novelonline Chapter 1495 Joining? A Win-Win Situation?
Chapter 1495 Joining? A Win-Win Situation?
Chapter 1495 Joining? A Win-Win Situation?
Spring came exceptionally early in 1987; the temperature in Beijing began to rise shortly after the Lunar New Year. On the morning of the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Qin Hao, Yang Shumo, Zhao Yajing, and Shi Xiaona gathered in a newly renovated office building to attend the opening ceremony of Sifang Real Estate.
This office, located on the third floor of a newly built office building in Dongcheng District, covers an area of over 300 square meters and features a simple and modern design. Upon entering, there is a spacious reception area with a dark blue carpet and off-white walls, on which hangs a calligraphy work that reads "Great Ambitions." Further in is an open-plan office area with a dozen desks neatly arranged, followed by several private offices and a meeting room.
Today marks the official opening of Sifang Real Estate. A brand-new bronze plaque hangs at the company entrance, engraved with the words "Sifang Real Estate Co., Ltd." A red ribbon is tied below the plaque, standing out prominently in the morning light.
"How is it? Not bad, right?" Yang Shumo was dressed in a sharp gray suit, his hair was neatly combed, and his face was beaming with a confident smile.
Qin Hao looked around and nodded: "It's good, better than I expected. The location is good, the decoration is high-end, and it has everything you need."
Zhao Yajing walked into the general manager's office, sat down behind the large desk, and spun around in her executive chair: "Wow, this chair is really comfortable. Mr. Yang, your office is quite impressive."
Yang Shumo smiled somewhat embarrassedly: "It's just to save face. We run a real estate company, so our storefront can't be too shabby. We need to make customers feel that we have strength as soon as they walk in."
Shi Xiaona also came in and sat down on the sofa in the reception area. She looked around and said, "You still have to spend the money you need to spend. That's how the real estate industry is. They treat people differently based on who they work with. If your office is too shabby, people will think you're not capable and won't dare to cooperate with you."
“That makes sense.” Yang Shumo nodded. “That’s why I didn’t skimp on the renovation; all the office furniture is from good brands. It was a bit expensive, but it was worth it.”
The opening ceremony officially began at nine o'clock in the morning. There wasn't a complicated procedure; it was just a ribbon-cutting ceremony, setting off firecrackers, and saying a few auspicious words. There weren't many guests; mainly friends and partners from the industry.
Yang Shumo, as the company's legal representative and general manager, delivered a brief speech. Standing on a small, makeshift platform at the company entrance, looking at the dozens of people below, he felt a mix of excitement and, more importantly, a strong sense of responsibility.
"Distinguished guests, friends, thank you all for attending the opening ceremony of Sifang Real Estate today." Yang Shumo's voice was clear and strong: "Sifang Real Estate was jointly invested and established by myself, General Manager Qin, General Manager Zhao, General Manager Shi, and myself, with a registered capital of 30 million RMB..."
A murmur rippled through the audience. Thirty million in registered capital was indeed a considerable sum in this day and age. Many looked at the four young men on stage with envy and surprise.
"Our company's motto is: Integrity First, Quality Foremost, Customer Supreme," Yang Shumo continued. "In the future, we will focus on real estate development in Northern China, contributing our share to Beijing's modernization. We also hope for your continued support and patronage!"
After the speeches, the ribbon-cutting ceremony took place. Qin Hao, Yang Shumo, Zhao Yajing, and Shi Xiaona each held a pair of golden scissors and simultaneously cut the red ribbon across the company entrance. Firecrackers went off, smoke filled the air, and thunderous applause erupted.
After the opening ceremony, the guests left one after another. Yang Shumo invited Qin Hao and the other two into his office, closed the door, and the office immediately became quiet.
"Finally, we're open for business." Yang Shumo breathed a sigh of relief, unbuttoned his suit jacket, and sat down in a chair. "These past few days have been incredibly busy. I've been running around handling paperwork, renovations, and hiring people. I'm exhausted."
“The small team we had before was fine for suburban development, but they couldn’t handle big projects,” Yang Shumo said. “Now that we have a proper company and a professional team, I can finally go all out and get things done.”
