The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

The time came to 1975.

Both sides of Victoria Harbor are much more prosperous.

Hong Kong was also affected by the oil crisis last year, but various economic data are still growing. Import and export trade exceeded the 70 billion mark, reaching 71.2 billion, of which imports were 37 billion, exports were 27 billion, and re-exports were HK$7.2 billion; the GDP reached HK$55 billion, and the per capita income was HK$12,500, continuing to surge.

Workers' wages were affected by the oil crisis, and wages were increased again because the cost of living increased. Currently, a garment worker who has graduated from primary school can already earn HK$1,000 per month, while a garment worker who has graduated from secondary school can earn HK$1,200 per month. Both are skilled workers as examples.

"Mom, there is a huge hamburger in the sea! It's really huge!" A child on the Star Ferry pointed excitedly not far away.

"Hey, it's a really big burger, but that must be a lie!" the child's mother explained with a smile.

At this time, many passengers discovered the 'large burger' on the sea, pulled by a small boat. At both ends of the boat, there were men wearing the same clothes, waving to each other.

"I know! Today is Mr. Wu Rizhao's introduction of McDonald's restaurants in Hong Kong and the opening of the first store in Xintiandi Shopping Center, Paterson Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island. So, that super burger is a way of publicity." A passenger said.

"McDonald's opened its first store in Hong Kong? I remember it has been two years since KFC's Hometown Chicken was launched in Hong Kong, but the store has almost been closed! KFC has just left, and McDonald's is coming again. It seems that these Western-style fast food are not giving up!"

"Yes! But in Hong Kong's fast food industry, 'Café's Fast Food' is the only one with many stores and a full range of varieties, not to mention they are all Chinese, who can get used to Western fast food!"

The passengers had a lively discussion, which seemed to come from the public, but actually reflected the current situation of Hong Kong's fast food industry.

Café de Coral is the first fast food brand in Hong Kong. After seven years of development, it already has 30 stores, including several stores in Tsuen Wan Industrial Area. In 1972, it became a listed company and reached a higher level. Advertising can be seen everywhere.

As for the Luo family who later followed suit and gave birth to two fast food brands, they could only rely on imitation to get a share of the pie, and their development was not smooth. This is because the strength of Café de Coral Fast Food is too strong, whether it is financial strength or business philosophy, it is always too strong.

Also, in 1973, the famous KFC set foot on the small island of Hong Kong with great ambition. At a press conference, the chairman of KFC boasted that he would open 50 to 60 branches in Hong Kong.

This is not nonsense. This KFC chicken was first made by Colonel Herlandis in 1939 with a secret recipe containing 11 kinds of herbs and spices. Due to its unique craftsmanship, crispy and refreshing taste, it is loved by consumers all over the world. By the 1970s, KFC had thousands of fast food restaurants in various regions of the world, forming a huge fast food restaurant chain network. Therefore, it set its sights on Hong Kong, the "Pearl of the Orient".

In June 1973, the first Hometown Chicken opened in Mei Foo Sun Village, and other branches soon followed. By 1974, the number had reached 11. In addition to fried chicken, KFC Hometown Chicken stores also offer other miscellaneous foods, including cole slaw, potato fries, bread, and a variety of beverages. The chickens are sold in packs of 5, 10, 15 and 20 pieces. There are also set meals, such as the one priced at 6.5 yuan, which includes 2 pieces of chicken, potato fries and bread.

When KFC Chicken was first launched in Hong Kong, it was accompanied by a massive publicity campaign. Television advertising quickly captures consumers' attention. The theme of TV, newspapers, and printed matter all adopts the popular slogan of hometown chicken: "It tastes so good that you lick your fingers." The massive publicity campaign, coupled with the unique cooking methods and recipes, made customers happy to try it.

KFC has not been popular in Hong Kong for a long time.

In September last year, KFC suddenly announced the closure of many restaurants, with only four remaining open and the remaining stores about to be withdrawn.

Although the director of the Hometown Chicken Company claimed that it was going out of business due to difficulties in paying rent, its failure was a foregone conclusion. The reason for the failure is also obvious. It is not only a rental problem, but also mainly a failure to attract customers.

Hong Kong critics have discussed this matter extensively, and finally believed that the reason for KFC's complete closure was due to problems with the taste of the chicken and its publicity service.

