Conclusion

This study has used VCC and VPS analysis to look at Taiwan’s catering sector and the various models employed by restaurant brands. The success of Wang Steak and Wowprime Corp’s innovative model is concluded in three conclusions below:

1) The features of the catering sector are brand positioning, food concept, the scenario of the restaurants, and business model. Innovation has already become a normal condition in the sector, with many companies employing innovation to segment the market and sustain their competitive advantage. To have a sustainable business model, however, you also need to have the ability to improve

systematically and continue innovating. The threshold of entry into the catering sector is relatively low, lower in fact than the exit threshold, and if a company is to survive and continue to grow within the industry, innovation has become a normal condition and necessary choice.

Within the fiercely competitive catering industry, innovation has become a basic requirement. If a company wants sustained success over the long-term, however, it also needs the ability to improve systematically and to continue innovating, a point worth repeating.

2) Wang Steak is a perfect example of the success of the Value Creation Cycle (VCC).

Through its innovative provision of steak under the VCC model of innovation came the research and conception of the food, the SOP, the conception of the scenario, as well as the special training of the staff. With these, the brand underwent systematic, cyclical improvements, and was able to provide a friendly service other companies were hard-pressed to match. This, together with its ability to continuously improve and expand, established the brand and differentiated it from all the others.

Wang Steak’s brand positioning demonstrates the vision of the company behind it. Wowprime offered a product, steak as part of a complete set meal, that was novel in the market of the day, promising value for customers (one cow serves six) in classy surroundings, and treating customers as VIPs. The food itself was subject to

strict food safety controls, the meat sourced at specially selected farms which were contracted to supply so the meat source was traceable. In addition, much attention was paid to customer service, using an SOP based around a training credits system to achieve customer-oriented service and a customer relations management system, all to ensure that the customer was afforded the best dining experience possible. The dining scenario was all geared to this end, down to the classical music in the

background, the large tableware and the staff uniforms. The consideration of the customer extended to the backend part of the operation, too, with more emergency exits provided than were required by law, and special safety windows installed in the refrigeration compartments, so that the restaurant environment adhered to the

highest safety standards for both customers and staff alike. This was all thanks to the VCC model of innovation.

It was due to the VCC innovation model that Wang Steak was able to improve cyclically and continuously, so that the brand could achieve its optimum potential. It was able to expand, opening more restaurants, and thereby increasing the efficiency of the operation, allowing it to take advantage of economies of scale and to secure a more favorable purchasing price from its suppliers and therefore better quality ingredients. These improvements were passed onto the customer, thereby further improving the overall standard and quality of service. This was the innovation model that led to Wang Steak’s success and its ability not just to survive but to thrive.

In addition to brand innovations, Wowprime Corp was also able to implement its own SOP, something not often achieved in the catering sector. This SOP enabled the restaurants and their service to attain a higher standard, and for there to be a higher degree of consistency between brand positioning and scenario, which in turn made the process of opening up new restaurants that much faster and efficient. As a result, during the process of innovation, Wowprime Corp was able to formulate a unique, systematic business model and to create a sustainable niche in the market.

3) The marriage of Wowprime Corp’s multi-branding business model and the Vision Positioning Scenario (VPS) innovation cycle: With the VPS, Wowprime Corp set its

scenarios, managed to systematically create and innovate 15 restaurant brands, each with their own positioning and brand differentiation. It has been able to maintain innovation and long-term expansion.

One common type of innovation is that of the “never done before”.

Wowprime, however, went against conventional wisdom, and looked for things which had been done in the market, things which had already been proven to have a large market. In this paper we have looked at Wowprime Corp’s operating model, and how it has been able to succeed in multi-branding.

4) From its starting point with the single Wang Steak brand, and based on the VPS, the group systematically created multiple brands, each with their own individual features, to achieve a cycle of innovative brand creation.

The Wowprime Corp brand expansion process, using the VPS model, is as follows:

In terms of vision:

1.Enter an existing market, do not create new ones.

2.Only markets worth NT$500 million or more are economically interesting.

