Why can't Chen Juezhong, the boss of Yonghe King, beat McDonald's in the Philippines?

In China, you may not have heard of the "Philippine Restaurant King" Happy Bee, but you must know the "Yonghe King".

Chen Juezhong, a fast food giant whose ancestral home is Jinjiang, Fujian, is one of the top ten richest people in the Philippines. His Happy Bee Food Group has the largest fast food service network in the Philippines, with more than 2,000 branches. In 2004, Chen Juezhong acquired 85% of the shares of Yonghe King and became the boss behind this famous food brand in China.

Beat the king of McDonald's restaurant in the Philippines

Jollibee Group, founded on 1975 by Chen Juezhong, a businessman from Fujian, Philippines, is the largest listed restaurant chain group in the Philippines, and it is a household name in the local area. As of the first quarter of 20 18, Happy Bee operated 2,895 restaurants in the Philippines and 943 restaurants overseas.

Of course, Chen Juezhong was only known to Chinese mainland people because he became the new boss of King Yonghe. In 2004, Chen Juezhong acquired 85% of the shares of Yonghe Dawang.

Chen Juezhong, 66, has a gentle appearance and a low voice, but many people don't know that the billionaire who made Happy Bee a household name in the Philippines and occupied 65% of the Philippine fast food market turned out to be the son of a poor China chef. In just a few decades, he built Happy Bee into the only fast food giant in the world that beat McDonald's outside the United States.

In June last year, the donation ceremony of Chen Lanyin Family Education Foundation and the groundbreaking ceremony of Shenzhen-Shanghai Second Central Kindergarten were held in Fu Gang Community, Jinjiang.

Speaking on behalf of Chen Lanyin's family, Chen Yunzhong, an overseas Chinese leader in Fu Gang, said that when his mother (Chen Lanyin) returned to China in 20 16, she heard that the kindergarten in the community needed to be repaired and immediately decided to donate money to rebuild it. "It is the wish of overseas Chinese to contribute to education and charity in their hometown. Now that the second central kindergarten in Shenzhen and Shanghai has started construction, we are very proud and gratified, and we hope that more overseas Chinese will care about the public welfare undertakings in their hometown. "

Chen Lanyin is the mother of Chen Juezhong, the founder of Happy Bee Group. Chen Juezhong, 1953, was born in Shenhu Fu Gang Community, Jinjiang, Fujian, ranking third among seven brothers and sisters. Chen Yunzhong, director of Happy Bee Group, is Chen Juezhong's younger brother.

It takes ten years to plant trees, but it takes a hundred years to cultivate people. 2065438+In February, 2007, the 7th/kloc-0 anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen-Shanghai-Hong Kong Association of the Philippines and the inauguration ceremony of the 36th Council were held in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. In that year's celebration, a donation ceremony was held. Chen Juezhong, Chairman of Happy Bee Group in the Philippines and Honorary Chairman of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Welfare Association in the Philippines, donated a kindergarten to Shenzhen-Hong Kong Welfare Community in his hometown.

Chen Juezhong's father is from Hong Community, Jinjiang City. He went to the Philippines to make a living at the age of 13. He worked as a handyman in a restaurant and then as a chef in a Chinese restaurant in Manila. In the 1960s, Mr. Chen Lao opened a Chinese restaurant in the southern Philippines.

At that time, the hardware condition of Chen Juezhong's father's hotel was not very good, and it often leaked rain, but because of his good craftsmanship and kindness, it attracted many guests around him. When Chen Jue was a child, he often helped his father in a restaurant with his younger brother Chen Yunzhong after school. Chen Juezhong said that his father often said to their brothers and sisters: "If you are a tailor, you should make good clothes;" If it is catering, it must taste better. "

Later, Chen Juezhong returned to Manila to study chemical engineering at the University of St. Thomas (UST). 1975 After graduating from college, 22-year-old Chen Juezhong and his colleagues visited an ice cream factory in Quezon. Jinjiang people, "love to fight to win", mostly have business genes, flexible minds and are good at discovering opportunities. Careful Chen Juezhong found in a newspaper that this ice cream factory offered to join.

