第五章 結論
Chapter 3 Wowprime Steak Business and Innovation
Section 1: Expansion of the Catering Sector
In general, within the catering sector, we can see a range of business formats, from fast food chains to higher-end restaurants, from single brand to multi-brand models. When an enterprise is able to grow and expand through market segmentation, in many cases it will continue to develop with the ultimate goal of expansion overseas.
Let’s first look at McDonald’s, the largest Western fast food chain, as an example.
McDonald’s was first established in 1955 in Chicago, and now has 33,500 outlets in 119 countries around the world serving 69 million customers on a daily basis. Annual revenue for 2011 was US$29 billion (approximately NT$870 billion). MacDonald’s has standardized times, quality and uniforms, and targets the youth market with its dining scenario. With its single brand business model it has continued to expand throughout the world, operating regular chains, franchises and overseas licensing arrangements, allowing it to continuously open up new outlets abroad and making it a global brand (McDonald’s official website).
Panda Express, established 30 years ago, is the largest American Chinese fast food restaurant chain in the world, with almost 1,600 outlets in 47 countries and posting an annual revenue of NT$60 billion. Panda Express operates four brands, with a focus on Chinese cuisine, offering both inexpensive fast food chains and restaurants with a higher price point and greater attention to the dining experience. In order to successfully expand into a major fast food chain, Panda Express needed to control quality and cost efficiency. To do this, it restricted the food options on its menu to within 20, and used consistent interior décor, signs and uniforms to standardize its operation as much as possible. This enabled the chain to rapidly expand overseas and be a success. (Panda Express official website; Business Weekly).
Ruth’s Chris Steak Houses, billed as offering high-end Western-style cuisine, is a brand owned by Ruth’s Hospitality Group. In addition to Ruth’s Chris Steak House
itself, the group also owns Mitchell’s Fish Market, Columbus Fish Market, Mitchell’s Steakhouse, and Cameron’s Steakhouse. In all, then, it has five brands, and is a transnational catering group with a multi-branding model. Ruth’s Chris Steak House offers a tasteful dining scenario with wood interior décor and a warm, inviting atmosphere. It has established itself as a quality steak house with quality food and surroundings and an emphasis on the standard of its customer service. It has over 120 restaurants in locations such as Mexico, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Canada, and has established itself as an international restaurant brand with over 40 years in the business (Ruth’s official website).
From the above examples it is evident that different business models and
characteristics produce different business formats and, despite regional differences in the various catering industries, international expansion of the business was the ultimate goal. Also, despite the different menus and types of food on offer, the high-end
scenario brands cannot quite compete with the effectiveness of the restaurants catering to the low price point, with their standardized processes, when it comes to rapid expansion. As a result, the different models and specific characteristics of the brands also reflect a brand’s ability to expand rapidly.
Section 2: The Nature of the Catering Sector
To get a foothold in the market, a company not only has to understand the market and product positioning, it also needs to bring an innovative approach into the mix.
There are many aspects of the catering sector that distinguish it from others, and these involve brand attributes, food design, customer experience scenarios and corporate governance.
Brand attributes are the distinguishing characteristics by which a product can be categorized. The first step is to determine what price point to allot the product in the consumer market. The target consumer group is determined by whether the pricing is low, middle, or high. In the catering sector, in addition to the specific characteristics of the food itself, the company also needs to create different value. We believe that, for high price point products of over NT$1,000, there must be a real sense that the product has inherent value; mid price point products, by which we mean in the NT$500~1,000 range, should give the sense of being value for the money; and for low price point products, between NT$100 and NT$500, there must be a sense of quality delivered at a reasonable price as shown in Figure 3 below.
Figure 3 Food characteristics and price positioning (Source: Wowprime Group，2012)
Regional attributes are another way of distinguishing brands in Taiwan’s diverse food sector. There are Western, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean, and Italian options
available, for example, all offering diverse cuisines to cater to the different tastes of consumers.
Also, for the concept behind the food itself, the development, conception and naming of the dishes must all be creative and distinctive. For different brand attributes, the dishes need to have something extra to enhance them and their value. Those behind the development of food concepts need to bring all their creativity to bear in the
conception, development and naming of the dishes to express the desired image, so that the food concept is identifiable with the brand positioning.
