Chapter 367 - 195: The Boss is the Boss

On April 8th, the twenty new branches of Spicy King began their soft opening right on schedule at 10:58 AM.

Well before the opening, promotional activities for the stores in each region were already in full swing.

Setting aside the other regions for now, the six branches in Chengdu all had very impressive customer traffic.

Qi Sheng brought Yuan Li to Youfang Shopping Center.

As a mall that had only opened last year, Youfang’s popularity was certainly a good deal lower than the Chunxi Road commercial district.

Spicy King had chosen to open a branch here partly because they were drawn in by the mall’s generous offer.

As for the slightly lower foot traffic, that would improve over time.

Besides, Yuan Li was very confident in Spicy King’s appeal.

Haidilao could drive a mall’s customer traffic.

Spicy King could do the same, and perhaps even do it better.

The massive 3,200-square-meter store on the 7th floor was even larger than the flagship store in Taikoo Li.

In terms of rent, the 400 yuan per square meter per month was a rock-bottom price.

The decor, based on a plan devised by Yuan Li and Peng Qingsong, centered on a solid wood aesthetic.

Everything from the displays at the entrance to the interior decorations, tables, chairs, and floors—even the cashier counter—was made of solid wood.

In addition to the solid wood, there were also many retro, nostalgic ink wash paintings, old door panels from the 50s, and folding screens.

The entire design concept exuded a rich Sichuanese flair.

Seeing Qi Sheng and Yuan Li approaching, Lin Qiu, who was busy rushing about, hurried over to greet them.

"Chairman Qi, President Yuan."

Qi Sheng smiled and asked, "Are the opening preparations going smoothly?"

"Everything’s going smoothly. Thanks to the reputation and popularity built up by the flagship store, we’re basically at full capacity."

Beaming with pride, Lin Qiu led Qi Sheng and Yuan Li on a tour of the store.

The 3,200-square-meter store was the size of an entire floor in an office building.

It was staffed with 300 servers alone.

The restaurant had 170 tables and 20 private rooms, able to accommodate 1,000 diners at once.

Originally, Qi Sheng’s expectation for the store’s first day was that filling half the seats would be considered a pass.

Unexpectedly, he had somewhat underestimated the reputation Spicy King had built up beforehand.

Spicy King’s recruitment strategy was essentially poaching staff from other local hot pot restaurants.

Inside the spacious, open kitchen, chefs in clean white uniforms skillfully prepared the ingredients.

Food runners in the front-of-house then delivered the dishes to each table.

Compared to the well-oiled machine that was the Taikoo Li store, the staff coordination at this new branch was still a bit lacking.

But it wasn’t a major problem.

The customers who came to dine were generally here for the food.

As long as the service was adequate and responsive to requests, it would be fine.

"Good work. I made a bet with President Yuan that your table turnover rate this month won’t drop below four. I hope you don’t make me eat my words."

Qi Sheng wasn’t expecting these new branches to reach the average daily turnover rate of over six, like the Taikoo Li store.

But even if the turnover rate only reached four, the revenue and net profit of these branches would be extremely impressive.

"Don’t you worry, I’ll do my absolute best to raise the store’s turnover rate to over four!"

Lin Qiu felt the pressure mount.

Achieving an average turnover rate of three was no problem.

But a turnover rate of four was significant pressure for a mid-to-high-end hot pot restaurant like Spicy King, where the average check was 199 yuan per person.

What’s more, Spicy King now had seven locations in Chengdu.

With the customer base split among them, for a single store to still maintain a turnover rate of over four would be an absolutely stellar performance.

"Chairman Qi, with all due respect, this store’s ceiling is probably a turnover rate of 3.5. Getting it above four will be extremely difficult!" Yuan Li said bluntly, not optimistic about Lin Qiu’s management skills.

Any problems in management would inevitably affect service and reputation.

If that turned into a vicious cycle, the occupancy rate would naturally suffer as well.

"President Yuan, I will do my best to identify and fix our shortcomings and to make no mistakes, or at least fewer mistakes."

Lin Qiu knew Yuan Li’s personality, so he didn’t feel any resentment.

Besides, how could he not be aware of his own capabilities?

’To be blunt,’ he thought, ’my appointment as store manager feels a bit like being thrown in at the deep end.’

Before, when he was just an assistant to the manager, he had handled his duties with ease.

But now, he was tasked with managing a massive store with over 300 employees.

The daily coordination work alone was giving him a massive headache.

And now, he had the burden of the turnover rate target that Qi Sheng had laid on him.

This store manager position was certainly not an easy one to hold.

But opportunities don’t come around forever.

Lin Qiu was naturally unwilling to just leave the store with his tail between his legs and go back to being an assistant manager.

A turnover rate of four was certainly difficult, but it wasn’t impossible.

...

After looking around the store for a while, Qi Sheng didn’t bother the busy Lin Qiu any further.

He took Yuan Li and toured the other five branches as well.

Their popularity and buzz couldn’t compare to the Taikoo Li store, but they were still leaders in the industry.

Perhaps it was because the initial promotional work had been done so well.

The number of diners at each restaurant was quite good.

Achieving a turnover rate of three would definitely be no problem.

But hitting four would be a bit of a struggle.

"Boss, we’ve just opened. There’s still time to make adjustments."

"I’m just worried that as time goes on, the store management will get more chaotic, and our reputation will suffer for it."

Yuan Li had heard Jian Zhenzhe boast about it plenty of times. Qi Sheng had assigned his Elite Designers to Shengxuan Decoration, but when it came to Spicy King, the standards seemed to have dropped precipitously.

Even for a position as important as store manager, they were just promoting people internally from the Taikoo Li store.

Although for the employees, it was a huge reward, to a professional manager like Yuan Li, Qi Sheng’s methods felt far too reckless.

"The first day’s revenue for our twenty branches should be around five million, right?"