1In May, 975, he took the savings of his family, obtained the franchise with 350,000 pesos, and opened two ice cream shops, named Cubao Ice Cream Shop and Quiapo Ice Cream Shop respectively. The first ice cream shop opened behind a cinema and operated with my brother Chen Yunzhong.

Later, a guest suggested that just selling ice cream, a variety is too monotonous, can you sell more things. In response to customers' demands, Chen Juezhong began to add hot meals and sandwiches to the menu of the ice cream shop. To his surprise, hot meals and sandwiches are more popular than ice cream.

In late April this year, the website of Forbes magazine released the 20 19 annual list of global billionaires. Among the top ten richest people in the Philippines, the ancestral home in Jinjiang, Fujian accounted for 7 seats. Among them, the Philippine Happy Bee Catering Group Chen Juezhong ranked fifth.

Incidentally, after the death of Shi Zhicheng, the richest Filipino and SM boss whose ancestral home is Jinjiang, his children were also on the list, and they were divided into three seats among the top ten richest people: Shi Hansheng, son of Shi Zhicheng, president and helm of SM Group, ranked eighth; Shi Zhicheng's son HENRY T.SY JR and his sister, Shi Zhicheng's eldest daughter, and TERESITA T.SY, the female head of SM Financial Bank, ranked ninth; ELIZABETH T.SY, the second daughter of Shi Zhicheng, is in charge of the hotel and exhibition business of SM Group, ranking 10, and also ranks among the top ten richest people in the Philippines.

1978, Chen Juezhong, who owned six ice cream shops at that time, decided to change his business direction after discussing with his family. He interrupted the renewal of the franchise of the ice cream factory, turned all the stores into fast food restaurants, and became Jollibee catering company, the largest fast food chain restaurant in the Philippines.

At that time, when Chen Juezhong and his family were considering how to use the new brand and logos to establish an image for their catering business, they chose a choice and finally chose a smiling red bee as the brand spokesperson. Since then, a smiling red bee has diligently flown over the Philippines and overseas.

198 1 year, when Chen Juezhong's business was booming, McDonald's in the United States entered the Philippines.

Chen Juezhong later recalled that when McDonald's red arch logo appeared on the streets of Manila, almost everyone believed that many local brands, including Happy Bee, would be in jeopardy in the face of competition. He said: "At that time, many people changed careers and gave up the position of fast food. After much consideration, my brother and I decided to compete with McDonald's because we felt that we also had our own advantages. "

Chen Juezhong believes that what he can compete with McDonald's is the local taste.

Facts have proved that Chen Juezhong's judgment and efforts are correct. He and Happy Bee were impressed by McDonald's and bowed their heads. Up to now, Happy Bee has more than 3,600 branches all over the Philippines. With the passage of time, Happy Bee not only defeated McDonald's, but also developed in the competition. Chen Juezhong and his company successfully acquired Chaoqun, a restaurant that provides Chinese food. It also successfully acquired Greenwich Pizza Shop, Delifrance French Bread Shop, Mang Inasal, Philippine Roast Chicken Shop and Philippine Baked Red Ribbon.

In addition, Yonghe Dawang and Chunshuitang are also brands of Chen Juezhong's family.

Why did Happy Bee beat McDonald's?

Happy bee, in the Philippine fast food industry, has an absolute dominance. In Manila, when you ask adults or children, happy bees are almost their first choice. For many ordinary families in the Philippines, if they want to entertain their guests with simple food, Happy Bee is the best answer.

Ordinary Filipinos visit Happy Bee Chain Store at least twice a week. Even former Philippine President Arroyo claimed to be a big fan of Happy Bees. Then many people asked, why did Happy Bee beat McDonald's and why is it the best fast food restaurant in the Philippines?

(1) Buy your competitors.

There is a saying in the mall, "If you can't beat them, buy them!" In fact, in addition to Happy Bee, some brands owned by Chen Juezhong were not founded by their own family, and they have their own characteristics in formula and taste. When Happy Bee succeeded, he used the money he earned to buy the shares of his competitors.

