‘Business as usual’ in Singapore for hot pot chain Haidilao despite closures elsewhere; 2 more to open here

SINGAPORE — Ardent fans of the Chinese hot pot chain Haidilao will have little to worry about because the restaurant has no plans to close any of its branches in Singapore, despite an earlier announcement that some 300 stores will be closed by the end of the year.

The company said in response to a query from TODAY on Thursday (Nov 11) that “there is no specific list of closed stores, (and) currently all branches in Singapore are open for business as usual”.

It added that it will be opening another two branches next year, which will bring the total number of outlets in Singapore to 19.

Haidilao did not state the location of the two upcoming branches, but checks by TODAY found one new outlet under construction at the newly opened Northshore Plaza I in Punggol.

Last Friday, the Hong Kong-listed company said that it would be suspending or shutting down 300 stores by the end of the year due to a lack of customers or poor performance.  

Previous media reports stated that the closures will affect outlets mainly in China, though some cuts will come in other countries.

Haidilao told TODAY that there will be no layoffs involved.

As of late June, the company had 1,597 restaurants in operation globally, including non-Asian countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States. It had 1,491 outlets in mainland China.

The Business Times said that this is a 70 per cent jump over the 935 restaurants it had globally, including 868 in mainland China, a year ago.

Reuters news agency reported last month that Haidilao planned to slow its growth after its expansion and softening consumer appetite in China left it with falling table turnover rates and profits.

While no timeline was given, Haidilao International said last Friday that it will be launching a new plan focused on improving its operations of existing stores.