TAIPEI: 2012 was a slow year for many industries in Taiwan except for the food and beverage industry, which bucked the trend.
Leading the pack is Taiwan's biggest restaurant chain, Wowprime. It is aiming to cater to the rest of the world.
Wowprime's Wang Steak restaurant is fully occupied almost all year round. Business did not seem to be affected by a slowing economy.
Many customers visit it for its signature dish - prime rib selected from only the six best pieces of a cow.
But it is not just the steak that draws the crowd. Some customers also appear to be fans of Steve Day, the chairman of Wowprime.
The 59-year-old started his first restaurant, Wang Steak, 20 years ago.
Today, he has 11 brands under his belt with 275 restaurants on both sides of the strait.
Among its 11 brands, there is a French-style teppanyaki restaurant which opened in 2005, and a low-priced hot pot chain in 2009, which is very popular among young Taiwanese. Recently, it added coffee shops to its latest venture.
The company's revenues have grown an average of nearly 30 per cent in the last three years. To keep the business growing, it plans to build one new brand every two years.
Mr Day said: "In a small market, you must have a number of brands in order to satisfy the customers. If you focus on one brand, it tends to stop growing once you reach the maximum size of the market."
Wowprime's ultimate ambition is to go global. It is already teaming up with Jollibee of the Philippines to open hot pot chains in China.
By 2020, it hopes to have 1000 restaurants worldwide.
Mr Day is confident the target can be achieved ahead of schedule because nobody can resist good food.
He said: "Every dish we bring to the table has gone through many levels of elimination. At the end, we choose only one from the best 50 dishes. So it must be the most delicious."
Competitive pricing is another key to Wowprime's success.
Mr Day said all of its cuisines are priced at 30 per cent below market. And to achieve this, the group has to keep a cap on its profit margin.
Mr Day said: "We have set a ceiling for our annual earnings. Our group earnings must not exceed 10 per cent. If the number exceeds 10 per cent, that means what you offer to your guests are not good enough. But the earnings must not fall below 10 per cent either because that would make the employees worry."
The pricing strategy has made Wowprime one of the fastest growing companies in Taiwan, and it is hoping to win over customers in the rest of the world.
- CNA/xq
Business in Taiwan's Wowprime brisk despite slowing economy
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Business in Taiwan's Wowprime brisk despite slowing economy
