store. What do you think of this change? Li Hong: I think the basic logic is unchanged.
We pursue delicious food and pot gas, which customers naturally like. I was a chef at the age of 16, and I thought it was a skill left by our ancestors at that time. More than a decade ago, everyone was very opposed to the mode of having a kitchen in the restaurant, thinking it was not fashionable, and they followed the example of McDonald's and KFC to do standardization. At that time, our hearts were struggling.
But I think I have a sense of responsibility. If I do this, the chef will lose his job in the future. Who will inherit it? These people are so cute that they have no jobs in the future. At that time, I didn't think much. I thought I would do what I liked anyway, so I insisted on leaving the stove and kept this tradition. But we standardized the training system. We split and reassemble the old chef's craft step by step.
This degree of standardization can reach about 80%-90%, and there is still a slight gap between each store. Customers don't dislike the gap of 10%, but take delicious food as the premise. From village base to Mr. Rice, we have maintained this feature: training talents, standardized SOP, and result orientation.
Qin Dynasty: In fact, Starbucks and new tea are the same. Starbucks barista and new tea drinker are also heating at the front desk, which is very consistent with the logic of stir-frying now.
Chain-scale catering formats are highly dependent on the supply chain. Before making a Chinese fast food restaurant, a new central kitchen will be built, with a front shop and a back factory. Now it seems that everyone is already going to the central kitchen. Will this change become a big trend in Chinese fast food in the future?
Li Hong: It still depends on our own stage. It's not that we don't need a central kitchen at all. The central kitchen has completed about 60% of the front-end production. It's just that when opening up new areas, you don't have to build your own central kitchen.
Li Hong talks about fast food genes "Make better use of your knowledge, because it is one of the main reasons why you can have core competitiveness for a long time."
Qin Dynasty: In the past two years, many domestic brands of head Chinese food are trying to make fast food. For example, Xibei, Haidilao and Grandma's, why did the brands that used to make Chinese food try to do it in the big track of fast food in the past two years? I also heard a view that there are only two formats of Chinese food in the future, one is the regional characteristic catering brand, and the other is the national chain fast food.
What do you think of this phenomenon and viewpoint? Li Hong: I'm a fast food cook. I think you must first look at your genes before you do anything. This kind of blood runs in my genes, focusing on efficiency. How to make a good meal is the core of our work.
Everyone is born with their own mission. What you want to do is not about how I want to change. Sometimes changing is actually against genes and will waste your life and efficiency.
I think we should make better use of your knowledge, because it is one of the main reasons why you can have core competitiveness for a long time. I was envious when my grandmother's house was in full swing, but I always stuck to my main business. It is wrong for me to always look at the good in others' bowls and my own bad.
In addition, the current fast food is far from the competitive landscape we imagined. Village-based enterprises have entered the 3.0 fast food mode.
1.0 mode is a fast food mainly consisting of mom-and-pop shops and stalls; 2.0 is based on the imitation of western-style chain stores such as KFC and McDonald's, with six package modes and limited Chinese fast food; 3.0 Chinese fast food is to satisfy customers' increasing pursuit of the ultimate taste and more choices. Dinner and fast food are inherently different, with different customers, different employees and different genes. Chinese food is desperately trying to retain customers, while fast food is trying to improve the turnover rate, which is inherently contradictory.
Because of different characteristics, Chinese food and fast food are born with different missions. Qin Dynasty: Now fast food has really reached the era of 3.0, an era of higher-dimensional competition. Nowadays, the experience, environment and products of fast food stores are much better than before, but it seems that the prices are getting cheaper and cheaper. Mr. Village Base and Mr. Rice have 8- 12 yuan to order dishes casually, and the noodle restaurant opened in Haidilao has 9.9 bowls of noodles. What is behind this?
Li Hong: Behind this is the reorganization of enterprise efficiency. Efficiency is to put customers first and combine the characteristics of today's new generation of customers. It used to be cheap and the package was heated, which no longer meets the needs of today's customers. Now that everyone is eating well, if the ingredients are packed, he will definitely be able to taste it.
In our store in Shanghai, all the production processes are open to customers. It turned out that the window was intended for takeout, but later it was full of people, all looking at how it was done inside. Now it has become a window for customers and peers to visit, and has never made a takeaway.
As a matter of fact, customers understand now, so let's not assume that customers don't know. I'd rather think about the customers more complicated, and cooking now is the core of catering.
Qin dynasty: the development of take-away fast food has been very strong in recent years. There seems to be a contradiction between the fried fast food and the takeaway. It is necessary to fry it now, but once it is delivered through the takeaway logistics, there may be no pot gas. Is the ratio of take-away food between rural base and Mr. Rice significant now? What kind of growth trend will it maintain in the future?