The subjective nature of the consumers’ experience of eating out means that a great deal of attention must be paid to the scenario and the dining environment. Over time, consumers have become increasingly discerning when it comes to the environs and their ambience, and a whole range of elements — from the interior decoration, how the staff are dressed and how well they have been trained, to the process, the selection of tableware, and the background music — all contribute to the dining experience.
Consumers also take service very seriously. As a result, Customer Relationship Management allows records to be kept on the incidence, duration and preferences of consumer visits, to help satisfy consumers’ different goals and enhance the quality and perceived value of the service. In addition, a range of marketing promotions can be organized to increase interaction with consumers and increase the customer return rate.
Culinary contests are also good ways to improve both professional standards and consumers’ dining experience.
Corporate governance affects management principles and corporate image, and is integral to how far the enterprise develops, and to how the company culture is formed.
Therefore, organization management is an important factor in the enterprise system as a whole. In addition, implementing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) helps bring together the brand positioning and the overall goals set out by the company, and is crucial for the long-term development of the enterprise.
As Table 4 shows, analyzing and researching the specific characteristics of the catering sector allows an enterprise to find a market niche in which to operate, and to create consumer identity and sense of value with a product.
Type (Brand)
1. Regional differentiation: American, Japanese, Chinese 2. Price differentiation: High, mid, low
Food Design Dish choice, design, R&D and name
Each brand has its own food concept and R&D.
Scenario 1. Tangibles: Décor, tableware selection, music, uniform design
Differentiation in the restaurant décor creates a unique scenario for each brand
2. Non-tangibles: Service training, workflow, manner
The uniform and staff manner also creates a unique scenario contributing to the dining experience.
3. Events:
*Customer relations management mechanism, customer- oriented service, enhancing service and sense of value *Organizing events, increasing interaction with customers and
customer return rate, and improving professional skills Corporate
Governance Company system, SOP, company culture
Figure 4 Catering Analysis (Source: Yu Chang-sung, compiled for present study)
Section 3: The Development of the Wang Steak Brand
The Wowprime group was founded in 1993, and Wang Steak, its first brand, was launched on Wensin Road in then Taichung City on Nov. 16 of that year. In terms of market positioning is was pitched as gourmet steak set meals, targeting consumers at the top of the pyramid, with a high-class image and friendly service complemented by elegant interiors to create a refined ambience. The slogan was “one cow serves six.”
The classic main course was a hit among customers, and Wang Steak quickly became a byword for gourmet Western-style steak in Taiwan.
At the time restaurants serving Western-style steak as a mature cuisine and as part of a set meal was quite rare in Taiwan, and this completely novel approach met a very favorable response among consumers. The following year, the company rapidly expanded to many major urban areas in Taoyuan and further south, opening four new restaurants in Taoyuan itself, as well as in Tainan and Kaohsiung. Revenue grew from NT$1.49 million in the first year to NT$71.91 million, an almost 50-fold growth, laying the foundations for Wowprime Corp.
In 1995 Wowprime brought Wang Steak to the ferociously competitive Taipei commercial arena, opening a restaurant on Taipei’s Nanjing East Road. For
promotional purposes it operated a system in which it kept a membership database, sending out vouchers to customers every six months, as well as birthday and wedding anniversary cards, creating an impressive contribution rate of about 40%.
In terms of the pricing strategy, the company went with differential pricing depending upon region. From the initial price of NT$580, the first price rise saw an increase to NT$680 in central and northern Taiwan and to NT$630 in the south. The price hikes Wowprime instigated in 1995 did little to dent consumers’ enthusiasm for Wang Steak, and the turnover that year broke the NT$100 million mark for the first time, raking in NT$187.42 million. The market was demonstrating its approval of the Wang Steak brand.
The role that brand positioning has played in Wang Steak’s popularity cannot be ignored. The gourmet Western steak set meals, customer-oriented service, and
concentration on meals and ambience all contributed to the overall brand
characteristics that produced a complete, mature steak product. Thus, Wang Steak was able to create a new brand positioning, as seen in Table 5.