In order to adapt to the tastes of Hong Kong people, Hometown fast food restaurants use local breeds of native chickens, but they still use the previous feeding method, which is to raise them with fish meat. In this way, the unique taste of Chinese chicken is destroyed, which is very disappointing to Hong Kong people.

In advertising, Hometown Chicken uses the slogan "It tastes so good that you lick your fingers", which is also difficult to be accepted by Hong Kong residents in terms of concept. Moreover, Hong Kong people at the time believed that chickens from their hometown were too expensive, thus suppressing demand.

In terms of service, Hometown Chicken adopts American service. Fast food restaurants in Europe and the United States are usually off-site restaurants. You drive to the fast food restaurant, buy food and take it home to eat. Therefore, there are usually no seats inside the store. The situation in Hong Kong is different. People eat in the place where they buy food. Usually a group of people or twos and threes buy food and then sit in the store to eat and chat. Hometown Chicken's practice of not providing seats is equivalent to driving away a group of people who have the opportunity to become customers. Therefore, although Hometown Chicken has a large advertising scale and attracts many people to try it, there are not many repeat customers.

In later generations, "KFC entered Hong Kong for the second time" even became an economic term and a classic case analyzed by the business community.

Lin Zhihao came to Victoria Harbor Center very excitedly. Now he has become the chairman of the board of directors of a listed company, so entering his cousin's office is not considered a 'luxury'. At least my cousin would be willing to chat with him if he had time.

When he came to his cousin's office, Lin Zhihao still felt a feeling of being "dwarfed". After all, this office was not only spacious, but also symbolized power and influence.

The Café de Coral restaurant group he leads has a market value of only HK$30 million (less than its net asset value), and its market value was only HK$100 million at its peak. In front of Cheung Kong Group, the difference between an elephant and an ant is like that.

"Super Brother"

"Well, sit down!"

Lin Zhichao greeted his cousin with a smile. Overall, he was very satisfied with his achievements. Today's Café de Coral Restaurant Group not only owns 32 fast food restaurants, but also has five high-end restaurants/hotels, one restaurant in operation (Taibai Seafood Restaurant), and one restaurant under construction (Jumbo Seafood Restaurant). , the overall net asset value is more than HK$50 million.

"I heard that McDonald's entered Causeway Bay and achieved great sensation and success?" Lin Zhichao walked casually in the office to stretch his muscles.

Lin Zhihao said with a smile: "It's too early to say success. KFC didn't have such a big fanfare back then. I just don't know if McDonald's has learned its lesson."

Lin Zhichao smiled and scolded: "You are so swollen that you are worried that your competitors will drag you into trouble."

Lin Zhihao immediately put away his arrogance and said seriously: "It's impossible. After all, we have become a system and scale, with a large number of loyal customers. It is difficult for any brand to surpass us in fast food. Recently, we are also planning a 'New Year Offensive' ', intending to use the media to once again strengthen the brand effect."

Lin Zhichao nodded and said: "Confidence is a good thing, but Café de Coral still needs to keep innovating. For example, in the later decoration, see if we can incorporate new styles, or learn from overseas fast food companies. In short, we can't stay the same." , otherwise it will easily lead to aesthetic fatigue. Also, as Hong Kong’s pace becomes more and more open, do our fast food also need to make changes in this regard, such as selling some fixed set meals, such as pork chop rice and so on, which may be a certain A package will attract a loyal customer and save time and energy. Your management should discuss these aspects carefully."

Lin Zhihao was immediately impressed. His cousin was in such a high position, but he could easily give very good advice. He definitely deserved the title of 'God of Business'.

"I remember, Brother Chao."

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "Just remember, be humble and have a broader vision."

Lin Zhihao said ashamedly: "Yeah."

Café de Coral Restaurant Group has indeed achieved remarkable results, but in fact it was all planned well by Lin Zhichao. Lin Zhihao is not a business wizard, but can only be regarded as a personal talent.

In fact, the rise of McDonald's is not affected by Café de Coral, after all, one is Western-style and the other is Chinese-style; the one that is most affected is Lin Zhichao's company, 7-11 convenience stores, because in recent years, 7-11 convenience stores It has developed very well in Western-style fast food. Tycoon Burger and Double-layer Beef Burger have become everyone's favorite food.

In fact, 7-11 convenience stores gave up selling bento boxes (fast food) very early and now sell bento boxes made in their own central cafeteria.

Now that hamburgers are competing with McDonald's, a professional player, 7-11 convenience stores may be affected to some extent. Of course, as the economy grows, they will definitely grow together.