Zhao Yajing said half-jokingly, "We all have a lot on our hands, so the company is all up to you. Anyway, we can't help much except by contributing money. President Yang, we don't care about anything else, just one thing: don't forget our New Year's bonus. We're all counting on you as our cash cow."
Yang Shumo patted his chest and assured him, "You can rest assured. I, Yang Shumo, may not have any other skills, but I do things conscientiously and earn money honestly. Just wait, by the end of the year, I will definitely give you a big surprise that will satisfy you!"
Qin Hao smiled and said, "We believe you. But don't push yourself too hard; your health is the most important thing. If you need any help, just give us a call."
After attending the opening ceremony of Sifang Real Estate, Qin Hao, Zhao Yajing, and Shi Xiaona also got busy with their own things.
Qin Hao is going to Shenzhen to oversee the construction progress of the Fuyong Industrial Zone and its subsequent investment promotion efforts. The project is too large in scale and involves too many aspects, so he must be there in person.
Shi Xiaona is responsible for Burger King's market expansion throughout northern China. With a steady supply of raw materials from the Langfang chicken supply base, Burger King has the confidence to cover the North China market. She plans to open new stores in Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, and other cities to further expand its market share.
As for Zhao Yajing, she went to Shanghai. For Burger King to enter the East China market, it needed to establish a chicken supply base there. Shanghai, as the center of East China, with its superior geographical location and convenient transportation, was the best choice. Zhao Yajing's trip was to select a site and also to investigate the market situation in Shanghai, preparing for Burger King's entry into the city.
The three parted ways at Beijing Airport, each boarding flights to different cities. Before leaving, Qin Hao told the other two, "Be careful, and contact me anytime if anything happens."
"Okay, take care too." Zhao Yajing waved.
"Have a safe journey," Shi Xiaona said.
……
Busy times always fly by. In the blink of an eye, three years have passed. The calendar has turned to 1990.
Over the past three years, China has undergone tremendous changes. The pace of reform and opening up has accelerated, economic development has entered a fast track, and people's living standards have improved significantly. Qin Hao and his team's business has also experienced leapfrog development during these three years.
Burger King now has over 200 stores in mainland China, spanning major cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and even expanding into central and western cities like Xi'an and Wuhan. In terms of the number of Burger King stores alone, mainland China has surpassed Hong Kong.
At the same time, Qin Hao successfully replicated "Cha Yan Yue Se" in the mainland market. This beverage brand, which focuses on bubble tea, was warmly welcomed by young people as soon as it entered the mainland. In just three years, the number of "Cha Yan Yue Se" stores has reached 100 and is still growing rapidly.
In terms of supply chain, in addition to the existing chicken supply bases in Langfang and Huizhou, three new bases have been added in Pudong, Wuhan, and Shenyang. The Pudong base supplies East China, the Wuhan base supplies Central China, and the Shenyang base supplies Northeast China. This means that Burger King's raw material supply network now basically covers all major regions of the country.
Interestingly, KFC also entered the mainland market three years ago, opening its first store in Qianmen, Beijing. As a globally renowned fast-food brand, KFC's entry caused quite a stir, with many predicting that Burger King would face a huge challenge.
However, the actual situation was beyond many people's expectations. As the first fast food chain brand in mainland China, Burger King had already seized the initiative. Not only did it have a large number of stores and a wide distribution, but more importantly, after several years of operation, Burger King had accumulated a large number of loyal customers and had a high level of brand awareness.
Although KFC has a well-known brand, it is ultimately a latecomer. KFC has no advantage in price; its taste is not particularly outstanding; and it lags far behind in the number of stores.
As a result, KFC's expansion in mainland China did not go smoothly, with slow growth in the number of stores and operating performance falling short of expectations. In fact, due to excessively high raw material prices, gross profit margins remained low, leading Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, to consider abandoning the business altogether.
Interestingly, what ultimately convinced Yum! Brands' top management to persevere was a news report about Burger King surpassing 200 stores in mainland China. After seeing this report, Yum! executives realized that the potential of the mainland fast-food market was far greater than they had imagined. If Burger King could do it, there was no reason why KFC couldn't.
As a result, Yum! Brands increased its investment in the mainland market, adjusted its business strategy, and prepared to fight a protracted battle with Burger King.
Qin Hao didn't take the competition from KFC too seriously.
