Why is “productivism” favored when Hong Kong's king is robbing inland quality stores?

The first restaurant has entered the core business district of Causeway Bay. Domestic quality hot pot leader Banu is about to enter the Hong Kong market. Can its “productivism” break into a new chapter in the fiercely competitive Hong Kong hot pot market?

The Zhitong Finance App learned that recently Banu will enter Hong Kong. The first store will be located in Hysan Place, the core business district of Causeway Bay. It is expected to open in mid-November this year. This will be the company's first overseas store. The company submitted its third listing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June this year. This time, “capitalization+overseas store opening” is progressing simultaneously, showing that Banu attaches great importance to the Hong Kong market and the acceleration of its globalization strategy.

Hysan Place, where Banu chose this time, is the core business district of Causeway Bay. It has high traffic and consumption power. The standardized operating level of the region and the aesthetic and quality requirements of consumers are at the forefront of the world. This is very much in line with the company's differentiated productivism.

Furthermore, high-end stores in Hong Kong are concentrated on the seafood circuit, and the mainland's leading high-end hot pot brands have been absent for a long time. The “hot pot store” created by Banu in the mainland has brought a new kind of hot pot experience to Hong Kong. Furthermore, Hong Kong dominates inland quality stores, and the Hong Kong business district needs active and strong growing brands. Banu is also just in line with demand. Therefore, Banu's entry into the Hong Kong market is just a two-way move under current consumer trends.

However, it should be noted that in recent years, Chinese restaurants have entered the Hong Kong market one after another, boosting the prosperity of Chinese flavors in Hong Kong. Competition is fierce, and the survival rate of the industry is low. According to data, as of 2025, more than 60 mainland restaurant brands have entered Hong Kong, and the total number of stores has exceeded 380. However, the average operating time of mainland brands in Hong Kong is less than 2 years, the closing rate within 1 year is over 40%, and the 3-year survival rate is less than 20%.

With a low survival rate, this is not a good thing for Banu to enter the market for the first time, and the company will also face competitive pressure from strong domestic rival Haidilao. Haidilao has been rooted in Hong Kong for 9 years since 2017. Service first vs. productivism is bound to rank high and low in this area of Hong Kong.

So what motivates Banu to enter Hong Kong?

First, the company adheres to the “productist” development philosophy. Compared to low price competition within the industry, the company has embarked on a new path of “productivism”. For example, in terms of ingredients, the company spent 3 years searching for sources in high-quality places of origin across the country and restructuring the fresh bamboo shoot industry chain, including tripe, wild mountain mushroom soup, and lamb meat, all choosing the best quality ingredients from different regions, including New Zealand. The high-quality ingredients have also garnered a good reputation for the company and built a moat.

Second, control high-quality suppliers under the direct management model to further stabilize the productist line. As of July 2026, the company has more than 200 direct-run stores in 57 cities across the country, adding about 30-50 stores every year. At the same time, it has built 5 central kitchens and 1 base processing plant, and its business network covers 14 provincial regions across the country. This model is similar to early undersea fishing. Although part of the speed of expansion was sacrificed under the direct management model, brand standardization and food safety management capabilities were guaranteed.

Finally, the “explode as soon as you open a store” economic model has been confirmed, and development can be fully replicated. The stores operated by the company usually balance their balance of payments for the first time within about 2-4 months of opening. In 2025, it entered 13 new cities. The average first-month turnover rate of the first stores in these first cities was 4.3, which is higher than the industry level. Furthermore, under this model, the operating efficiency of the enterprise was greatly improved. In 2023-2025, the company's overall turnover rate was 3.1 times per day, 3.2 times per day, and 3.6 times per day, respectively.

In 2025, Banu's customer unit price was 139 yuan, and Haidilao was 97.7 yuan. The flop rate was 3.6 times per day and 3.9 times per day, respectively. It can be seen that the gap between Banu and Haidilao is getting closer and closer in catching up with Haidilao. However, these two companies each have their own focus and are in leading positions in their respective fields. According to Frost & Sullivan, in terms of revenue, Banu is the largest brand in the Chinese quality hot pot market in 2025, with a market share of about 3.6%.

It's worth noting that for Banu, Haidilao is both a competitor and a success story to learn from. Haidilao entered the market early and remained stable. In 2018, it had 12 stores in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan (including 2 Hong Kong stores), and increased to 23 by 2025, while revenue increased 2.63 times compared to 2018. The two sides have adopted different paths to success, and Banu's productivism “explodes as soon as you open a store” is clearly more adaptable to the market.

In terms of performance, in 2023-2025, Banu's revenue increased from 2,112 billion yuan to 2,846 billion yuan, a compound growth rate of 16.1%, higher than the industry level. In terms of profitability, gross margin continued to increase, from 66.8% to 69.8%, net profit from 102 million yuan to 206 million yuan, and adjusted profit increased from 168 million yuan to 320 million yuan, with compound growth rates of 42.1% and 38% respectively.

Banu's performance growth expectations are quite clear. According to hearing data, it plans to open 52, 61, and 64 stores in 2026-2028, and around 357 stores in three years. Based on last year's average store revenue of 19.8 million/year, revenue in 2028 is expected to approach 7 billion yuan, 1.46 times higher than 2025, with a compound growth rate of 35%. This listing in Hong Kong is expected to speed up the opening of stores and the implementation of global layout plans.

Overall, Banu's first restaurant was selected in the core business district of Causeway Bay. The Hong Kong hot pot industry was fiercely competitive. There was both pressure from an unfamiliar business environment and competitive pressure from old rival Haidilao. However, the company is full of ambition. Productivism, direct management model, and operating capacity have brought about a margin of safety in operation. Furthermore, the company's “explode as soon as you open a store” economic model has been verified by the market, and may be quickly replicated and locally operated in Hong Kong.

The company has submitted the Hong Kong Stock Exchange three times. We can wait and see if it can use the capital market to accelerate global expansion plans and embark on a new journey of global development using Hong Kong as a starting point.