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Hot pot brings 'hot money'
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Chinese people are very familiar with hot pot, and today we introduce you the story of one of China's most successful brands. Hai Di Lao, was established in 1994 by Zhang Yong, a native of Jianyang in southwest China's Sichuan Province. It was developed from a rickety roadside stand offering Malatang, or hot spicy dips.
In recent years, the restaurant has changed its style, and, under the basic management concept of providing diners with good service in a local way, the restaurant has grown into a famous hot pot business nationwide. Almost every new restaurant in the chain becomes popular as soon as it opens.
In 2008, Zhang Yong owned a chain of 32 restaurants across the country. Today, the number has risen to 50.
In addition to the original business in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhang Yong also opened new restaurants in many second tier cities. All these hot pot restaurants have been erected in downtown areas, occupying spacious areas of up to three thousand square meters. The new restaurants are just as successful as the old ones in pleasing diners' tastebuds. In 2008, the business generated a total of 700 million yuan. Zhang Yong estimates the revenue for this year could double that figure.
Hot pot business booming in China
It's not easy to distinguish any particular hot pot restaurants these days. Hot pot is a specialty of China, and is famous nationwide for its long history and rich variety. There are dozens of kinds across the country. The last decade saw China's catering industry experience double-digit growth, to which the hot pot business contributed a lot. The number of hot pot restaurants nationwide hit 200-thousand with yearly revenue exceeding 140 billion yuan. In recent years, the revenue of hot pot businesses accounted for around 30 percent of the total earnings of China's top 100 catering enterprises.
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