Table 4 Wang Steak Innovative Brand Positioning(Source: Wowprime, compiled for present study)
Wang Steak Brand Positioning Innovative Elements Attributes
Regular chain specializing in steak
－Dishes: One cow serves only six (6 to 8 ribs) marinated in Chinese spice for 2 days and 2 nights, slow roasted for 1.5 hours until well done
－Service: Intimate, customer-oriented service－
Ambience: refined, warm, comfortable environment Benefits
Mouthwatering dishes, inherent value Branding － Personality
Young gentleman, modern taste
－ Experience
Refined, civilized dining
－ Promise
For the most important person in your heart
1.Never thought of before
*Well-done steak sets
*One cow serves only six 2.Impossible/possible
*Refined, warm, comfortable dining environment
*Inherent value 3.Heart-touching
*Only for the most important person
*Intimate, customer-oriented service
In 2000, Wang Steak passed a new milestone, with more than 5 million total customer visits to, at this point, 15 restaurants. The following year, the brand was faced with its first real challenge since its inception, as the economy weakened, and the brand posted negative growth rates for both annual customer visits and turnover. It responded by immediately adjusting its business strategy and giving the brand a complete make-over, increasing the price for a set meal to a uniform NT$1,000 throughout the entire country and embarking on a complete reinvention: From the meals to the uniforms to the tableware, everything was changed to create a more
anniversary promotion, offering a free meal worth NT$1,000 for 5,000 customers who brought ten roses with them. This promotion reintroduced Wang Steak to customers and gave them a totally new image of the brand, heralding a new peak for Wang Steak.
The brand renewal not only catered to the market, it enabled the brand to continue realigning its trajectory to ensure it remained on the optimal course.
In 2003 Wang Steak sought to replicate its successful experience in Taiwan overseas, opening a restaurant on Shanghai’s Xianxia Road. Wang Steak very quickly gained a foothold in the China market, and as of June 2014 has 48 restaurants there.
The brand continued to keep up with the times in Taiwan, too, and in 2004 engaged with the Internet age, launching an online member recruitment promotion. It also organized an annual Wang Steak Academy in order to cultivate a more professional image, providing lectures on Wang Steak’s business management practices to
customers in restaurants in northern, central and southern Taiwan so that people could find out about the new direction Wang Steak was taking. Internally, the restaurants also held cooking competitions to improve the skills of its staff, and to the outside world it has also been holding the annual Wowprime Tray Carrying contest for the past eight years, with the first contest held in 2007. It attracted people related to the catering sector in Taiwan and overseas and catering students within Taiwan. This not only established the brand as an innovator within the culinary sector, but it also won the approval of many other observers, not just from within Taiwan but from overseas, too.
With its surgical brand positioning, Wang Steak was able to secure first place in the high price point steak market. In 2013 it had 64 restaurants in Taiwan and China, with a total business turnover of NT$3.7 billion and 2.5 million customer visits a year.
It has established itself as the foremost Western-style steakhouse in Taiwan.
Section 4: Wang Steak’s Innovation Model
In the past, a single price for Western-style steak meals was completely novel, as was having a standard operating procedure applied to the meals and staff
uniforms, and paying attention to the effect that overall design and a safe
environment had on the dining experience. With its comprehensive plan for brand positioning, however, Wang Steak was able to stand out from the competition and establish a new business model.
The innovations proved very popular among consumers. Wang Steak broke the convention at the time of a la carte offerings, using instead the single pricing and set meal model. It also kept the price the same even on special holidays. The set meal included a range of combinations on the theme of a salad starter, a main course, and a dessert and drink to go with it, and the menu was changed on a regular basis.
Customers were thus given a lot of choice without having to worry about how much they were spending. This set the Wang Steak brand apart from others.
In terms of ingredients, Wang Steak observed regulations on food safety, choosing only the best quality meat from Taiwan and overseas, and contracting with farms to supply traceable meat. Strict rules on in-store hygiene management were implemented, with food safety staff monitoring hygiene and the preparation of meals and ingredients. Safety was also given priority, with unique and advanced features.
