Peking-Duck Chain's IPO Starts Wave
中国餐饮业上市潮一“鸭”当先

The owner of China's oldest Peking-duck restaurant brand, Quanjude (Group) Co., is set to be the first in a wave of Chinese food-services chains that plan to go public.
历史最悠久的北京烤鸭连锁店──中国全聚德（集团）股份有限公司(China Quanjude Group Co., 简称：全聚德)即将在中国饮食服务连锁业的上市热潮中打响第一枪。

The state-owned company was approved late last month for its third attempt at an initial public offering. It plans to issue as many as 36 million yuan-denominated Class A shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, which increasingly lists small and midsize companies.
这家国有企业的第三次首次公开募股(IPO)申请于上月晚些时候获得了批准。该公司计划在深圳证交所发行至多3,600万股以人民币计价的A股。现在有越来越多的中小企业选择在深圳证交所上市。

The move could mark the beginning of a significant change in China's fragmented food-services sector.
中国的饮食服务业历来犹如一盘散沙，不过全聚德的上市标致着这种情况将出现明显改变。

Analysts say other food-services companies will be watching closely to see what the IPO does for Quanjude's business. But they caution that it will still be difficult for the restaurant chain to overcome inherent difficulties that come with operating in China, where dining profit margins tend to be low and it remains difficult to build a brand with nationwide appeal.
分析师表示，其它餐饮类企业将会密切关注IPO对全聚德业务的影响。但上述分析师也警告称，那些具有“中国特色”的固有难题将不会迎刃而解。在中国，饮食行业利润率较低，而且全国知名品牌的建立依旧颇有难度。

Quanjude, a relatively higher-end traditional Chinese restaurant frequented by tourists, is famous for its Peking duck, or roasted duck that is sliced and eaten in a tortilla-like wrap. The dish, which was originated in Nanjing and later named for the former transliteration of the capital city of Beijing, is known throughout the world and considered one of China's most traditional specialties.
全聚德在传统中餐饭店中处于相对高端的位置，其极富盛名的招牌菜北京烤鸭──荷叶饼卷烤鸭薄片──倍受游客青睐。这款菜肴起源于南京，后得名为北京烤鸭，并在全球范围内打响了知名度，被视为最具传统特色的中国美食之一。

Touting a 143-year-old legacy dating to the Qing dynasty, the restaurant says it sells three million ducks a year, and posted a 56.66 million yuan ($7.5 million) net profit last year on sales of 665.64 million yuan. Sales and profit grew an average of 22% over the past three years.
全聚德的开店时间可追溯至清朝年间，至今已拥有143年的历史，它表示自己每年出售的烤鸭多达300万只，去年的净利润和销售收入分别达到了人民币5,666万元（合750万美元）和人民币6.656亿元。过去三年中，全聚德的销售及利润增幅平均达到了22%。

Quanjude has 10 restaurants, including outlets in Beijing and Shanghai, and 61 franchise restaurants, five of which are outside the mainland in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Myanmar. Sales for the first quarter this year totaled 188.4 million yuan, with a net profit of 25.62 million yuan. Year-earlier figures weren't available.
全聚德在北京和上海拥有十家自营店，以及61家特许经营店，其中有五家开在了香港、东京及缅甸等中国大陆以外的市场。公司今年第一季度销售收入达到了人民币1.884亿元，净利润为2,562万元。公司并未披露上年同期的数据。

When Quanjude completes its IPO, it will be one of the first mainland-based restaurant chains to have done so. Most restaurant chains in China are either independent family-run operations or completely state-owned.
当全聚德完成IPO之后，它将成为中国大陆第一家上市的饭店连锁企业。在中国，绝大多数的饭店连锁企业要么是独立的家族式经营，要么完全属于国有。

The company is hoping that the exposure and capital raised from its IPO will help it expand its empire by funding increases in food-processing capacity and investing more in its franchised restaurants, as well as renovations in two of its Beijing stores in time for the Olympics next year, according to its prospectus. The company declined to comment.
全聚德在募股说明书中表示，公司希望通过上市来帮助自己扩展业务，运用所筹集资金提升食品加工能力、扩大在特许经营店中的投资，并在明年奥运会举行前整修两家位于北京的连锁店。该公司拒绝就此发表评论。

Several other chains are planning to follow Quanjude's lead, including Inner Mongolia Little Sheep Catering Chain Co., which expects to list in Hong Kong early next year, and Donglaishun Group Co., which may plan its listing later this year or next year. Details of their offerings haven't been confirmed.
还有几家连锁餐饮企业计划追随全聚德的上市脚步。它们当中包括，预计明年在香港上市的内蒙古小肥羊餐饮连锁有限公司(Inner Mongolia Little Sheep Catering Chain Ltd.)，以及计划今年晚些时候或明年上市的东来顺集团(Donglaishun Group Co.)等。这些企业的上市相关细节信息都未获证实。

Ailsa Gu, research analyst for market researcher Euromonitor International, says China's robust economic growth and the craze over the stock market in recent years are what tempts many of these domestic companies to try listing for faster expansion. But 'most of those restaurants are privately owned family-type businesses, which makes [it] much more difficult to expand due to the lack of capital and management skills,' the analyst says.
市场调查机构Euromonitor International的研究分析师Ailsa Gu表示，中国强劲的经济增长以及近年来股市的飙升吸引了许多此类本土企业试图通过上市来实现更快的扩张；但它们当中的大多数都是私有家族企业，资金和管理技术的匮乏使它们在自身发展的道路上遇到了更多困难。

