With an average of 700 per person at its premium stores, does HAIDILAO still want to leap upward?

Author | Wang Xiaojuan

Editor | Huang Yu

After a few years of sinking, is HAIDILAO about to rise?

By the end of July, the true appearance of HAIDILAO's premium store gradually became clear. Located in the Guomao business district of Beijing, the store targets high-end business clientele. It is reported that this store, with over 1,000 square meters of space, only has 26 dining seats, including 9 private rooms and more than ten seats in the main hall, which sharply contrasts with the dense table arrangements of traditional stores.

Unlike its main offering of Sichuan hot pot, the premium store focuses on Cantonese hot pot, with a luxurious selection of ingredients. For example, the seafood farming area raises high-end seafood such as Australian lobsters, Canadian geoducks, and Alaskan king crabs, claiming to be "freshly caught and prepared."

It is understood that the average spending per customer at the premium store reaches around 700 yuan, which is seven times that of ordinary stores. The store not only features an independent tea room and cocktail area but also has a team of tea masters from Michelin-starred restaurants, completely overturning the noisy "birthday song" image of HAIDILAO. To this end, the store charges an additional service fee of 10%-15%, setting a precedent for HAIDILAO's charging model.

This move towards high-end offerings coincides with a subtle moment when HAIDILAO's average spending per customer has dropped back to levels seen eight years ago. In 2024, HAIDILAO's average consumption fell to 97.5 yuan.

Amidst the price war raging in the hot pot industry, HAIDILAO hopes to explore more market space, thus taking a key step into the high-end market, but whether it will ultimately achieve results remains to be seen.

In recent years, HAIDILAO's development trajectory has been like a roller coaster. Before launching the premium store, the keywords for this restaurant giant were "sinking" and "diversification."

At the beginning of 2024, HAIDILAO announced the implementation of a franchise model, breaking the thirty-year tradition of direct operation, attempting to accelerate expansion through a light asset model. The strategy of "mainly direct operation, with timely introduction of franchising" is a response to the reality of sluggish store growth.

At the same time, the "Pomegranate Plan" has also incubated 11 restaurant sub-brands, covering affordable categories such as barbecue, grilled fish, and light meals, with 74 new stores penetrating various niche markets like capillaries. These actions, along with campus stores, single-person hot pot, and night market stalls, collectively form HAIDILAO's "downward exploration."

Now, the emergence of the premium store marks the beginning of a shift in HAIDILAO's strategic balance towards the other end. This also means that HAIDILAO is building an all-scenario coverage capability, aiming for both the grounded "smoky flavor" and the high-end market's "delicacy."

Similar to its previous downward exploration, HAIDILAO's upward store openings today are also a response to growth pressures.

In terms of store numbers, the ceiling for HAIDILAO's store count is within reach. As early as 2020, the industry predicted based on HAIDILAO's characteristics of opening stores according to business districts that the ceiling for HAIDILAO's domestic stores is about 2,200, which would be reached within three years at the then growth rate. Data shows that by the end of 2024, the number of HAIDILAO brand stores was 1,368, which not only did not grow but also slightly decreased from 1,374 at the end of 2023.

The continuous pressure on average spending per customer is even more urgent. In 2024, HAIDILAO's average consumption fell to 97.5 yuan, the same level as in 2017, with the average spending per customer dropping back to eight years ago. In the homogenized competition of hot pot, price sensitivity has increasingly become the primary consideration for consumers At the same time, the quality hot pot market is rising. According to Frost & Sullivan, the market size of quality hot pot in China (with per capita consumption exceeding 120 yuan) will reach 74.1 billion yuan in 2024, and is expected to grow to 80.5 billion yuan in 2025, with a growth rate higher than the industry average.

Meituan's "2024 Hot Pot Industry Consumption Trend Report" confirms this trend. The report shows that driven by rational consumption, hot pot prices are exhibiting a polarized development, with mid-to-high-end hot pot restaurants increasingly attracting quality consumers. This also means that the high-end hot pot market is still worth pursuing for catering giants.

Haidilao's upward exploration coincides with the value reconstruction period of China's high-end dining market. Currently, it is an era where people pay more attention to cost-performance ratio while also willing to pay for emotional value; high-end dining is undergoing a strategic transformation from "single luxury" to "scene cultivation."

The essence of consumption logic is changing. Industry insiders indicate that the new generation of consumers places greater importance on ritual, choosing high-end restaurants during significant moments to enjoy their offerings, environment, and service. This change in consumption habits presents a substantial potential market for exquisite dining.

Data supports this trend. In 2024, the online transaction rate of restaurants on the "Black Pearl List" reached 64%, with post-95s and post-00s accounting for 28.6%, an increase of 8.5 percentage points year-on-year. This also means that the generational replacement of the consumer group has become a foregone conclusion.

This also implies that the user recognition Haidilao previously accumulated in the mass market may also be reflected in its selected brand, allowing former Haidilao users to choose the selected store on important days in their lives.

However, everything is just beginning, and after several years of sinking into the market, it is not so easy to establish a high-end persona.

Brand recognition solidification is the primary obstacle. For a long time, Haidilao has deeply ingrained the image of "national hot pot," and it remains uncertain whether consumers can accept its high-end positioning. Consumer reviews on Dianping have already revealed signs: some customers believe that the service is not as good as ordinary stores and the cost-performance ratio is not high.

Additionally, high operating costs cannot be ignored. Factors such as top-quality ingredient procurement, professional team training, and low-density dining environments compound to challenge the profitability of individual stores. Moreover, the consumption frequency of high-end dining is naturally lower than that of the mass market, and whether the turnover rate can support operations remains unknown.

More critically, the regional limitations of high-end dining are evident. Industry insiders point out that the high-end hot pot market is mainly concentrated in first-tier and new first-tier cities, such as the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta, making it difficult to achieve scale expansion. Haidilao also acknowledges that the future number of selected stores "will not be too many, mainly located in first-tier or new first-tier cities."

This also means that the purpose of its establishment is not primarily to serve performance growth, but to serve brand image.

Now, this company, which rose to prominence through its service myth, is attempting to replicate its legend in the high-end market. Whether it can successfully replicate this may be observed in future financial reports and store expansions. Next, it remains to be seen whether Haidilao can grasp the "smoky atmosphere" in this era of consumption stratification while simultaneously creating a sense of "ritual," thereby becoming a stable dining brand that can withstand cycles