South Beauty To Open 30 New Restaurants In 2011

Pioneering Restaurateur Zhang Lan Also Eyeing Acquisitions In Japan South Beauty has spared no expense in its luxurious interiors (Image: PR) In only 11 years, cook-turned-entrepreneur Zhang Lan has revolutionized Sichuan cuisine and built a powerful culinary empire, with her ever-growing chain of South Beauty (俏江南) restaurants. Powered by Zhang’s intelligent yet aggressive style of branding and her son Wang Xiaofei's European-influenced philosophies of food preparation and presentation, South Beauty currently operates around 60 restaurants in 15 Chinese cities, and has spared no expense to prove that Sichuan food can occupy the same opulent surroundings as French or Japanese cuisine. Employing an innovative three-tiered strategy, Zhang Lan has split her restaurant empire into three sub-brands: the more economical, style-conscious SUBU, the flagship South Beauty, and the extravagant LAN Club -- the first of which was designed by Philippe Starck at a reported cost of US$2 million. Despite the popularity of SUBU and LAN Club, however, South Beauty remains Zhang Lan's trademark brand, one that she intends to take not only nationwide, but global as well. Over 60 restaurants in, Zhang Lan now plans to accelerate South Beauty's expansion efforts. Recently, Zhang announced that she planned to open a whopping 30 new restaurants this year alone, telling Chinese-language media that she is also exploring options on how to crack the Japan market. Last summer, Zhang Lan said her strategy for international markets hinges on partnering with existing restaurant chains overseas, given her dearth of experience operating outside of China's borders. “Looking to partners for access to overseas markets is the best way [to expand], because you’re unfamiliar with the local laws and market, and a good partner can help you adapt quickly,” Zhang told the 21st Century Herald. “There are many foreign companies that want to work with us, and we’re negotiating and checking them out, and currently basing our choices on the financial position of the other party, and whether they’ve had any experience or have any reputation in the restaurant business. Presently, we’ve signed preliminary agreements in 65 countries.” Zhang's son Wang Xiaofei hopes to open a LAN Club in New York (Image: LAN Club Beijing) Though Zhang Lan clearly has international ambitions, having said last year that she dreams of “changing the prevailing view among non-Chinese that Chinese food is low-end,” at the moment it appears that South Beauty will focus only on Japan. As Zhang said in a recent interview, Japan's sustained economic stagnation has weakened local companies, making them ripe for acquisition, and she feels the risks for entering the Japanese market are far lower than Europe or North America. Although Wang Xiaofei said he hopes to open a LAN Club in New York and branch into the international hotel business, Zhang Lan has indicated that she has no plans to rush so quickly out of her comfort zone. Considering the success her restaurants have seen at home, we'd be hard-pressed to argue why she should.

South Beauty To Open 30 New Restaurants In 2011

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Published February 07, 2011

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South Beauty To Open 30 New Restaurants In 2011