1. Starting from scratch

In 2000, Yang Guofu was eating Malatang in a semi-basement, and after just two bites, he suddenly realized: This one definitely has a future.

Three years later, he opened Yangji Malatang in Yonghe Street, Harbin.

This is the predecessor of Yang Guofu Malatang.

Yang Guofu was originally an ordinary farmer in Northeast China, but he had a heart for business.

In 2000, Yang Guofu gave up farming and went into business, setting up a street stall in Harbin to sell breakfast.

Before this, we knew nothing about Yang Guofu’s background, family environment, studies, etc. We only knew that he was a low-key person, and his low-key style was integrated into Yang Guofu Malatang’s blood, and he has always maintained to this day.

In his three years of stall life, Yang Guofu sold everything, including eggs, fried dough sticks, porridge, noodles, soy milk... He was no different from the uncles and aunties who sell breakfast on the street today.

However, Yang Guofu did not use the first pot of gold to buy a house or a car, but used it to start another business.

Since ancient times, spicy food has been produced in Sichuan and Sichuan. Malatang is to Sichuan and Shu what Shaxian snacks are to Fujian and ramen to Lanzhou. But what is interesting is that Yang Guofu and the latecomer Zhang Liang are both from the Northeast.

Sichuan and Sichuan are suitable for hot pot and spicy hotpot, which can dispel dampness; Northeast China is more suitable, as it can dispel the cold.

There is a future in Malatang. With three years of savings, Yang Guofu entered the Malatang industry.

I am a new boss with no experience, just a couple, a poor appearance, a small flow of customers, no characteristics, and no reputation. No matter how you look at it, this Yangji Malatang is no different from the countless fly shops nowadays. Whether it can survive is a question.

However, it not only survived, but also became Yang Guofu Malatang today!

This relies on Yang Guofu’s step-by-step exploration.

Mala Tang is numb, spicy and hot, which is fine for people from Sichuan and Sichuan, but it is a bit exciting for people from Northeast China. Yang Guofu must adapt to local conditions and make some improvements.

After years of exploration, he added more than 30 kinds of herbs as well as milk powder and rock sugar to the base ingredients to adjust the taste that Northeastern people like most, turning the soup that was originally only used as a flavoring into a drinkable soup. Soup.

Yang Guofu said: "Malatang gives customers the impression of junk food, but 'can drink soup' makes him completely tear off this label."

The soul of Malatang is the base. If the base is good, the taste will be good, the customers will be more, and the reputation will be greater. Yangji Malatang became famous in Harbin all of a sudden.

In 2007, Yang Guofu registered the "Yang Guofu Malatang" brand, and the fly shop Yangji Malatang became the restaurant chain Yang Guofu Malatang.

With one less farmer and one more businessman in the world, Yang Guofu, the number one Malatang giant, was born.

2. Strong man

From a farmer to the largest Malatang giant, Yang Guofu did not have high education, high IQ, strong backers or strong background. How did Yang Guofu get to where he is today? of?

When it comes to Yang Guofu, I believe many people don’t know his appearance because he is very low-key and rarely appears in public. At the opening ceremony of Sichuan Yang Guofu Food Company in 2018, Yang Guofu wore a light-colored suit and trousers. His gray hair was clean and neat, and he was very friendly to others. Although he had gone through many years, he did not look old, and although he was busy, he was energetic.

Yang Guofu, who rarely appears in front of the media, leaves the impression of being humble and high-spirited.

But in fact, Yang Guofu is a very courageous and strong man.

"Mr. Yang can be quite persistent sometimes," is what people around him say about him.

In 2016, in order to establish his own supply chain system, Yang Guofu decided to build a factory in Sichuan: "Yang Guofu Malatang wants to go further, and this is a path that must be chosen."

The store’s formula is unified, but the purchasing methods are diverse, such as Sichuan peppercorns, chili peppers, star anise, cinnamon leaves, nutmeg, ginger...

The varieties, origins, and years are different, and the taste is very different. , only unified standards will not reduce quality.

Building a factory can solve this problem. However, this also means a large capital investment, which is very similar to JD Logistics serving JD Mall. It is a money-burning business. Therefore, many people in the management were against it.

"Taste is the soul of Yang Guofu Malatang, and we must firmly control it in our own hands." Yang Guofu made the decision to build the factory despite all opinions.

The Sichuan factory covers an area of ??48 acres, with a construction area of ??more than 43,000 square meters. It has introduced advanced equipment from Germany and Japan. Its current annual output value reaches more than 300 million. It is Yang Guofu Malatang’s heavy arsenal, providing ammunition at any time.