Among them, Yonghe King is the most typical acquisition case. 1993, Happy Bee was listed in the Philippines, and it was also the first fast food company listed in the Philippines. After listing, Chen Juezhong successively acquired fast food brands such as Greenwich, Chaoqun and Big Mill through acquisitions and franchises, and continuously expanded his catering kingdom.

Of course, Chen Juezhong is not blindfolded and "bought in buy buy", but has a precise consumption positioning. For example, his own happy bee is suitable for families with children, while the "big mill" is more suitable for high-end people; "Chaoqun" is more popular with wage earners, while teenagers prefer "Greenwich".

In February, 2004, Happy Bee bought 85% of the shares of Shanghai Yonghe King at a transaction consideration of 22.5 million yuan, which enabled Chen Juezhong to enter the Chinese mainland market. Today, apart from King Yonghe, Happy Bee has more than 400 chain stores in China. In recent years, with the continuous expansion of stores, its catering projects in China have all achieved profitability.

(1) Concentration is the key to success.

Chen Juezhong said, "It is very difficult to cook well, and there are too many links to be busy"; For decades, Chen Juezhong has been focusing on the catering industry, and has carefully laid out in this field.

According to him, all the finished or semi-finished products of their Happy Bee must be made in the "central kitchen" first, and then distributed to all branches. All employees must receive relevant training, and even the ovens in various supermarkets must be of the same brand. Chen Juezhong said, "Otherwise, how can we ensure the same temperature and the same effect?" .

"Our food can't be guaranteed to be the same as 100%, and the taste will be slightly different, but the guests won't feel it, only we know."

(3) Cooking should have a "earthy" flavor.

On 20 18, Chen juezhong and Chen yunzhong returned to their hometown in jinjiang. He said that wherever he went, his favorite food was peanut soup, which had the most hometown flavor. I have to eat several bowls every time I come back.

When Happy Bee entered Chinese mainland, many people said that it lacked distinctive personality culture and its popularity was not high, so it was difficult to open a new world in the highly competitive China catering market.

However, Chen Juezhong doesn't think so. He thinks that China has developed catering, many cuisines and different tastes. Therefore, it has always been the heart disease of fast food restaurant owners.

In Zhong's view, the difference of regional food culture and eating habits is not the key reason why China's fast food industry can't develop. He said: "The catering industry is not like the computer industry. Its reason is simple: there is no shortage of good chefs in China, such as a bowl of beef noodles. It's easy for you to make it yourself, but it's difficult for every chain store to make a bowl of beef noodles every day to ensure the same quality every day. Chain stores can aim at different products according to the eating habits of different regions, and the most important thing is to implement standardization and solve problems. The challenge now is how to do this all the time. "

In fact, many people don't know that happy bees in the Philippines also have many American elements and flavors, and they don't blindly follow the "local flavor" of Filipinos. The dishes provided by Happy Bee are deeply influenced by the United States, but in order to distinguish them from competitors (such as McDonald's), he will use his own unique cooking methods to make the food meet the tastes of Filipinos; This is also a big secret that he can beat McDonald's.

"The Philippines has made McDonald's very embarrassed." This is a sentence used by The Economist to evaluate the "war" between McDonald's and Happy Bee in the Philippines, which is very refined.

Because Chen Juezhong can accurately grasp the taste of Philippine food, Happy Bee won the Philippine market in the competition with McDonald's. Of course, for KFC and McDonald's, Chen Juezhong does not blindly reject them, but takes the enemy as a teacher and learns from them to make himself grow rapidly.

The first tea brand in Taiwan Province Province, "Chunshuitang" and "Yonghe Dawang", are both brands created by people in Taiwan Province Province. In 2006, Chen Juezhong bought this brand. Many people don't know that your favorite bubble tea was invented by Quanshuitang.

Chen Juezhong is one of the outstanding representatives of overseas Fujian businessmen. From his success, we can see the outstanding characteristics of Fujian businessmen shown in him. For example, it has the spirit of "openness" and "expansion", for example, it pays attention to "relocation" in traditional culture.

In addition, charity is another notable feature of Fujian businessmen. After emigration, they have a strong sense of geography, consanguinity and national affinity. When they "went abroad", they got help from their fellow villagers, and after making a fortune, they also actively returned to China to serve their homeland.