There were more emergency exits than required by law, and the rear kitchen freezer compartments had a unique design with built-in safetywindows, in case any problems arose, so that diners could rest assured as they ate and staff could work without worry (Wowprime Group annual report).
The business motto of Wang Steak is “the customer is the benefactor.” The
mission is to create for the customer the optimum dining environment. In order to form this unique atmosphere, customers were given a cake or gifts when they came to eat at the restaurant to mark a special occasion, whatever it was, be it a birthday party, a family get-together, a company dinner, or a celebration of any kind. The company might even throw in a magic show or balloon show to increase interaction with the
customer and satisfy their particular requirements.
The company has also set up an 0800 number for customers to call and leave feedback. Every month birthday and wedding card information is input in a barcode system, so that it is possible to directly compare consumer behavior and accumulate statistics, starting a new page for direct marketing through Wang Steak’s analysis of consumer behavior. Wang Steak also set up a customer relations management system, laying the foundations for customer-oriented service, and introduced mobile marketing and Internet features, offering all kinds of promotions and brand information online, using technology to bring together Event marketing to satisfy consumers’ needs and create a source of profits through “customer satisfaction”.
Wang Steak’s innovative business model was proving popular with consumers, and to increase market share, it needed to capitalize on this by quickly duplicating its success by expanding the number of its restaurants. The brand implemented its SOP together with its Station Observation Checklist (SOC) concept, to standardize the product and service, and to ensure that existing standards were maintained for brand positioning and the dining experience. This also maintained continuity between the food concepts and the scenario. In terms of professional training, the brand adopted a
“206 study credit” course system, divided into six parts, including training credits, social credits, and certificate credits. As the training program was precisely targeted in this way, the brand was able to standardize its product in a way that competitors were unable to achieve, so the restaurants were able to improve rapidly.
Wang Steak’s innovative business model and unique, fully mature product, with the combination of the VCC innovation model, its SOP and dining experience concepts, as well as the training, systematized improvements and development cycles, all
enabled it to provide a friendly service that competitors could not rival. As shown in Figure 4 below, all of this allows it to continue to move forward and open up new restaurants, establishing the brand’s outstanding credentials and uniqueness.
Figure 5 Wang Steak’s Value Creation Cycle (VCC) (Source: compiled for this study)
The starting point for Wang Steak’s dining experience was innovative thinking, with continuous innovation of how the organization operated. The brand established a unique business model that was verified by the VCC. The brand’s success can be put down to the development of ten major brand initiatives, which enabled it to continue expanding and even to create new brands. Wang Steak’s ten major brand initiatives were as follows:
Table5 Wang Steak’s Ten Major Brand Initiatives(Source: Wowprime Group)
Item Content 1. Brand name and
distinguishing features
1 Wang Steak
2. Distinguishing colors: Red, complemented with gray/ white
3. Brand flower: Rose
4. Symbolic meaning: refined and romantic, intimate 2. Scenario 1. Refined classy, warm
2. Warm Family-friendly
2. Scenario 1. Vision 3. Affiliates
*Contracts with farms to supply superior quality meat
4. Research
5. Design R&D
6. Production (backend)
7. Brand 8. Restaurant 9. Customer
*Only for the most important person
*One cow serves only six
*Events suited to brand image
10. Market
* Brand name Wang Steak
* Distinguishing features, red and white with refined, romantic feel
*Customer-oriented service and customer relations management music, elegant tableware
*Dish name and R&D to give sense of value
*Uniform and manner
*More emergency exits than legally required;
*safety windows built into freezer compartments
*Steak market (well-done steak, quality steak set menu
4. Strong sense of design yet not conspicuously fashionable
5. Refined, civilized
3. Customer-oriented service 1. Elegant, intimate service for dining
2.Customer relations management: CRM and database maintenance, to increase contact with customers and to receive feedback
4. Uniform and manner 1. Light gray top, Mandarin collar, suit with waistcoat. Knee-length skirts for women, formal pants for men, imparting a professional image 2. Clean, tidy hair. For women, long hair must be
4. Uniform and manner 1. Light gray top, Mandarin collar, suit with waistcoat. Knee-length skirts for women, formal pants for men, imparting a professional image 2. Clean, tidy hair. For women, long hair must be