And unlike the embarrassment of JD Logistics, in addition to ensuring its own supply chain, the factory has been put into the market from the beginning to serve other stores. It is inaccurate to say that it is completely burning money.

Leave aside whether the Sichuan factory is profitable or not, the fact that Yang Guofu dared to invest total assets in building the factory despite opposition is impressive. This is a very courageous leader.

In addition to courage, Yang Guofu also has determination. After the success of Malatang, relatives and friends came to join and open stores. However, they lacked ability and management was chaotic. When Yang Guofu saw that this was not possible, he learned from the experience and immediately stopped the franchise project for two years.

As long as the management model can be solved, I would rather postpone development for two years.

Xu Mingzhe, deputy manager of Yang Guofu Malatang, said: "You only know that we add 1,000 new stores every year. But do you know how many franchisees we reject every year? More than 5,000."

No one can succeed casually, especially Yang Guofu, who was born as a farmer. It is his courage and determination that make Yang Guofu Malatang stand out and become a giant.

3. Competition between the two heroes

As Yang Guofu's nephew, Yang Guofu didn't seem to have any trouble during his counterattack. In fact, this is not the case. Zhang Liang first made his debut as Yang Guofu's chef.

Like Yang Guofu, Zhang Liang was born as a farmer. He worked as a flight attendant and salesman, and later worked as a chef in Yang Guofu's store. After getting the mysterious recipe of Yang Guofu's Malatang, Zhang Liang went solo to open a store.

In 2008, Zhang Liang opened the first Zhang Liang Malatang in Harbin. From then on, it was out of control. In more than 10 years, Zhang Liang Malatang has expanded to more than 6,000 stores in Europe, America and Japan, becoming a business giant on par with Yang Guofu Malatang.

So, why did Zhang Liang achieve what Yang Guofu did from scratch? What’s the difference between the two Malatang restaurants?

It is undeniable that Yang Guofu still has a huge weight on Zhang Liang.

In recent years, Zhang Liang Malatang has expanded very quickly, mainly due to its lower franchise threshold. Not only Yang Guofu, but also compared with other Malatang franchises, its franchise fee and deposit are very low: the franchise fee in first-tier and provincial capital cities is 10,000 yuan/year, in other cities above the county level it is 8,000 yuan/year, and in towns and villages it is 5,000 yuan/year. The deposit is a one-time payment of 5,000 yuan and will be returned after the contract ends.

What about Yang Guofu Malatang? Its franchise fee is 5.9 times that of Zhang Liang!

At the same time, Zhang Liang Malatang only requires storefronts to be larger than 60 square meters, while Yang Guofu requires stores to be larger than 100 square meters in first-tier cities and larger than 80 square meters in other cities.

The direct consequence of lowering the threshold is crazy expansion, which is the main reason why Zhang Liang Malatang is catching up.

In addition, Zhang Liang has also done a better job in advertising and marketing, which is very different from Yang Guofu's low-key style, so he is more favored by young people.

Of course, crazy expansion has brought about the problem of insufficient capabilities of franchisees.

Zhang Liang’s solution is to set up a business school and run training courses like crazy, spending three to four million on training every year, hoping to make up for the lack of ability and experience through training.

Zhang Liang said: "On the one hand, the establishment of a business school can ensure the standardization and standardized operation of franchise stores. On the other hand, it can also teach franchisees how to maintain their brands and develop together."

No one was afraid of anyone in the land grab, but what Zhang Liang should feel depressed about was that Yang Guofu was like a big mountain, always crushing him, maintaining a lead of about 30%, chasing him. It can't be pulled up or pulled away.

As for the issue of taste, which is the most debated issue among consumers, it comes second. Different people have different opinions and wisdom, and it is impossible to satisfy everyone's needs.

As KFC and Golden Gongmen in the Malatang world, and Old Man Jin and Granny Shi in the roast chicken world, wherever there is Yang Guofu, there must be Zhang Liang Malatang, and the whole family is neatly together.

Yang Guofu was unable to break the two-hero situation, and Zhang Liang was unable to break through the mountain of Yang Guofu.

I believe that this situation of parallel development will continue for a long time. What will break the deadlock in the future may not be who has better reforms, but who makes fewer mistakes.

As for who to choose between Yang Guofu and Zhang Liang, they need to make greater improvements if they want to get more votes.

This real "Game of Thrones" seems to be much more harmonious than Taobao and JD.com, Lianjia and 58, Gree and Midea.