Quanjude tried to go public twice before, in 1996 and 2001, but the applications were rejected because the company didn't have enough assets, according to Mr. Gu.
Gu指出，全聚德分别在1996年和2001年两次提出了上市申请，但都未获批准，原因是公司资产规模不够。

Chen Haiming, an analyst with Shanyin & Wanguo Research & Consulting Co., says high awareness of the Quanjude brand gives the company a distinct advantage. 'Quanjude enjoys a very distinguished situation in the industry, thanks to its high awareness, its famous brand and its geographic location,' Mr. Chen says. That is why the company can charge 168 yuan to 198 yuan (about $22 to $26) per duck, while most Peking ducks are priced under $10.
申银万国证券研究所(Shanghai Shenyin Wanguo Research & Consulting Co.)分析师陈海明表示，全聚德品牌的高认知度令其独具优势。他指出，在餐饮连锁业中，全聚德因名气、品牌以及地理位置而享有非比寻常的地位；正因如此，在多数北京鸭的定价都不到10美元的情况下，它的一只烤鸭却能卖到168-198元（约合22-26美元）。

The company also plans to sell specially packaged duck during the Beijing Olympics so visitors can take Quanjude ducks home with them, Mr. Chen says. 'This could bring the company a big business opportunity in 2008,' he says.
陈海明指出，公司还计划在北京奥运会期间推出特别包装的烤鸭，以供游客带回家享用，此举将在2008年给公司带来巨大商机。

Still, restaurant branding in China can be a difficult task for companies that want to build a national name, according to industry analysts. People are spending more on eating out, with Euromonitor reporting that food-services industry sales almost tripled to $12 billion last year from $4.6 billion in 2001. But almost all companies have less than 2% market share of food-service sales, with the exception of foreign-based multinationals Yum Brands Inc. and McDonald's Corp., which are in the lead with 16.5% and 7.5%, respectively. Quanjude ranks seventh, with a 1.5% market share.
不过业内分析师指出，在中国创立全国性的饭店品牌是项艰巨的任务。Euromonitor的报告显示，中国人在外出就餐上的花费越来越多，去年这项支出已经达到120亿美元，较之2001年的46亿美元增长了近两倍。在百胜餐饮集团(Yum! Brands Inc.)和麦当劳(McDonald's Corp.)分别以16.5%和7.5%的市场份额占据中国饮食企业排行榜第一、第二位的情况下，绝大多数中国本土餐饮公司都是市场份额不足2%的小企业。全聚德在这个大排名中位列第七，市场占有率为1.5%。

Because local food trends and tastes vary significantly from region to region, even among big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, many of China's more prominent restaurant chains enjoy brand recognition and reputations in some markets while they are virtually unheard of in others.
由于中国人的饮食偏好因地域不同而有明显差异，即便在北京和上海这样的大城市也是如此。许多知名饭店连锁企业在此地口碑极佳，而在彼处却无人知晓。

Zeng Guang, an analyst at China Jianyin Invest Securities, says that while Quanjude and Donglaishun are household names in northern China, they don't have many chain stores in southern China and aren't as widely known. Lao Sun Jia Mutton & Bread, another food brand, is famous in central and southern China, though its name is seldom heard in the north.
中国建银投资证券有限责任公司(China Jianyin Investment Securities)分析师曾光表示，虽然全聚德和东来顺在中国北方地区家喻户晓，但它们在南方连锁店规模有限，知名度不太高。老孙家羊肉泡馍(Lao Sun Jia Mutton & Bread)在中国中部及南部都是知名品牌，但在北方地区却知者甚少。

'The difficulty for the Chinese companies is they tend to be too regional,' says Matthew Crabbe, managing director of market-research company Access Asia Ltd. 'Not many have been successful in transferring different versions [of their food] across the whole country' with a few exceptions including 'hot pot,' a popular meal in China that originated in the north and for which diners cook their own fresh ingredients in a communal pot and choose their own seasonings.
市场调查公司通亚公司 (Access Asia Ltd.)董事总经理马修•格莱博(Matthew Crabbe)指出，中国餐饮企业的难题在于它们太过倾向于区域性发展，只有为数不多的企业成功地将自己的产品以不同形式推向了全国，火锅就是其中一例；这种食品起源于中国北方地区，几位就餐者自己动手在同一口锅中加工新鲜食材，再配以自选的适口佐料。

Mr. Zeng says he is optimistic about Quanjude's IPO but that the success of Chinese chains depends on how well they can standardize their restaurants, as foreign competitors have.
曾光表示，他对全聚德的IPO感到乐观，但其他中国连锁餐饮企业的成功取决于它们在门店的标准化方面做得如何，一如外国竞争对手那样。

'This will be very helpful to upgrade the Chinese restaurant and catering industry overall significantly,' Mr. Zeng says.
他指出，这将为中国餐饮服务业的全面升级带来巨大帮助。

But Mr. Crabbe says it isn't clear whether consumers will appreciate standardization. 'I can see how the IPO could influence more of the catering companies to aspire to achieve that kind of thing, but on the other side I think from the consumer point of view, they like being able to go to small local restaurants. That's what they've always had,' he says. 'There's that more intimate, friendly local feel to those places. That is what appeals to most Chinese consumers.
但格莱博表示，消费者是否会对饮食连锁店统一标准持赞赏态度仍是个问号。他表示他理解全聚德的IPO会激励更多的餐饮业走上上市之路，但另一方面他认为消费者可能喜欢去当地的小饭馆就餐，这也是他们一直以来的生活习惯。格莱博指出，小饭馆更容易让人产生亲近、友好的感觉，正是这一点赢得了多数国人的喜爱。