In a conference room at Burger King's Beijing headquarters, he told Zhao Yajing and Shi Xiaona, "Where there is a market, there will inevitably be competitors; this is an inevitable law of business. Even if KFC withdraws from the mainland market, other brands such as McDonald's will enter."
He paused, then continued, "Especially after entering the 1990s, with further opening up of policies, we will attract more and more international giants. Except for a very few sectors, no one can truly achieve a monopoly. What we need to do is not to eliminate our competitors, but to continuously improve ourselves and make ourselves invincible in the competition."
Shi Xiaona nodded: "I agree. In fact, competition is a good thing. It can prompt us to continuously improve and innovate. If there is only one company in the market, it is easy to become complacent."
"Therefore, our next goal remains to expand the number of chicken supply bases and the processing capacity of central kitchens in various regions." Qin Hao wrote a few keywords on the whiteboard: "The supply chain is our core competitiveness, and we must hold on to it firmly."
However, after Qin Hao finished speaking, Shi Xiaona raised a question: "But, based on our current number of stores, the existing chicken supply bases and central kitchens are already more than enough. Wouldn't it be wasteful to expand the scale at this point? After all, building a new base requires a lot of investment, and if the production capacity is idle, it would be a huge waste."
Zhao Yajing nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, our current five chicken supply bases are enough to cover the raw material supply for more than a dozen major cities. And we can't possibly expand the number of stores several times over in a short period of time, right? How much would that cost? Opening a store, the rent, decoration, equipment, and staff would cost at least tens of thousands. Opening two hundred stores would cost thirty or forty million. Where would we get that much money?"
After listening to their questions, Qin Hao didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the bustling streets of Beijing outside. After a while, he turned around and said slowly, "If we continue with the current directly-operated store model, it's indeed impossible to achieve rapid expansion. This is precisely the strategic change I'm about to discuss."
He walked back to the conference table, looked at his two partners, and said, word by word, "I plan to open up franchising."
"Open franchising?"
Shi Xiaona and Zhao Yajing were both visibly taken aback and looked at each other in bewilderment.
"You mean, charge franchise fees and let others open 'Burger King' too?" Zhao Yajing frowned. "Isn't this killing the goose that lays the golden eggs? What if they manage our brand poorly and ruin the 'Burger King' brand? Besides, if others can open 'Burger King,' who will want to franchise? We might as well open one ourselves."
Qin Hao smiled and shook his head, then sat back in his chair and began to explain in detail: "Opening up franchising is not a one-off deal, nor is it simply a matter of authorizing someone else to run the brand. There is a whole system involved."
He picked up a pen and drew a simple diagram on the whiteboard: "First, we can take a certain percentage of the turnover of each franchise store as commission. Imagine if we had two thousand stores, and we took 5% of the turnover each month, how much money would that be?"
Zhao Yajing quickly did the math in her head. If a store's monthly revenue is 100,000 yuan—a mid-range figure for Burger King stores—5% is 5000 yuan. With 2,000 stores, that's 10 million yuan a month, and 120 million yuan a year.
Her eyes lit up.
Qin Hao continued to explain: "Moreover, don't forget that these stores consume a lot of raw materials every day. Chicken legs, chicken wings, bread slices, vegetables, and even paper towels, ketchup, disposable cups, packaging boxes... If we supply all these consumables in a unified manner, and we earn a penny at each stage, it adds up to a huge profit."
He wrote a few numbers on the whiteboard: "According to our current data, the monthly cost of supplies for a Burger King store is about 30,000 yuan. If we can earn a 10% profit from the supplies of each store, that's 3000 yuan. With 2,000 stores, that's 6 million yuan a month, and 72 million yuan a year."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yajing's eyes lit up, and she excitedly stood up: "If what you say is true, as long as we have enough franchised stores, wouldn't we be able to make money while lying down? We don't have to do anything, and we can earn tens of millions every month?"
Qin Hao chuckled: "Look at you, so greedy. Theoretically, it's certainly possible. However—" He changed the subject: "To achieve this, we first need to ensure that those who join us make money together!"
"People will do business that could cost them their lives, but nobody will do business that loses money. Nobody's a fool. If they know they're losing money, why would they let you bleed them dry? Only if franchisees make money will they be willing to continue paying commissions and purchasing supplies from us, and only then can our model continue to operate."