"What's the price at McDonald's?" Lin Zhichao asked curiously.

"A regular hamburger is HK$1.6, a Big Mac is HK$3.5!" Lin Zhihao answered honestly.

Well, it’s quite expensive!

A basket of dim sum at the teahouse costs around 8 cents!

After chatting for a while, Lin Zhihao left with a full harvest. The conversation between the two brothers this time was mainly about Café de Coral fast food.

Although Café de Coral Catering Group has been listed on the market and has an advantage that other catering groups do not have - abundant funds, in the past few years, it has mainly developed "Cabar Le Fast Food", followed by "Zhenbaofang Seafood Restaurant (under construction)".

It will take a few years before we consider comprehensive development of the catering industry.

After a while, Lin Shaodong, who was in charge of retail business, came to the office.

At present, the retail business of Cheung Kong Holdings Group is still focused on 7-11 convenience stores, with a total of 45 stores, which greatly exceeds the 16 OK convenience stores of the Jardine department.

"boss"

"Well, how is the progress of 7-11's response to the opening of McDonald's?"

The Western fast food business of 7-11 convenience stores is a very important part.

In my previous life, 7-11 convenience store landed in Hong Kong in the 1980s, so I had little impression of McDonald's landing in Hong Kong.

And in this life, it is naturally very influential. And long before McDonald’s landed in Hong Kong, 7-11 convenience stores had formulated a ‘hello’ plan.

Lin Shaodong said: "The results are very good! The quick command competition we held has had a certain influence in Hong Kong. With the TV advertising, our burger sales have increased significantly."

But after there are more stores, the scale of promotion can be "large", but the cost of promotion can be "low on average". This is a real benefit.

The ‘Big Mac’ from 7-11 convenience stores has already become a household name in Hong Kong.

Especially elementary school students, they have always memorized the tongue twister of the 7-11 convenience store's 'Big Mac' - 'Double beef Big Mac, sauced beef with cucumber, cheese lettuce with sesame seeds, everyone has eaten it and laughed haha'. It has to be cooked thoroughly.

“Well, this is a ‘taste buds’ battle for Hong Kong people, so McDonald’s needs to be given some color!”

"The failure of KFC is also due to our 7-11 convenience stores. It's time for McDonald's to give it a try."

This is not wrong!

Then, Lin Zhichao said: "I want some stores to try to implement 24-hour operation. Your management will come up with the feasibility of the specific plan and then consider it yourself."

Lin Shaodong nodded and replied: "Well, Hong Kong's economy is becoming increasingly developed. The lights in Central are all night long. Hong Kong is known as the city that never sleeps. We might consider implementing a 24-hour system in some stores."

In addition to convenience stores, Cheung Kong Group also has 10 supermarkets, and the entire retail business has been integrated into the "RT-Mart Retail Enterprise". Of course, the supermarkets are also called RT-Mart Supermarkets.

Hong Kong KFC Associates.

Wu Rizhao said to his partner Feng Chutou (son of Feng Bingfen): "This wave of advertisements by 7-11 convenience stores is targeting us!"

Feng Bedou nodded and said: "The Big Mac and Slurpees in the 7-11 convenience store have always been famous in Hong Kong. When we open McDonald's, we are undoubtedly taking a piece of the cake. Although McDonald's is a world-renowned brand, However, 7-11 convenience stores have many stores in Hong Kong, so the two sides will continue to compete in the field of Western food."

Wu Rizhao said: "It is indeed an opponent worthy of respect. Their hamburger tongue twisters have been deeply rooted in Hong Kong in recent years. Of course, I am very optimistic about the development of McDonald's. We are not KFC and will never lose Hong Kong. On the contrary, we will completely Stand firm."

He has a doctorate and has studied at McDonald's for a long time. I believe he will be able to stand firm and make Hong Kong fall in love with Western fast food.

Feng Bedou asked: "How is the business of the store?"

Wu Rizhao replied: "It's not bad. It's been full in the past few days since it opened."

In fact, McDonald's is a big brand after all, and it is a professional Western-style fast food that allows you to sit down and dine in, so the business will not be much worse, and it has also learned from the lessons of local chicken.

However, it is definitely worse than in its previous life. 7-11 convenience stores have five convenience stores in Causeway Bay, selling hundreds of Big Mac burgers every day.

A battle for the taste buds of Hong Kong people begins here.

