Haidilao

Haidilao International Holding Ltd. or simply Haidilao is a Chinese hot pot restaurant chain, typically operating under the trade name Haidilao Hot Pot. Founded in Jianyang, Sichuan in 1994, it has since grown to become China's largest hot pot franchise.[3] As of 2022, Haidilao had around 1,300 restaurants in China, Hong Kong, Macau, with its overseas unit, Super Hi International, running 97 outlets around the world, including in Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.[4][5] Annual revenue is estimated to be more than CN¥10 billion.[6] Additionally in recent years, Haidilao has become very well known for popularising Chinese TikTok dance and internet phenomena of Kemusan.

Etymology

In Chinese, haidilao can be translated as "deep sea fishing" or literally "scooping the sea floor".[7] The origin of this term comes from a Chinese idiom, hǎidǐlāozhēn (海底捞针, lit. "to scoop a needle from the bottom of the sea"), a metaphor for a hopeless endeavor.[8] This idiom was originally derived from the Buddhist poem Song of Enlightenment.[8] The term haidilao is also used by mahjong players to refer to a rare and lucky situation when a player wins with the last tile.[9][10]

History

In March 1994, a then unknown restauranteur Zhang Yong opened the first Haidilao hot pot restaurant along with three other founders with 8,000 Yuan in Jianyang, Sichuan Province.[11] Haidilao grew competitively with an emphasis on customer service.[11] After five years, Haidilao started to expand beyond Sichuan to other provinces like Xi'an, Shanxi province, and other parts of the world.[11]

In 2018, Haidilao Hot Pot served more than 160 million customers, with an average daily table turnover rate (i.e. the number of parties hosted per table per day) of 5.0. Haidilao Hot Pot has more than 36 million VIP members and 60,000+ staffs.[12]

In 2019, Haidilao opened the first robot-aided hotpot restaurant in Beijing.[13]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Haidilao closed all stores in mainland China on January 26, 2020, to decrease the spread of the virus. As a result, Haidilao recorded significant losses.[14] A similar hotpot chain restaurant called Xiabu Xiabu also closed around 20% of its total stores as a response to the decreased consumer demand during COVID. On March 12, 2020, with cases decreasing in China, Haidilao began reopening stores.[14]

However, even after reopening, business was slow.[15] Haidilao also faced backlash for increasing prices to offset pandemic losses,[16] and the number of people restaurants could serve was limited by government pandemic restrictions.[15]

In 2021, as part of an expansion plan, Haidilao opened 421 new restaurants, but it also closed 276 in an effort to improve the operations and profitability of existing stores.[15][4]

In 2022, in the wake of China's zero-COVID policy, Haidilao's shares fell more than 60%. Haidilao is focusing on expanding its international presence, spinning off its overseas unit, Super Hi International.[4]

Innovation and expansion

Haidilao and the Japanese electronics company Panasonic jointly launched a "smart" restaurant in 2018.[17] This restaurant relies on Panasonic's robotics and image recognition technology to achieve full automation of the kitchen.[17] After the customer orders the food with tablet computer (iPad), the system in the kitchen can automatically recognize the dishes and puts them into the tray.[17]

Haidilao has more than 180 chains globally, more than 20,000 staff, and an annual turnover of 5 billion RMB (almost US$0.77 billion).[18]

By the end of June 30, 2020, Haidilao Hot Pot had 935 stores in operation.[19] In addition to the many locations in China, the company serves the areas of Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates.[20]

The company opened its first restaurant outside of mainland China in Clarke Quay, Singapore, in 2012. This was followed by its first US outlet, which opened in Westfield Santa Anita (California) in September 2013.[21][22] Haidilao continued to develop its network abroad, entering the South Korean market in 2014, the Taiwanese and Japanese markets in 2015, the Hong Kong market in 2017, and the Canadian market in 2018.[19]

In 2024, Haidilao converted some of its Jakarta, Indonesia restaurants to "No Pork, No Lard".[23]

Operations

Haidilao enforces strict rules when selecting food suppliers.[28] There are more than 20 dipping sauces on Haidilao's self-service condiment table. Side dishes like peanuts, cucumbers, and fresh food are always provided. Customers can select up to four different soup bases in one pot.[29]

Automation

Haidilao restaurants have automated kitchens with robot chefs to increase efficiency[30] and robots for food delivery.[31]

In 2013, Haidilao developed a new video conference service where customers could see each other by using video conference facilities and remotely videoconference with customers at other Haidilao restaurants.[32]

Issues

Awards and certifications

Haidilao Hot Pot has won more than ten titles and honors such as "Advanced Enterprise", "Consumer satisfaction unit" and "Famous Hot Pot" in Sichuan, Shanxi, Henan and other provinces in China. From 2008 to 2012, it won the title of "Top 10 Hot Pot Restaurants" by the public comment website for 5 consecutive years in China. At the same time, it won the honorary title of "Top 100 Chinese Catering Enterprises" for 5 consecutive years.[28] Haidilao became a successful business case of Harvard Business School in 2009.[18] On May 27, 2011, "Haidilao" was awarded "China Famous Brand". From 2007 to 2018, the hot pot restaurant won the "China Top 100 Catering Companies" for 12 consecutive years.[19] Haidilao won the "Best Hot Pot", "Outstanding Service," or "Outstanding Chinese Restaurant of the Year." prizes in magazines such as Time out and Beijinger in 2018.[28]

See also

• Chinese restaurant
• List of Chinese restaurants
• Little Sheep Group
• Sichuan cuisine
• Kemusan

Further reading

External links

Haidilao US

• Chinese Haidilao official website