Shi Xiaona, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. Her voice was calm, but her question was incisive: "It seems that achieving this is not easy. How can we guarantee that every franchise store can make money? The market is risky, and not every store can be profitable."
“It’s indeed not easy.” Qin Hao nodded, appreciating Shi Xiaona’s question: “Therefore, the first thing we need to do is to build a team that specializes in helping people open stores. We need to be strict from the very beginning of site selection. It’s not like someone can just pay money to join a franchise. We need to examine the location they choose, and assess the surrounding customer traffic, competition, spending power, and so on.”
He wrote down the keywords "site selection, decoration, training, and operation" on the whiteboard: "After site selection, there is a unified decoration design. 'Burger King' must have a unified image. It can't be that one store looks different from another. Then there is employee training. From the store manager to the staff, everyone must receive our unified training to ensure service quality."
"Finally, there's the post-opening operation of the stores." Qin Hao emphasized, "This is the most crucial part. We provide operational guidance to each franchise store, including marketing activities, product promotion, cost control, and so on. In short, we want to ensure that franchisees don't have to worry about anything and can leave everything to us. They just need to pay the franchise fee and then sit back and make money."
Zhao Yajing blinked, her expression saying, "Is this for real? I want to make money while lying down too."
Qin Hao looked at her and said with a smile, "It does sound incredible, but that's exactly what we want to do. Imagine letting someone with no experience in the food and beverage industry manage a Burger King store. What would happen? They might not only lose money because they don't understand business or management, but also ruin Burger King's reputation. It's a lose-lose situation."
He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and circled the word "win-win" in red: "Therefore, we must do all the work in advance and to the extreme. We should ensure that franchisees don't need to worry about how to manage the store; we should arrange everything for them. In this way, they make money, and we make money from the franchise fee and the subsequent continuous profit from consumables, thus achieving a win-win situation."
Zhao Yajing rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment before asking another question: "But if we do everything in advance, why not open our own shop? If we open our own shop, won't all the money we earn be ours? Why should we share it with others?"
This was a pointed question, but Qin Hao was prepared.
“Two reasons.” He held up two fingers: “First, we don’t have that much capital. Opening a directly operated store requires an investment of at least 200,000 yuan, from site selection to opening. Opening 2,000 stores would cost 400 million yuan. Where would we get that much money? But by opening a franchise, we only need to invest in the initial team building costs, and the subsequent opening costs are borne by the franchisees.”
He paused, then continued, "The second, and most important, reason is that we can't be all-encompassing in terms of relationships in many places."
Shi Xiaona nodded subconsciously. She had been deeply involved in the northern market for the past few years and had experienced this firsthand. The biggest obstacle wasn't business competition, but rather some inexplicable "connections." This obstacle was even greater in smaller cities. Sometimes, even when all the paperwork was complete, they simply wouldn't stamp it; even when a location was publicly tendered, it always ended up being taken by someone with connections.
“If we open our own stores, we have to rebuild relationships every time we go to a new city, which takes a lot of time and energy,” Qin Hao said. “But if locals franchise with us, they already have connections and resources, and they can solve many problems on their own. We only need to provide brand, product, and operational support.”
Shi Xiaona and Zhao Yajing exchanged a glance, both seeing agreement in each other's eyes. Qin Hao's analysis made a lot of sense and resolved their doubts.
Ultimately, both agreed to Qin Hao's plan. This also foreshadowed Burger King's entry into the next stage of development—shifting from a primarily company-operated model to a model that balances company-operated and franchised operations, ultimately with a franchised model as the primary expansion strategy.
……
The news of Burger King opening up franchising was not publicized with great fanfare. Qin Hao's idea was to start with small-scale pilot programs at the first batch of franchise stores to accumulate experience, refine processes, and then expand on a large scale once the model was mature.
Even so, the news spread like wildfire. After all, Burger King has developed rapidly in mainland China in recent years, has a high brand awareness, and many people know that it is a profitable business.
As a result, shortly after the notice of the investment promotion conference was sent out, it attracted hundreds of investors to flock to the Burger King headquarters in Beijing.