Li Hong: We always take in-class food as the first goal, and take-out is a supplement to in-class food. At present, in Shanghai, we don't do take-out, we just eat in the hall.
Li Hong talks about new retail.
"If you are not afraid of difficulties, you can make changes, which is more important than selling convenient meals."
Qin Dynasty: Now, everyone puts pre-made food and beverage products into the retail channel by retail. What do you think of the trend of catering retail? Li Hong: Retail catering is definitely a trend. As far as catering is concerned, it is a new species, not a real category of catering, but a new format. At present, we only regard this as an attempt and supplement, and it is not our main task.
At present, our core goal is to develop direct chain stores. At present, we have just broken through 1,000 in such a big market in China, which is still a drop in the ocean. In this process, for us, we insisted on focusing. The competition of each track is very big, such as those who are good at online parts. They have their own set of logic on this, every detail, every channel and every marketing method. Being offline-oriented actually has its own set of logic.
Every enterprise has its own unique knowledge, which is an important reason for the sustainable development of enterprises. In the past 24 years, I have come back to make a self-assessment and self-examination every year. Only through self-assessment and self-examination can I know what the unique value I provide to society is.
Qin Dynasty: Sister Hong also made a live broadcast during the epidemic, also to try new retail? Li Hong: I'm not trying new retail, I'm trying to break through myself in this way. Because there was nothing to do during that time, I was idle at home studying. I think this is very interesting. I wonder if it will become online celebrity, so I will study it.
I think I will always be curious about new things, and then I will try it once. This is also to lead the team and tell them that under any difficulties, they can make changes without fear of difficulties, which is more important than selling convenient fast food.
Li Hong talks about capital. "Money is afraid of loneliness, and everyone likes to go to hot places. "
Qin Dynasty: Xiangcunji was the first listed Chinese food enterprise in China, and then it was delisted from NYSE. If the rural base is listed again, it is equivalent to a complete format from large categories to regional characteristic meals, to fast food and breakfast food, which has already set the benchmark for listed companies.
Some people say that Chinese food will usher in a wave of listing in the next decade, and even speculate that there will be 100 Chinese food enterprises listed. Do you think this is possible?
Li Hong: That's possible. The proportion of listed companies in China is quite different from that in the United States. From Haidilao to Jiumaojiu, and then to the listing of Tongqinglou and Babi Steamed Bread, it has played a great demonstration role for the catering industry in China, which makes us feel that even if the enterprise is small and humble, it can become a listed company.
We are also good at eating crabs, and we are the first Chinese fast food to accept venture capital. We got financing in 2007. I went to NYSE in 20 10, when it was the first catering enterprise in Asia to be listed on NYSE. This year, it also broke 1000 direct chain stores for the first time. I think it is more meaningful to do something that has never been tried than to do it itself.
An enterprise should be innovative and have the spirit of not being afraid of failure. Don't take listing as your goal, but use your mission to create unique value for this society and these customers.
Qin dynasty: before, many bosses of head catering enterprises thought that catering was an industry with very good cash flow, so why should they take financing? I don't know what Sister Hong thought when she first ate crabs. Her business was very good, so why did she take capital money?
Li Hong: To tell the truth, I didn't think clearly the first time, but I did the second time. Capital is an effective resource, which can make your enterprise more efficient.
Listing is actually an effective tool to help you link more effective resources and help you realize your own value. We don't want to demonize it, and we don't want to expand it. When it's time to go public, just let it go. But if you don't have this condition, don't be hard. Don't go to venture capital just because you can't survive this year. Capital will only be icing on the cake, not a gift in the snow.
In Chongqing's words, money goes where it is hot. That is to say, money is afraid of loneliness, and money and money together can produce results. The existence of capital itself is worthless and must rely on enterprises. Our stores and customers, this is the money that capital thinks, so "money+money equals more money".
Li Hong talked about the future "try our best to sprint the market that is greater than McCann's market share."
Qin Dynasty: Fast food is a chain mode. There are probably two kinds of chains in China, one is direct selling, and the other is franchise chain. The rural base has always been directly operated. Will it join in the future? What do you think of the difference between the two modes? Li Hong: We are all looking at the other mountain. I think it's good to join, and it's good to join me. But direct marketing is my gene, and I can't join.
Qin Dynasty: Now there are more than 1000 stores in Xiangcunji and Mr. Rice. Sister Hong, do you have a vision for the future scale development of these two brands? Li Hong: The answer is obvious when we compare the road taken by McDonald's and KFC and the current capacity with Chinese fast food. The number of stores in Chongqing is four times that of McDonald's and KFC, and the future market scale of Chinese fast food can be shown from this. Just saying that the market is here, we may not be able to do it, but the track of Chinese fast food is big enough. So we can only say, try our best to sprint the market that is greater than McCann's market share.