Ep 112: Opening 8 Shanghai restaurants & clubs in 4 years based on data and tactful branding

China Paradigms

Matthieu David interviews Gennadii Bochkar and Chen Feng (Fiona) partners and Co-founders at BIBIMI Group with 10 venues in Shanghai. Situated between the fast-casual and casual dining experiences, the BIBIMI group manages 10 venues successfully and planning to open new spots and even night clubs. But how do they manage such a managerial workload, what principles do they rely upon when building a new venue and how important is social media for their business? Find out the answers to these questions and more on this new China Paradigm interview. 0:00 Guest introduction 4:48 Current size of BIBIMI group and revenue 7:19 Brief group history 15:06 What was the vision of scaling from Bites&Brew to the BIBIMI group? 16:54 Fast casual and casual dining - why is the BIBIMI group in between? 20:31 The Beginning - was money raised to start or to grow the business? 22:02 What were the investments required to scale the business? 27:54 The principles involved in building a new concept for a restaurant 31:46 Leveraging social media for building new restaurant concepts 38:17 How does BIBIMI group's competition look like? 41:02 Did the coronavirus outbreak affect the BIBIMI group's business in a positive way? 43:47 What economy of scale strategies can BIBIMI group employ in the future? 46:18 It's all about having a great backend strategy 47:52 What software does the BIBIMI group rely upon in their day to day business? 50:48 What are Fiona's responsibilities within the group? 53:43 Is the interior design service internalized or externalized? 57:37 Paying back investors - a BIBIMI group timeline 1:01:00 How does Fiona handle Gennadii not being involved in the business full time? 1:03:10 What books have inspired Fiona in her entrepreneurial journey? 1:06:12 What books have inspired Gennadii in his entrepreneurial journey? 1:11:11 Outro Creating 5 iconic restaurants in 3 different Asian cities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owlrUttlkf0 Meet the founder of the iconic 17 year old restaurant in Shanghai’s ex French concession: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjL6OHsNpQo Listen & Subscribe: Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/china-paradigms-daxue Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/china-paradigms/id1450916630 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/78qDpsYgQXWrkPpJyZJLtx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2y6ixpQB1WIs6GMdUeoq4g?view_as=subscriber Website: https://chinaparadigm.com/ Thanks for listening! If you like what you hear, do us a favor and write a review on iTunes. What is China Paradigms Podcast? China Paradigms is the China Business Podcast for entrepreneurs and China watchers. Learn from business professionals in China on our China Paradigms.