Business branches worldwide ๐ Area served :
China ๐จ๐ณ (Mainland), Hong Kong ๐ญ๐ฐ , Macau ๐ฒ๐ด , United States ๐บ๐ธ , Canada ๐จ๐ฆ , United Kingdom ๐ฌ๐ง , South Korea ๐ฐ๐ท , Australia ๐ฆ๐บ , Japan ๐ฏ๐ต , Taiwan ๐น๐ผ , Malaysia ๐ฒ๐พ , Singapore ๐ธ๐ฌ , Indonesia ๐ฎ๐ฉ , Thailand ๐น๐ญ , Philippines ๐ต๐ญ , Vietnam ๐ป๐ณ , United Arab Emirates ๐ฆ๐ช
Haidilao International Holding Ltd., or Haidilao (Chinese: ๆตทๅบๆ), is a Chinese hot pot chain, known for its customer service. Founded in Jianyang, Sichuan in 1994, it has since grown to become China’s largest hot pot chain. Its restaurants typically operate under the name Haidilao Hot Pot.
On 24th October 2024 at Unit 4/5, The Trocadero Centre, London, GB SE10 0DX.
In Mandarin, hai-di-lao can be translated as deep sea fishing, or literally "scooping the bottom of the ocean." The origin of this term comes from a Chinese idiom, hวidวlฤoyuรจ (ๆตทๅบๆๆ, literally meaning is "fishing for the moon"), a metaphor for a hopeless endeavor. This idiom was originally derived from the Buddhist poem Song of Enlightenment.
The term haidilao is also used by mahjong players to refer to a rare and lucky situation when a player wins with the last tile๐๐ .
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. Haidilao grew competitively with an emphasis on customer service. After five years, Haidilao started to expand beyond Sichuan to other provinces like Xi'an, Shanxi province, and other parts of the world.
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+ staff.
In 2019, Haidilao opened the first robot-aided hotpot restaurant in Beijing.
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. 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.
However, even after reopening, business was slow. Haidilao also faced backlash for increasing prices to offset pandemic losses, and the number of people restaurants could serve was limited by government pandemic restrictions.
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.
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.
"Hi to send" service
Haidilao created the “Hi to send” delivery service in 2003. Once a customer orders food to be delivered, staff will send an electromagnetic pan, an induction cooker, and a wiring board to customers’ home, where they will also help the customers divide their food. They wait outside until customers finish their food, after which they will take away the kitchenware. Since 2013, Haidilao is open for 24 hours a day and offers service of delivery food.
Amenities
Every Haidilao restaurant has a waiting room for customers, some of which offer additional services such as nail salon or children's play areas. Additional free before-meal services and amenities include a car wash, fruits, snacks, drinks, and board games.
During the meal, staff offer diners aprons and mobile phone bags, and provide small hairpins for long-haired customers. If customers are celebrating a birthday party or wedding ceremony at Haidilao, they get a special gift. While dining, the restaurant puts on face-changing and hand-pulled noodles performances.
Customers are given snacks, fruit, mints, and toothpicks after their meal.
Haidilaohotpot
Hygiene Issues
On August 25, 2017, hygiene problems were reported by the Legal Evening News. A video of a rat lying on a sink was uploaded to Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. After three and a half hours, Haidilao posted an apology letter about the hygiene issues.
Haidilao indicated that all stores needed to have a “bright kitchen”, meaning that the kitchen is now visible to all customers thanks to the installment of transparent glass and opening up of the space.
The Beijing Municipal Food and Drug Administration had two meetings with the representatives of this Haidilao's hygiene problem and required Haidilao to make rectification to their cleanliness, resulting in the requirement that all stores in Beijing would need to be inspected within one month.
Price hikes
On March 12, 2020, Haidilao reopened many stores after the COVID-19 situation in mainland China improved. However, customers were shocked by the price hikes; some even stated online that they would not go back to Haidilao again. After customer complaints, a Haidilao representative stated that price increases would be limited to 6%, with each restaurant being able to define their own prices.
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.
Haidilao became a successful business case of Harvard Business School in 2009.
Proceedings of the 2017 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Science (HSS 2017)
Exploring Haidilao Service Creativity: The Perspective of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Keywords
Service Creativity, Hierarchy of Needs, Haidilao.
Abstract
Developing an understanding of relationship between employees and customers is of central importance to enterprise management. In this study we seek to find how service creativity made by Haidilao Hot Pot to its staffs, and then how service creativity made by Haidilao staffs to their customers in return. Following in depth interviews, content analysis, and combing with theory by Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, We find that what Haidilao served for its employees with creativity at last had shifted all kinds of service creativities to customers. This study extends current knowledge of the shortsighted management of catering industry, and provides new perspective of treating employees. It provides a useful tool for restaurants human resource management. Furthermore, the result can serves as a reference for other Service-oriented businesses. Continue learning here ๐ ๐ ๐️
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.
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.
