moondog

In this OP, I want to focus mainly on restaurants. Fashion brands are also fair game for the thread because China now has more than 1000 large malls to give them space, but I don't shop at Gucci or Rolex.

1. Mcdonald's opened its first China store in 1992
-they spent a boatload of money on building up their supply chain because they wanted their final products to be identical to what you get in the US (e.g. they imported a lot of staple products from the US for the first ten years)
-now, the supply chain is mostly in-country
-the menu isn't especially localized

2. KFC is the largest restaurant in China (yes, this includes Chinese franchises)
-1987 launch date
-their strategy was well suited for expansion; get chickens locally and dress them up
-https://www.amazon.com/KFC-China-Secret-Recipe-Success/dp/0470823844

3. Starbucks
-1999
-I'm not a fan, but they have been a hit

Now, I'll switch focus to restaurants that have left (or are not in a good state).

4. Tony Roma's
-I really liked their Portman location, but it was not to be

5. Hard Rock Cafe
-they were also in Portman and had a nice spot in Beijing, as well

6. Hooter's
-I'm not sure why it died because people seemed to like it

7. Dunkin Donuts
-they might still exist, but the JA Temple location was basically a free office for patrons

8. Popeye's
-I think they will return
-they will need better locations next time, and they should pony up for biscuits, which are their signature item (KFC has never done this because they are king)

9. Taco Bell
-they are back in China now, but I'm allocating them to the bottom portion of this list due to their screw-up with the Taco Bell Grande experiment, which was an atrocity
- at the new Taco Bells, focus on ordering items that you like

travelinmanS

McD is now a Chinese company in China, owned by CITIC. It’s trying to copy KFCs success by localizing the menu more that they did before CITIC took charge.

KFC has done a great job in China. It is owned by YUM! China and listed in the USA. Yum! China also owns Pizza Hut (also a success story) and your mentioned Taco Bell, which they are currently investing quite a bit into growing.

Starbucks is rapidly losing market share and they don’t know how to arrest the decline (i.e. changing their top management on a yearly basis in hopes this helps turn them around). Since China is so important to Starbucks total business performance I wouldn’t invest in the company now as I foresee them continuing to lose market share here.

You left off Tim’s which has been surprisingly successful since launching in China. RBI has succeeded in their strategy for Tim’s but failed miserably with Popeyes.

And of course, for those of us in Shanghai, there is Chilis with their cheap drinks and horrible food menu.

moondog

McD endured years of losses by utilizing US sourcing, but now they are in a strong position since everything (including their potato farms) is localized.

That book I referenced about KFC is awesome, but it doesn't address how and why YUM! screwed up so much with Taco Bell during round one.

I'm a bit confused about Starbucks because the business model is not so different from Dunkin (i.e. customers often grab one cup of coffee, and hang out for the entire day). That being said, those money loosing flagship stores presumably support the more lucrative grab-and-go business at their smaller stores.

Tim's is cheap, and nobody really loiters there because the smell is bad.

The GM is a wx contact of mine, and I've told him about the food menu. He recently added quesadillas, but they aren't so great. Focus on the burgers and shrimp fajitas for now.

moondog

The Dunkin plan was to emulate Starbucks. Impressive flagships that serve mainly as marketing vehicles for other stores. The problem was that Starbucks has one flagship per 100 stores, while Dunkin's (equally expensive) flagship only supported 5.

I don't think Tim's uses the same business model (i.e if they have flagship stores, I've yet to see one). As I previously noted, they are much cheaper than Starbucks (customers like this), and their store environments do not encourage hanging around.

j223

I've seen an influx (maybe an exageration) of Russian restaurants opening in Beijing. I don't really have any context on them.

For example that big GR mall in Haidian a new one opening when I was through a few weeks ago.

Has anyone tried the 5 Guys?

moondog

There is at one 5 guys in Shanghai. Locals seem to love it, but IMO Shake Shack is a lot better,

travelinmanS

There are 4 or 5 Five Guys in Shanghai now. I find them better than Shake Shack. But for the best deal in town, Costco hot dog can’t be beat!

dyxu0909

Shake Shack and five guys are now opening in many cities. You may also see Blue Bottle.

moondog

I've recently discovered that not only does DQ offer milkshakes and Blizzards via Eleme (last time I checked, they only did whole cakes and the like), but they also send two at a time (for the price of one). With Shake Shack, I still need to go to a physical store in order to indulge in a shake for Y42.

moondog

FYI, it appears that Emack & Bolio's (one of my favorite ice cream chains) is in China (not sure how I missed the news):

https://emackandbolios.com/locations/

Interesting site selection strategy.

narvik

Let me guess: anywhere but Beijing....

Yep!

moondog

We were talking about PF Chang's 9-month experiment in Shanghai last night. I would have tried it if I had known about it at the time (2019).

Googling revealed that HMSHost selected the Shanghai #1 Department Store for the flagship (bundled with 4 other brands). That is interesting site selection (while the Bund is definitely a high traffic area, because few people live/work there and public transportation options are lacking, garnering repeat business would be a significant challenge).

On a tangential note, here is a 1982 NYT (no paywall) article on Shanghai #1 Department Store that I came across.

https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/28/t...ent-store.html

lsquare

I honestly don't understand why anyone would .... PFC. I tried it at LAX and was disappointed.

moondog

I didn't suggest that I would go there every day, but their 核桃虾 and 木薯肉, for example, are better than I've ever had in mainland China.

lsquare

Should I give it a try? Are they priced at the USD-equivalent?