The office building housing Burger King's headquarters was built by Sifang Real Estate. Yang Shumo has worked incredibly hard these past three years, developing four plots of land, including this office building. Every year, Qin Hao and his two partners receive millions in dividends from Sifang Real Estate, not to mention Yang Shumo's own substantial income.
The investment promotion meeting was held in the largest conference room in the office building. The conference room, which could accommodate two hundred people, was packed, with many people standing at the back. The investors who came were a diverse group, including business owners, employees of companies, retired cadres, and even a few entrepreneurs who looked like farmers.
At nine o'clock in the morning, the investment promotion conference started on time. Qin Hao walked onto the stage, looked at the sea of people below, and felt a little emotional.
"Distinguished guests, good afternoon. Welcome to the Burger King franchise recruitment conference." Qin Hao's voice resonated throughout the conference room through the microphone: "I am Qin Hao, one of the founders of Burger King. Today, I will give you a detailed introduction to Burger King's franchise model and policies."
He paused, waiting for the murmurs from the audience to subside before continuing, "First of all, I want to clarify that franchising with Burger King is not simply a brand authorization. We will provide every franchisee with comprehensive support, from site selection to opening, from training to operation, providing full guidance to ensure that you can successfully operate a Burger King store."
Next, he began to explain the specific franchise policy: "The franchise fee for 'Burger King' is 30,000 yuan, and the contract term is five years. After five years, if both parties are satisfied, the contract can be renewed. In addition to the franchise fee, we will also take 5% of the turnover of each store as a brand usage fee and management fee."
As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion arose from the audience.
Thirty thousand yuan? That's so expensive!
"They're taking 5% of the revenue? That's outrageous!"
"Yes, how much would that add up to?"
Someone couldn't help but stand up and ask, "Mr. Qin, you're taking so much money from us all at once, how can you guarantee we'll make it back? What if we invest and end up losing money?"
Immediately, someone chimed in: "Yeah, investing so much money at once, plus rent, renovations, equipment, and labor, it'll easily cost over ten thousand. What if we don't make it back? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"
The audience erupted into chaos, a cacophony of voices vying for attention. Some were agitated, their voices growing louder; others watched coldly, waiting to see how Qin Hao would respond.
Zhao Yajing sat in the first row, frowning, and tried to call out "Quiet down, everyone" a few times, but her voice was drowned out by the noisy discussions, and she was unable to control the situation at all.
Shi Xiaona was also a little nervous. She looked at Qin Hao on the stage and found that he was still very calm, with even a faint smile on his face.
Qin Hao remained calm and composed. He waited until the audience had vented their emotions and the chatter subsided before picking up the microphone again.
"Everyone, please be quiet. I've heard all your questions. That's exactly what I'm going to talk about next. If you just keep listening, you'll understand where your 30,000 yuan franchise fee goes and how we guarantee you'll make money."
His words had an effect, and the audience gradually quieted down. Everyone looked at him, waiting for his explanation.
Qin Hao turned on the projector and began playing a slideshow. The slideshow was very professionally designed, with a combination of pictures and text, and detailed data.
"First, let's look at what this 30,000 yuan franchise fee includes." Qin Hao pointed to the list on the screen: "First, the brand usage fee. The 'Burger King' brand has achieved high brand awareness after years of operation and promotion. Opening a store with this brand is like standing on the shoulders of giants, giving you a head start over others."
"Secondly, site selection services. Our professional team will provide you with site selection guidance, assess store location, customer traffic, and spending power to ensure that you choose the best location."
"Third, a unified interior design. We will provide a complete interior design plan to ensure that every Burger King has a consistent image and gives customers a consistent experience."
"Fourth, employee training. From store managers to store staff, everyone must receive standardized training from our headquarters, learning about product preparation, service procedures, hygiene standards, and so on."
Fifth, operational guidance. After opening, our regional manager will visit the store regularly to provide guidance, help you solve problems encountered in operation, provide marketing plans, and optimize operational processes.
Qin Hao flipped through the slides one by one, explaining in detail the content and value of each service. His explanations were insightful yet easy to understand, supported by rich data and clear logic, gradually convincing the audience.
