Cafe de Coral
Café de Coral:
Being Happy Together Across the Globe?
1. Introduction
As Mr. Michael Chan, Chairman and CEO of the Café de Coral group, thought about the directions his company should take, he felt a bit uncertain. The company, clearly the most popular Chinese Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR) in Hong Kong and a local success, had just celebrated twenty years as a public company. This success and longevity in the cut-throat world of fast food was remarkable, but Mr. Chan did not want the company to rest on its laurels. At his meeting this afternoon with senior management, Mr. Chan planned to suggest that the company needed to move outside of Hong Kong and follow a much more aggressive plan than it had followed when it had moved slowly into China (with both Café de Coral outlets in neighboring Guangdong Province and recently New Asia Dabao in Shanghai) and also into North America (by buying into and then purchasing outright the Manchu Wok chain) over the last several years. He knew that the company needed a very clear globalization strategy in order to move to the next level of growth and to find sustainable growth opportunities away from Hong Kong. Mr. Chan had no clear plan at this point and he needed input from his managers and the Board. Mr. Chan reflected on how Café de Coral was a household name in Hong Kong and was the most popular QSR in its home market. The company dominated the market in Hong Kong and continuously improved its brand image through innovations in food preparation at its centralized food processing and distribution centers in Hong Kong and across the border in Guangdong. It also had perfected methods of offering large menus (up to 150 items) that changed four times over the course of every day with different items added and other items taken off the menu two to three times a week to provide variety as well as fresh and delicious food in a quick-serve environment to its huge and discerning customer base.
1
Mr. Chan wanted to build on the
Being Happy Together Across the Globe?
1. Introduction
As Mr. Michael Chan, Chairman and CEO of the Café de Coral group, thought about the directions his company should take, he felt a bit uncertain. The company, clearly the most popular Chinese Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR) in Hong Kong and a local success, had just celebrated twenty years as a public company. This success and longevity in the cut-throat world of fast food was remarkable, but Mr. Chan did not want the company to rest on its laurels. At his meeting this afternoon with senior management, Mr. Chan planned to suggest that the company needed to move outside of Hong Kong and follow a much more aggressive plan than it had followed when it had moved slowly into China (with both Café de Coral outlets in neighboring Guangdong Province and recently New Asia Dabao in Shanghai) and also into North America (by buying into and then purchasing outright the Manchu Wok chain) over the last several years. He knew that the company needed a very clear globalization strategy in order to move to the next level of growth and to find sustainable growth opportunities away from Hong Kong. Mr. Chan had no clear plan at this point and he needed input from his managers and the Board. Mr. Chan reflected on how Café de Coral was a household name in Hong Kong and was the most popular QSR in its home market. The company dominated the market in Hong Kong and continuously improved its brand image through innovations in food preparation at its centralized food processing and distribution centers in Hong Kong and across the border in Guangdong. It also had perfected methods of offering large menus (up to 150 items) that changed four times over the course of every day with different items added and other items taken off the menu two to three times a week to provide variety as well as fresh and delicious food in a quick-serve environment to its huge and discerning customer base.
1
Mr. Chan wanted to build on the