3.There must be potential for expansion overseas.

4.It mustn’t be too exclusive: it must conform with the needs of the market and take into account corporate social responsibility.

In terms of brand positioning:

1.Segmenting the market through differentiation, centered on the set meal format.

2.Single price, so customers know how much they will spend.

3.Multiple options in the set meals.

In terms of scenario:

1.The product is concentrated into a single narrative, any one brand has only one product, which cannot percolate into any other areas.

2.There is consistency between the brand and the scenario, which defines price range and target customers, so that the service and SOP conform to scenario and create that consistency.

After the Wang Steak brand was created, Wowprime Corp devised the idea of the

“Lion Dance Troupe” and the “Lion King” group leader, who would propose a plan for a new brand, using the VPS, and present it to the Central Standing Committee for review. After a succession of discussions and amendments, in which the CSC members would hone the plan to its optimal incarnation, the new brand would be implemented, again according to the VPS model. With this model it was possible to come up with one new brand after the other.

Wowprime Corp was able to create a total of 15 brands, from the very first brand, Wang Steak, to the latest, ita Italian cuisine, covering the whole range of price points and differentiating cuisines. This not only enabled Wowprime Corp to successfully establish a multi-branding model, it also enabled it to expand brands into overseas markets in China, Thailand and Singapore.

Wowprime Corp differed in seven ways in how it established its own catering group, compared with the multi-branding approach of other companies within the catering sector.

1. Each and every brand has a different director.

2. There is no central kitchen.

3. There is no head chef overseeing all brands.

4. Each brand has its own designers.

5. No brands use the Wowprime name.

6. There is intentional and careful differentiation of food, service and décor from brand to brand.

7. Each brand holds a different kind of public interest activity.

The objective of these seven elements was to differentiate one brand from another as much as possible, and to allow optimum innovation. This approach enabled the group to be more successful in its multi-branding compared to competitors in the industry.

5) According to the framework analysis by VPS model and innovation characteristics, shows the key factors about the success of long-term development and Wowprime

Strategy 1: Market expansion strategy

1.The criteria for the scale of annual revenue more than NT$500 millions

2.The criteria for the chain store and expansion of cross-border development

Strategy 2: Group integration strategy: central procurement, quality assurance, economies of scale and industrial cooperation

In order to achieve maximum economies of scale, Wowprime Corp.

uses group integration strategy as guidelines.

Strategy 3: Branding and Scenario strategy: a “Lion King” for each brand, a position, a scenario

In order to achieve the differentiation between branding and scenario, in brand positioning strategy, to separate different market segments by different markets and target customers; in scenario strategy, each brand has its own individual designer for fear the brand scenario will be confused by each other.

Strategy 4: Corporate image strategy: Innovation, professional caring and social welfare, and family doctrine

Wowprime Corp. to constantly innovate, professional caring and social welfare, establishes the corporate image. Wowprime executes the corporate culture from A to Z on branding innovation, professional caring, mission of social welfare and family doctrine, builds up the unique corporate image.

Wowprime Corp’s success in multi-branding is testament to the efficacy of applying the VPS and VCC model. It is this that has allowed Wowprime to have the latitude it has in the way it has created new brands. In addition, the unique nature of the group’s enterprise culture, with its organization and its leadership – for example the collective decision-making of the CSC, the Lion Dance Troupe approach to conceiving new brands, the idea of the group as one big happy family, and the events aimed at

giving back to the community – all of these bring the Wowprime Corp model of innovation into perfect sync with its corporate governance and enterprise culture, enabling it to continuously expand and sustain its catering group over the long term.

References Chinese

1. Wowprime Corp, Wowprime Corp 2013 Annual Report (王品餐飲股份有限公司 民國102 年度年報)

2. Taiwan Chain Stores and Franchise Association (台灣連鎖加盟協會), 2014 annual report (2014 年台灣連鎖店年鑑)

3. Yu Chang-sung (游張松), Lectures on VPS and VCC, Innovation and Marketing Course, National Taiwan University (國立台灣大學) EMBA, 2013.

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