BEIJING - Chinese restaurant operator South Beauty Co Ltd is striving for a listing this year to fuel its expansion at home and acquisitions abroad, company Chairwoman Zhang Lan said on Monday.
"We've been selecting underwriters, but the exact time for the listing depends on market conditions," Zhang said, without specifying where it plans to get listed.
Though Zhang declined to reveal the company's revenue and profit last year, she said the two figures are "pretty good". In 2008, CDH Investments and China International Capital Corp Ltd invested about 300 million yuan ($45.5 million) for less than 10 percent of South Beauty's share capital, indicating that the institutions valued the company at more than 3 billion yuan two years ago.
According to Zhang, South Beauty aims to speed up its expansion on the mainland by adding 30 new restaurants this year, most of them in second-tier cities such as Zhengzhou in Henan province and Xi'an in Shaanxi province.
"After floating shares, we aim to open 300 to 500 new restaurants within three to five years," Zhang said.
South Beauty currently has 57 restaurants in 15 cities, all of which are profitable, she added. The company opened 17 new restaurants in 2010.
Besides accelerating the expansion at mainland, the company is also quickening its pace in exploring overseas markets.
"We plan to open restaurants in London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan this year, probably in October," Zhang said. "We've also been seeking opportunities to acquire overseas brand restaurants, such as those under Michelin."
According to Zhang, the company's exploration of overseas markets is mainly for branding and its expansion on the mainland is mainly for profit.
"Since the securities regulator is not in favor of the listing of a high-end restaurant, we will reposition our restaurants to target a broader customer base instead of focusing just on business people," Zhang added.
The company will also branch into fast-food restaurants with a new brand called "Steam".
Meanwhile, to better control costs and speed its expansion, the company also plans to strengthen its efforts in standardizing processes, especially in the preparatory stage of cooking.
Standardization is also a trend for branded Chinese restaurants. Qingdao-based Jingya Group, a high-end restaurant featuring seafood, also worked with IBM and Kingdee to advance its standardization process. "Standardization is the key to improving operational efficiency and ensuring quality while expanding rapidly," said Zhang Yongduo, Jingya's chairman.
Yang Liu, deputy director of China's Catering Association, said that while official data have not been released, China's food service industry was forecast to have generated more than 2 trillion yuan in revenue last year. The revenue of China's food service industry in 2009 stood at 1.8 trillion yuan.
