Haidilao’s Overseas Business Subsidiary Applies for HKEx Listing
Super Hi International Holding Ltd., the overseas business subsidiary of Chinese hot pot restaurant chain Haidilao, formally submitted a prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) on July 13, planning to list on its main board by way of introduction, with Morgan Stanley and Huatai International serving as joint sponsors.
Super Hi International has opened 103 restaurants in 11 countries on four continents. Among them, Singapore, the United States, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam each have at least 10 stores.
According to a report by Frost & Sullivan, in terms of 2021 revenue, Super Hi International was the third-largest Chinese cuisine restaurant brand in the international market – and the largest originating from China itself. The company was also the largest Chinese cuisine restaurant brand in the international market in terms of the number of countries covered by self-operated restaurants, as of December 31, 2021.
In fact, very few Chinese cuisine restaurant brands have successfully expanded internationally. Such brands with over 10 stores in the international market only accounted for about 13%, while brands covering two or more countries accounted for less than 5%. In this regard, Super Hi pointed out in its prospectus that striking a balance between honoring the Haidilao legacy and continuous innovation for localization has been the foundation of its growth and expansion in the international market.
Super Hi International currently has approximately 2.3 million members. From 2019 to 2021, it accumulated over 28 million guest visits at their restaurants.
The pandemic is still levelling a significant impact on the company. Prior to the pandemic, it recorded a total of approximately 8.1 million guest visits at restaurants in 2019, dropping to about 7.1 million in 2020 and recovering to 9.8 million in 2021.
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In order to alleviate operational pressure caused by COVID-19, Super Hi has intentionally slowed down the pace of store openings. During 2019, 2021, and the first quarter of 2022, Super Hi has opened 76 new restaurants.
From 2019 to 2021, Super Hi International’s revenues were $233 million, $221 million and $312 million respectively, with a CAGR of 15.8%. In the first quarter of 2022, its revenue increased by 60.3% from $68 million in the same period of 2021 to $109 million.