"Finally, and most importantly," Qin Hao turned to the last slide, which showed a simple profit model: "Let's look at some data. According to our statistics on existing stores, a Burger King store in a moderately located and normally operating location has a monthly turnover of between 8 and 12 yuan. After deducting various costs, the monthly net profit is between 1.5 and 2.5 yuan."
He quickly calculated on the whiteboard: "Take a middle value, the monthly net profit is 2 yuan. That's 24 yuan a year. Your total investment, including franchise fees, decoration, equipment, etc., is roughly between 15 and 20 yuan. In other words, under normal circumstances, you can break even in about a year. From the second year onwards, it's all pure profit."
A murmur rippled through the audience. Many were mentally calculating the figures. Breaking even in one year, and making a profit the following year—it certainly sounded very appealing.
Qin Hao added, "Moreover, we don't just take the money and leave. As I mentioned earlier, we will provide ongoing operational support. If your store encounters problems, our team will help you analyze the reasons and propose solutions as soon as possible. Our goal is to ensure that every franchise store can make money, because only when you make money can we continue to collect management fees and sell more raw materials. It's a win-win model."
After Qin Hao finished speaking, many people in the audience were already tempted. Some whispered among themselves:
"If what he says is true, then wouldn't we be able to make money just by lying down?"
"It sounds good, but is it really that good?"
"You believe his nonsense? If you could really make money just by opening any shop, why don't people make money themselves?"
"Old Li, what do you think? You're in the restaurant business, you have experience."
"I think it's better to be cautious. It sounds good, but in practice, it may not be so smooth."
Just as the people below were discussing and hesitating, Qin Hao made an unexpected move.
He scrolled down to the last item on the slide, which had only one line of large text: "Initial number of franchisees: 30".
Then, he raised his voice and announced: "Ladies and gentlemen, given the limited number of staff in our company's team, in order to ensure the service quality for each franchise store, we will only open up to thirty franchise stores in the first batch. After thirty, we will have to wait for the next batch. There is no plan yet for when the next batch will be opened."
These words immediately caused an uproar in the audience.
Those who were just observing and hesitating suddenly panicked. Limited spots? Only thirty? Then hurry up and grab them!
"President Qin, count me in! I'm signing up!"
"Mr. Qin, I'm the first one here. I've brought the money with me, and I'll pay it now!"
"Don't push, everyone in the back! There are no more spots left!"
"Who said that? There are still spots available!"
"President Qin, can I have two slots? I'll open two stores!"
The crowd surged towards the stage like a tidal wave, surrounding Qin Hao. One pulled out cash, another took out a bankbook, all eager to pay and sign the contract.
Zhao Yajing and Shi Xiaona sat in the front row, watching Qin Hao surrounded by a huge crowd, and smiled at each other. They didn't go to "rescue" Qin Hao, who was still in "deep trouble," but instead sat there leisurely, watching the lively scene.
Zhao Yajing whispered to Shi Xiaona, "This guy really knows how to play the game. First, he paints a rosy picture of the benefits, and once you're interested, he adds the fact that there are limited spots available, creating a sense of scarcity. Who can resist this combination of tactics?"
Shi Xiaona smiled and nodded: "Yes, he's using psychology to perfection. But then again, what he said does make sense. If we can really provide excellent service and help our franchisees make money, this model can indeed be scaled up."
"That's true," Zhao Yajing said. "It all depends on how it's implemented. No matter how well it's said, it's all for nothing if it can't be done."
While the two were talking, Qin Hao had already signed more than a dozen contracts. The staff temporarily brought in a few tables and set up an on-site office, collecting money, signing contracts, and issuing invoices, keeping them very busy.
In less than an hour, all thirty slots were filled. Those who missed out surrounded the staff, asking when the next batch would open and if they could register and wait in line.
Qin Hao finally managed to break free from the crowd and walked over to Zhao Yajing and Shi Xiaona, wiping the sweat from his forehead: "Finally, it's done. It went more smoothly than I expected."
"You're really something," Zhao Yajing teased. "You got these people scrambling to give you money with just a few words. I'd like to learn from you how to fool people."
Qin Hao rolled his eyes: "What do you mean by 'fooling'? I'm telling the truth, okay? If we really provide good service, they can indeed make money."
