Café de Coral

This article is about Café de Coral fast food company. For Café de Coral fast food franchise, see Café de Coral (restaurant).
Café de Coral Holdings, Ltd.
Publicly traded SEHK: 0341
Industry Foodservice
Founded Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (1968)
Headquarters Shatin, Hong Kong
Key people
 Michael Chan, Chairman
Products
Revenue HK$5.33 billion (2011)
Number of employees
 15,000+ (2010)
Website www.cafedecoral.com

Café de Coral (Chinese: 大家樂, SEHK: 0341, Grey Market: CFCGY) is a fast food restaurant group which owns and operates fast food chains and restaurants including Café de Coral, The Spaghetti House, Manchu Wok, Oliver's Super Sandwiches, Ah Yee Leng Tong, and others.

Founded in 1968, the Café de Coral group opened its first Café de Coral restaurant in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong in 1969. Since then, the group has grown to operate over 580 separate outlets across its brands all over the world. It is the largest Chinese fast food restaurant group in Hong Kong and in the world. In Hong Kong alone, it caters to over 300,000 people on an average day.[1]

History

Founding

The founder of Café de Coral is Victor Lo Tang-seong who died in 2016 at the age of 101.[2] The Cafe de Coral Group was incorporated in 1968 and opened its first Café de Coral restaurant in Causeway Bay in September 1969.[3] The chain gradually expanded over the next decade. In 1977, it started promoting its restaurants through TV commercials. In 1979, it established its first food processing plant in a move to lower costs and ensure consistency.[4] In 1986, the Café de Coral Group went public. In 1988, it opened its 50th Café de Coral restaurant. The years after this would be marked by diversification when it went on a buying spree.[5]

Acquisitions and expansion

In May 1990, Café de Coral made its first acquisition by buying out the Ah Yee Leng Tong chain for HK$14 million.[6] A year later in 1991, it acquired The Spaghetti House, a popular chain that served HK-style Italian food. The same year, it opened up its second food processing plant. In 1992 it opened both its 100th restaurant and its first restaurant outside Hong Kong in the nearby city of Shenzhen.[6]

In 1996, Café de Coral opened up the first location of its new restaurant brand, Bravo le Café. Also in 1996, it acquired Scanfoods, a ham processing and food distribution business. In 1998, it started yet another restaurant chain called Super Super Congee & Noodle.[6]

In 2000, continuing its trend of acquisitions, Café de Coral acquired Denny's Bakery, a bakery manufacturing and distribution business in Hong Kong. Also in 2000, it acquired Manchu Wok, a North American Chinese fast food chain that had a strong presence in Canada and the United States. In the years following, Café de Coral also acquired China Inn (2002), New Asia Dabao (2003), and Oliver's Super Sandwiches (2003).[7]

In 2006, Café de Coral began rolling out its "fourth generation concept" across all of its locations, effectively renovating many restaurants to bring them up to modern standards.[8]

In 2007, Café de Coral made an investment in the Tao Heung Group, a smaller restaurant group that operates 11 brands all over China and Hong Kong.[7]

Brands

Café de Coral

A Café de Coral fast food restaurant

Café de Coral is a fast food restaurant chain that serves both Chinese and Western food at a budget price. Established in 1968 in Causeway Bay, Café de Coral operates over 100 locations in the Hong Kong region and 24 locations in Mainland China.[9]

The Spaghetti House

The Spaghetti House is a speciality restaurant chain that serves Hong Kong-style Italian cuisine and is positioned as a mid-market chain that is family and tourist friendly. Established in 1979, The Spaghetti House operates more than 30 locations in Hong Kong, Macau and Southern China.[10]

Ah Yee Leng Tong

Ah Yee Leng Tong is a speciality restaurant chain that serves home-style Chinese soup as well as a variety of regional Chinese dishes. It is also known for its XO sauce. Its restaurants, which average 250 square meters, fuse both traditional and modern furnishings and appeal to both locals and tourists. As of 2007, there is only one location – at the Hong Kong International Airport.[11]

Bravo le Café

Bravo le Café is a quick-service restaurant chain that offers a mix of Western, Chinese, and Japanese food in a bistro setting designed to appeal to "young and upwardly mobile executives."[12] There are currently three locations of Bravo le Café in Hong Kong – the International Finance Centre, Central, and Hong Kong International Airport.

Super Super Congee & Noodles

Super Super Congee & Noodles is a fast food chain serving congee and various noodle dishes. As of March 2006, there were 5 locations across Hong Kong, including two in Tsing Yi and one in Wong Tai Sin.

Wage controversy

When Hong Kong's minimum wage law was passed in July 2010, Café de Coral raised its average salary from HK$22.4/hr to $33/hr to satisfy the law's requirements. However, during the process, it stopped paying its employees for lunch breaks. Their decision led to public backlash and Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions threatened to start a public boycott. Three days before the boycott was to begin, Café de Coral reversed its decision and resumed paying its employee for lunch breaks while still giving them the pay raise.[13]

Scientific management

The group uses a system based on scientific management ("Taylorism"), devised by Frederick Winslow Taylor in the 1880s and 1890s. The theory mainly concerns improving economic efficiency, especially labour productivity.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Café de Coral corporate site
  2. ↑ "Cafe de Coral founder dies at 101".
  3. ↑ Café de Coral History – 1960's
  4. ↑ Café de Coral History 1970's
  5. ↑ Café de Coral History – 1980's
  6. 1 2 3 CEO's Plan on Integration of Firms – Lecture Slides
  7. 1 2 Café de Coral History – 21st century
  8. ↑ "Café de Coral's Introduction of 4G Design Concept Creates a New Era in Hong Kong's Fast Food Industry". 5 February 2006. Retrieved 14 April 2007.
  9. ↑ Café de Coral Information Page
  10. ↑ The Spaghetti House – Company Profile
  11. ↑ Ah Yee Leng Tong – Locations
  12. ↑ Bravo le Cafe – Information Page
  13. ↑ Olsen, Robert (8 November 2010). "Penny-Pinching Tycoon Backs Down After Public Backlash". Forbes.

External links

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