Drawing: Wang Zheping, Data source: Ministry of Commerce, etc
Although summer has entered, Wang Wenjun still has lingering fears when he recalls the Spring Festival that has just passed.
The sudden arrival of the epidemic caught him off guard, who was already preparing for the hot business of the Spring Festival. On January 25, Chengdu issued a notice banning the holding of group catering business activities, including rural self-organized banquets and dam banquets.
Wang Wenjun is the founder of a well-known hot pot restaurant in Chengdu. In Sichuan, where there are more than 30,000 hot pot restaurants. Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, the peak season of the catering industry has dimmed without warning. A series of difficulties have weighed on Wang Wenjun’s head due to market closures, inventory backlogs, labor and rental costs.
Every day when I open my eyes, more than 100,000 yuan is gone
Selling vegetables to reduce wages, stop losses and reduce costs, and save yourself to protect your vitality
"We walked all the way from a small hot pot restaurant with only 17 tables, and we have never encountered such a situation. The store is closed, and the income is gone; the salary needs to be paid, and the rent needs to be paid… As soon as we open our eyes every day, more than 100,000 yuan is gone. Coupled with the excess inventory of ingredients prepared in advance, the electricity bill of the freezer alone can’t stand it." Under multiple pressures, Wang Wenjun "almost lost half of his head".
Survival is the first priority. Wang Wenjun and other company managers together, as soon as possible to save themselves from the siege, is the top priority.
On the one hand, they would sell the excess food stock to nearby residents at a fair price or even at a discount. On the other hand, they would inform employees in the city to take turns to work, and non-local employees would work from home. The management would take the lead in adjusting salaries, and only keep the basic salary and social security, further reducing labor costs.
"The rent is a big part of the cost of the hot pot store. We have to thank the competent authorities for helping us coordinate the property. We reduced the rent by 1.20 million yuan before and after, and also won tax incentives." Wang Wenjun sighed.
To reduce inventory, reduce costs, and reduce rents, although the hot pot restaurant suffered heavy losses during the closing period of more than a month, "fortunately, it saved itself in time and didn’t hurt its vitality". What he didn’t expect was that the originally inconspicuous takeaway service and the live broadcast that he had never set foot in had become the "savior" of his next reorganization.
Dine-in and takeout, who is the protagonist?
Meet demand, expand takeout, and promote franchise stores
"You have a new takeaway order! Please pay attention to check it!" As soon as he walked into the lobby of the Chengdu Huabaifang store, he heard the pleasant bell of the online platform. The store manager said that the takeaway received more than 1,500 orders a day at most, and the turnover exceeded 500,000 yuan.
In 2016, the company launched a takeaway service. "But hot pot still has a taste for dine-in, and takeout has always been a’supporting role ‘." Wang Wenjun said that after the resumption of work and production, the demand for takeout has increased greatly. There were only two stores to deliver takeout, but soon it increased to nine. "We make takeaway posters every day, and mobilize employees to forward them together with the official Weibo and WeChat, so that relatives, friends and more residents know that we can deliver takeout. In a week, the number of takeaway orders has skyrocketed from more than 300 orders per day to more than 1,000 orders."
In order to attract a franchise partner, the company urgently formulated a support strategy, actively arranged takeaway operation equipment, sorted out operation manuals and videos, and launched "fully sealed hot pot takeaway service" in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi’an and other places. In addition to the takeaway platform, the company’s WeChat official account also opened the online ordering entrance.
The delivery staff delivered goods without contact, carrying health certificates and peace of mind cards with them. When there were many orders, Wang Wenjun himself also rode an electric car and became a "delivery brother".
The takeaway area is limited, what should I do if I can’t deliver it?
Live streaming, cross-border cooperation, new retail
"I want to eat hot pot, but I live too far away to deliver food, and I can’t make it myself. What should I do?" A few days after the delivery service was resumed, this message in the background of Weibo attracted Wang Wenjun’s attention and thought.
"Although it can’t be delivered, we can teach them how to make hot pot through online live broadcast." His idea was immediately in line with a live broadcast platform, and the live broadcast room was quickly set up.
"Our main feature is’spicy ‘, so the hot pot base will use three kinds of chili peppers: sea pepper, millet spicy, and devil spicy. Soak it in warm water before serving in the pot and then smash it. Combining the flavors will produce a unique fragrance." During the live broadcast, the chef carefully reminded that when frying the hot pot base, the onion, ginger, and garlic should be fried in the pot until golden in turn and then quickly removed, so as to avoid the mushy taste, spicy but not dry. The "take home "-like explanation, the feedback is gratifying.
"Although the preparation was rushed and we went LIVE at the meal point, there were still more than 87,000 netizens guarding the live stream in the first live stream, indicating that our live stream was too’dinner ‘." Wang Wenjun said that while the chef was live "teaching", he also launched his own various base material bags, which were sold with "significant hot pot other" such as chicken in bowls and self-heating rice. Consumers can place orders online.
"I’m really about to cry, I’m going to buy the materials" "The base material is not easy to fry, but it is convenient and affordable to place an order online"… The enthusiastic interaction of the audience brought great confidence to Wang Wenjun. Strike while the iron is hot, he immediately planned and launched activities such as "Contactless Takeaway Delivery with confidence" with local media in Chengdu, and completed more than ten live broadcast activities of eating hot pot at home. "I didn’t expect the effect of cross-border cooperation to be so good, and the live broadcast can’t stop once it starts. Barber shops, gyms, milk, beer and other brands and stores have come to us to cooperate and provide our diners with products and vouchers through takeaway."
"Boss! Another hairy belly!" As night fell, Wang Wenjun’s hot pot restaurant rang out the familiar call for food. On March 26, Chengdu fully resumed the normal business activities of catering and other service industries.
After many months, looking at the diners queuing outside the door, although Wang Wenjun was no longer anxious and confused, his nervous tension still did not relax. "Whether it is takeout or live broadcast, it is all’wartime blood transfusion ‘. The epidemic has survived really hard, and it is also a rare stress testing. It forces us to re-examine and think about how to make efforts in the new retail and intelligent fields in the next step, and improve the ability of’postwar blood making’."
Reporter’s notes
Improve your ability and stay calm
Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, our country’s catering consumption has been hit hard before and after the Spring Festival. Some catering companies have responded to market changes to face difficulties. The current difficulties have passed, and the long-term development path still needs to be considered. Traditional eating habits such as shared meals and joint meals are changing, and consumers’ consideration of safety and health is increasing, which may have a more far-reaching impact.
In this context, many catering companies have turned their attention to the new retail sector, grabbing share through online sales and processing special dishes into standardized goods. Some companies have tasted the sweetness for the first time, but for most small and medium-sized catering enterprises, this is still a new topic. Not only test the financial strength, talent accumulation level, but also test the ability to integrate market resources.
On the one hand, keep up with the changes in consumer psychology, advocate the meal sharing system, cultivate eating habits such as "public chopsticks and spoons", and promote the healthy development of catering culture; on the other hand, innovate the way of catering consumption, do refined management, find a development path in line with their own brand positioning, and transform and upgrade in a timely manner. Only by truly improving the "immunity" of the enterprise can we not be surprised and turn threats into opportunities.