"Yes, yes, Mr. Qin is right." Zhao Yajing smiled and said, "Then it's up to you now. Thirty stores should keep you busy for a while."
……
The first batch of thirty franchise stores were quickly signed. After signing, the owners who had paid were actually quite uneasy. Thirty thousand yuan was not a small amount in 1990; many had taken out all their savings, or even borrowed money. They were afraid that Qin Hao would take the money and not deliver, or would do a poor job, and that their investment would be wasted.
To their surprise, just three days after signing the contract, someone from Burger King headquarters called them to begin coordinating the work.
First, there's site selection. Site selection specialists from headquarters will conduct on-site inspections, accompany franchisees to view store locations, analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each location, and provide professional advice. Many people initially liked a location, but after the specialist's analysis, they discovered problems and avoided potential risks.
Then comes the renovation. Headquarters provides standardized design plans and construction drawings. During the renovation process, headquarters will also send personnel to inspect the quality and ensure it meets standards.
While the renovations were underway, employee training also began. The store manager and key staff were sent to the Beijing headquarters for training, learning about product preparation, service procedures, hygiene standards, inventory management, and more. The training was rigorous; those who failed the assessments were not allowed to work.
A month and a half later, thirty franchise stores opened one after another. Before the opening, the headquarters also provided a plan for the opening activities, including discounts, promotions, and publicity.
To the delight of these franchisees, their stores were doing quite well. Although a few stores initially struggled due to location or competition, headquarters quickly sent regional managers to analyze the issues, adjust strategies, and boost business through marketing and promotion.
What surprised these business owners even more was that they actually saw Burger King advertisements in some local newspapers. The ads were very creative, highlighting Burger King's product features and brand image. Only then did they realize that Qin Hao's talk of "brand promotion" was not just empty promises; the headquarters was indeed investing resources in brand promotion.
A month after officially opening, the franchisees began to tally up their accounts. They were surprised to find that, after deducting all expenses and the 5% commission paid to headquarters, the profits were quite substantial.
Take a franchise store in Jinan, Shandong Province, as an example. This store is located in the city center, with an area of 80 square meters, a monthly rent of 3000 yuan, 6 employees with monthly salary expenses of 4000 yuan, raw material costs of 3 yuan, and other miscellaneous expenses of 2000 yuan. Monthly revenue is 8 yuan, and after deducting all costs, the net profit is 1.5 yuan. After deducting the 4000 yuan commission paid to the headquarters, the actual take-home pay is 1.1 yuan.
With a total investment of 18 yuan, based on this profit level, the investment can be recouped in about a year and a half. From the second year onwards, it's pure profit.
Most importantly, these franchisees hardly need to worry about the daily operations of their stores. The regional manager will adjust the monthly promotional activities based on the data from each store; the raw material supply is centrally distributed by the headquarters, ensuring stable quality and reasonable prices; and there are standardized procedures for employee management, which the store manager simply needs to follow.
It was only then that they truly realized that Qin Hao's talk of "making money while lying down" wasn't just empty words. As long as they followed the headquarters' guidance, they could indeed run a store relatively easily and obtain stable profits.
After the news spread, those who missed out on the first batch became even more anxious, calling headquarters every day to ask when the next batch would open. Meanwhile, some of the franchisees who had already opened were already considering opening a second store.
In Qin Hao's office at the Burger King headquarters in Beijing, Zhao Yajing and Shi Xiaona looked at the latest financial statements, both with smiles on their faces.
"The first batch of thirty stores had a total turnover of 240 million this month, and our commission was 12." Zhao Yajing read the figures on the report: "This is just for one month. Once these stores stabilize, the turnover will increase. Moreover, the profit from raw material procurement has not yet been calculated."
Shi Xiaona added, "The profit from raw material procurement this month is 90,000 yuan. That adds up to 210,000 yuan. With 30 stores, 210,000 yuan a month would be 252 million yuan a year. And this is just the beginning. Once the second and third batches of franchise stores open, this number will multiply."
Qin Hao sat behind his desk, looking out at Beijing, and smiled as he said, "This is just the first step. Our goal is to open two thousand franchise stores nationwide. What will our revenue be like then?"
Zhao Yajing and Shi Xiaona exchanged a glance, both seeing excitement and anticipation in each other's eyes.