7-11 convenience stores and Café de Coral fast food are advertising heavily in Hong Kong at the same time. The brands are more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the advantages of large enterprises are clearly visible. Including Café de Coral, which is also a listed company, compared to other fast food restaurants in Hong Kong, it is like holding a machine gun against an opponent holding a machete.

Wu Rizhao sighed: "In Hong Kong, it is no longer the British-owned foreign companies that rule, but our Chinese Mr. Lin Zhichao! He is involved in food, clothing, housing and transportation, such as Crocodile T-shirts, Uniqlo, 7-11 convenience stores, Café de Coral Restaurant Group Shareholders), Cheung Kong Towers throughout Hong Kong and Kowloon, Hong Kong Airlines."

For the first time, someone concluded that Lin Zhichao's industry already involves food, clothing, housing and transportation.

Of course, this is just the "food, clothing, housing and transportation" for the junior class. Wait another ten years and Hong Kong will be "Lin's City".

Feng Bedou nodded and said: "The most powerful thing is that Mr. Lin Zhichao is also the world's shipping king, owning the third largest fleet in the world after the United States and Japan; he is also the largest industrial tycoon in Hong Kong, employing more than 20,000 workers. .”

Incredible!

This is why many Hong Kong citizens can only express their feelings with fanatical admiration when talking about Lin Zhichao.

At this time, Lin Zhichao was the absolute 'idol' of Hong Kong people. He had no bad reputation and received rave reviews.

After Lin Zhihao returned to Corallo Restaurant Group, he held a group management meeting. His brother Lin Zhiyi and sister Lin Cai'er were among the executives. At that time, under the training of Lin Zhichao, the three brothers and sisters all went to college, and Lin Zhiyi even went to a prestigious American school.

He put forward some of his cousin's suggestions, and the senior executives immediately agreed that Café de Coral Fast Food could come up with some innovative measures.

Next, Lin Zhiyi said: "I think we are a listed company and have a close relationship with banks. We should make full use of this advantage and speed up the opening of stores again. We will strive to open 80 stores before the 1980s to compete with the competition. The opponent forms a trend of encirclement and also strengthens our own strength."

His suggestion quickly started a discussion among everyone.

After Café de Coral went public, it had the opportunity to expand significantly, but building a Jumbo Fang restaurant consumed half of its financial resources and energy (a total investment of approximately HK$25 million).

Now, Zhenbaofang Seafood Restaurant is about to be put into operation this year, and it is time for Café de Coral Catering Group to speed up the development of fast food brands.

Finally, Lin Zhihao said: "Okay, speed up the opening of fast food stores. Later Zhiyi, you can give me a plan."

"Okay, Chairman"

The three brothers and sisters are still very united, especially with their father Jian here, not to mention their cousin watching over them.

If we wanted to open 100 stores in the 1980s, it would be equivalent to opening 8 to 10 stores every year. This would be a big challenge for listed companies. If it is not listed on the market, opening four stores per year is already the limit, and it is not possible every year.

The other side.

Faced with the "New Year Offensive" of Café de Coral, which is a massive advertising campaign, the customer flow of Luo Family's McDonald's fast food has once again decreased, and another fast food brand is on the verge of bankruptcy. After all, the rent in Hong Kong is very expensive.

In the previous life, the competition between Luo's two fast food brands was evenly matched. You opened one and I opened another.

In this life, the Luo family's two fast food brands were established more than a year late, and there was a huge gap in financial strength; especially after Café de Coral was launched, the gap between the two parties further widened.

Today, there are 32 Café de Coral fast food stores, Luo’s Happy Happiness only has a dozen, and the other one has only a few.

What's important is that Café de Coral has always emphasized its brand, conducted extensive advertising, and has a large portion of the population as loyal customers.

"If we can also go public, then the gap may be narrowed!" Luo Kaimu said.

"Fortunately, the stock market has not been going well in the past two years. In addition, Café de Coral has invested in a seafood restaurant. If we fully develop fast food, it will be difficult for us to resist." Luo Shengxiang replied.

"However, the stock market rebounded in January this year, and Café de Coral will probably make full use of the stock market in the future."

"this"

Everyone has to admire that Café de Coral Restaurant Group was able to go public in 1972 and raise tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars. What a wise decision it was.

If you think about it carefully, it is not difficult to understand that the giant Cheung Kong Group is behind Café de Coral fast food. (End of chapter)