SHENZHEN: Fast food giant Pizza Hut is adapting to China’s sluggish economy by opening stores that offer smaller, cheaper versions of its favorites to attract cost-conscious diners, a strategy its parent Yum China is also using for other brands.
In the busy Bao An District of Shenzhen, a small lunchtime queue stood outside the recently opened Pizza Hut Wow store, which sells smaller pepperoni pizza servings for 29 yuan ($4), pastas for around 15 yuan, and a steak for 35 yuan, all priced significantly less than at traditional Pizza Hut restaurants.
“China’s catering industry is very competitive right now, but we’re trying to be innovative,” a Pizza Hut Wow spokesperson said. “This kind of store is more for individuals, like a small plate of tapas. In the past, Pizza Hut has been set up for families sharing.”
The first Pizza Hut Wow store opened in Guangzhou in May and there are now more than 100 around the country, with a target of 200 by the end of the year, Yum China said.
The company, which operates 10,931 KFC stores and 3,504 Pizza Hut stores, has also been experimenting with smaller store formats for KFC and rolling out more KCOFFEE kiosks to capitalize on a growing demand for cut-price coffee in China.
During a recent post-earnings call with analysts, Joey Wat, Yum China’s CEO, said Pizza Hut Wow and KCOFFEE “showed great future potential.”
According to independent food and beverage analyst Zhu Danpeng, large chains like Yum China-operated KFC and McDonald’s, which last year bought back a larger share of its China business, are among those best placed to win in the current low-cost environment.
“Pizza Hut is entering a price level that they didn’t cover in the past, I think it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
“The winner will be highly cost-effective, with a good service system. Its supply chain must be very mature. If you are not a big company you won’t be able to have these resources.”
Restaurant owners across China cheered the end of draconian COVID restrictions in late 2022, hoping that would lead to a bounceback in business, but more than 18 months later, job uncertainty, a slowing economy and weak consumer sentiment have hit the sector hard.
According to the Beijing Statistics Bureau, profits in the city’s catering business sector, which includes restaurants, dropped by 88 percent in the first half of 2024, compared to the same period last year. In Shanghai, revenue for the hospitality industry, which also groups restaurants, decreased by 2.6 percent year-on-year, with overall operating profit turning negative.
Last week, stalwart Taiwanese dumpling chain Din Tai Fung said it would close more than a dozen outlets in mainland China. According to catering industry news outlet Canguanju, those closures will add to more than a million food and beverage outlets shutting shop across the country in the first half of 2024.
New Pizza Hut concept stores in China help frugal diners save
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New Pizza Hut concept stores in China help frugal diners save
Who will triumph at the BAFTAs? ‘Hamnet’ has the home advantage
- ’Hamnet’ favored for BAFTA best film award
- ’One Battle After Another’ will pose strong challenge
LONDON:“Hamnet” could edge ahead of “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” to win the top prize at the BAFTAs, as the heartbreaker about Shakespeare, his wife Agnes and the death of their son is likely to win over British voters, experts said.
Action-packed dark comedy “One Battle After Another,” directed by US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, leads the field with 14 nominations ahead of Sunday’s ceremony, followed by vampire thriller “Sinners,” which has received the most nods for next month’s Oscars.
But “Hamnet,” directed by previous Oscar winner Chloe Zhao and based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, is the bookmakers’ favorite to take the best film award at the BAFTAs.
“I think it’s going to be about ‘Hamnet’,” said Tim Richards, founder and chief executive of Vue cinema group.
“’One Battle After Another’ is another extraordinary film, but ‘Hamnet’ ... just feels like the kind of movie that BAFTA will go for.”
The 79th British Academy Film Awards will be held in London on Sunday evening, hosted by Scottish actor, TV presenter and director Alan Cumming.
CHLOE ZHAO VERSUS PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
Ian Sandwell, movies editor at Digital Spy, said BAFTA loved to recognize its own.
“So I wouldn’t be surprised to see (’Hamnet’) walk away with best film and maybe even Chloe Zhao challenging Paul Thomas Anderson in director as well, and then the acting awards,” he said.
Richards said if “Hamnet” wins best film, Anderson could receive best director, or vice versa, as BAFTA divides the top awards between “two extraordinary films.”
For leading actress, Jessie Buckley is a shoo-in for her performance as Shakespeare’s wife, according to bookmakers.
Leading actor is harder to call, with Timothee Chalamet vying with Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael B. Jordan for their respective performances in “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners.”
Sandwell said Chalamet had been picking up awards, including a Golden Globe, in the run-up to the BAFTAs for the table-tennis movie “Marty Supreme.” “It would be his first (BAFTA), so it probably will happen,” he said.
But Sandwell said he would love to see Robert Aramayo walk away with the prize for his acclaimed performance as Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson in “I Swear.”
“Sometimes BAFTAs throw out a surprise in these leading actor categories to give it to a local lad, and it would be absolutely brilliant to see him win on the night,” he said.
In the supporting acting categories, the race is open but bookmakers currently favor Stellan Skarsgard and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas from Norwegian family drama “Sentimental Value.”
One notable movie — “KPop Demon Hunters” — is not nominated because it did not have a theatrical release in Britain before it was available to stream on Netflix.
But the singing stars of the animated feature will perform their global hit “Golden” at the awards.
