The Chinese hotpot restaurant chain is expected to open more than 400 new restaurants this year despite the ongoing effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Founded in 1994, Haidilao has become a world-renowned catering enterprise with 935 restaurants in China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia and the UK and US. The brand offers a shard dining experience where guests cook meats and vegetables in a soup at the centre of their table.
Although the restaurant industry has been one of the hardest hit sectors by the Coronavirus pandemic, Haidilao is continuing with their rapid expansion. They had planned to open around 300 restaurants in 2020 however now approaching the 400 store mark; they’ve beaten this target by as much as 30 per cent. Most of these new restaurants will be opened in Mainland China.
Chief Strategy Office, Zhou Zhaocheng stated that although this has been an exceptionally hard time for many restaurateurs, the company has taken up the offers to expand their concept as others have had to close their doors. Zhou comments: “This is an opportunity for us. Many properties are affected, so you have a different level of bargaining power.”
