First, the chain model becomes a climate
In the summer of p>1999, when Zhang Gang was tasting Sichuan-style traditional hotpot with his partners, he had a whim: Can the mutton hotpot in the north be "not dipped in small ingredients" like Sichuan hotpot? In this way, it can not only save time to meet the fast lifestyle of modern people, but also keep the original flavor, and combine convenience with delicacy to be unique.
Innovation, sensitivity and grasping business opportunities are always the eternal elements in the story of entrepreneurs. Zhang Gang, who dares to be the first, and his partner Chen Hongkai have a clear goal of establishing instant-boiled mutton in the north without dipping in small materials. They took the traditional eating method of instant-boiled mutton in the north as the blueprint, took the cultural characteristics of ethnic catering in the grassland as the breakthrough point, introduced the eating method of Sichuan hot pot and the principle of medicinal seasoning, extensively explored the formula of folk pot bottom materials, and devoted themselves to studying the technology of "instant-boiled mutton without dipping small materials". After extensive and in-depth market research and many experiments, Little Sheep hot pot was born. With the delicious characteristics of Little Sheep Hotpot, the first Little Sheep Hotpot was put on the market in Baotou in 1999, which won unanimous praise from the public. Since 21, Little Sheep has appeared in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen. In 22, the hot opening of Little Sheep Hot Pot Store in Chengdu conquered the consumers in Chengdu, Sichuan, the hometown of hot pot. In this way, Little Sheep started the road of chain operation with vigorous steps, out of Inner Mongolia, across the Yellow River, across the Yangtze River, and spread all over the land of China. The popularity of Little Sheep is getting higher and higher.
Second, run a brand with special features
As the saying goes, "Don't open a shop without special features", the success of "Little Sheep" benefits from its characteristics:
First, more than 2 nourishing condiments such as angelica, tsaoko, wolfberry and longan are carefully prepared into "Little Sheep" pot bottom soup. There are two kinds of soup pots and spicy ones.
second, select assured mutton. "Little Sheep" is located in Inner Mongolia Prairie, and the world-famous Xilin Gol Prairie is one of the largest natural pastures in Asia. The fat sheep produced can be called "assured sheep", which just caters to the first choice of modern consumers.
thirdly, it is convenient, hygienic, fast and economical, and is suitable for different levels of consumer groups.
Third, look at the threat behind the miracle
The life course of an enterprise should have a lasting competitive advantage. "Little Sheep" has gone from grassland to the whole country, with green food and unique flavor advantages. Although the prospects are gratifying, there are also obstacles in its development:
First, the supply of raw materials is out of stock and the production base is tight. Baotou head office has the phenomenon of insufficient supply of raw materials and broken meat files. As the general agent of Hebei, the logistics distribution is also not smooth, which has caused dissatisfaction and even complaints from many franchise chain stores. When the number of Little Sheep branches in China reached 35, the general manager of Little Sheep Company said: "Apart from' counterfeiting', the most urgent thing at present is to' borrow' sheep from Hulunbeier and other places, because the base in Xilinhot is running out." He also revealed a little-known news: their dozen mutton factories sold 1, tons of mutton last year. Based on the fact that a sheep produces 3 kilograms of meat, 1, tons of mutton probably needs more than 3 million sheep. "The whole sheep in Ximeng have been eaten by Little Sheep".
second, fake "sheep" run rampant, disrupting business order. In the territory of Little Sheep, Shijiazhuang has the most fake "sheep". Lan Jianxin, general manager of Little Sheep Company, told a reporter, for example, that there are at least 1 "fake sheep" related to Little Sheep in Shijiazhuang. According to an article, there are at least 1 "Little Sheep" in Shijiazhuang. Fake "sheep" are rampant, which seriously disrupts the management order of Little Sheep and infringes on the rights and interests of consumers. Because the name of the store with the word "Little Sheep" is not protected by the trademark law, it makes counterfeiting weak.
thirdly, the brand operation is out of control and management is not in place. Little Sheep Corporation launched a franchise chain shortly after its opening, relying on brand output to achieve profitability. Franchisees in provincial capitals can get the right to use the brand by paying 2, yuan a year, and the expenses of prefectures, county-level cities and underdeveloped areas will be reduced accordingly. The head office is responsible for the supply of mutton and ingredients and conducts employee training for half a month. When operators from all over the world apply for joining, they only need to pay the fees to the agents, forming a very loose relationship, which is beyond the reach of management. Some chain stores lack brand awareness, only pay attention to immediate interests, do not operate strictly according to the contract, and even set up new brands without authorization to compete with the head office. Some chain stores have poor personnel quality, low management level, dirty environment and blunt service attitude. Some chain store technicians have a weak grasp of knowledge or a weak sense of responsibility, and the phenomenon of mismixing soup materials and shoddy products occurs from time to time, which seriously damages the brand image of Little Sheep.
Fourth, new countermeasures to avoid risks
In order to make Little Sheep permanent and prosperous, the following countermeasures are put forward:
First, the combination of resources and culture is a unique business mode for enterprises to bring special effects to consumers, so that enterprises can have a long-term competitive advantage in a certain market and obtain internal competitive resources with stable excess profits. Due to unique historical and regional characteristics, Inner Mongolia not only has rich characteristics. Moreover, there are rich Mongolian culture, grassland culture and green cultural resources. In the international trend of "cultural commercialization" and "commodity culture", if a commodity can meet both material needs and cultural content, it will have dual values (material and cultural), which will meet the material needs of consumers as well as cultural needs. Secondly, it will highlight the brand image of "Little Sheep". First, we should enhance the vitality of "Little Sheep" products. First of all, it is necessary to establish a legal system to protect the famous brand of "Little Sheep". For example, the trademark of "Little Sheep" should be registered not only at home, but also internationally. Now "Little Sheep" has obtained the legal protection of registered trademarks in 16 countries. Secondly, to stabilize the quality of products, especially the quality of meat sources, it is better to lack than to abuse, and never to abuse "sheep". The second is to enhance the immunity of "Little Sheep".
first of all, enterprises should set up a set of early warning mechanism and a "fire brigade", establish an information network to master counterfeiting, communicate with law enforcement departments in time, and severely investigate and deal with illegal acts of cracking down on the manufacture of fake and shoddy products, so that offenders will have no profit and no money to pay back. Secondly, we should register defensive trademarks to prevent the erosion of similar trademarks. Thirdly, make anti-counterfeiting signs and establish exclusive sales channels.