Hotel and restaurant operator Landis Hospitality Group (麗緻餐旅集團) is seeking to grow its business this year by expanding into frozen food as competition intensifies amid a rapid increase of hotels, the company said yesterday.
“The landscape ahead looks tough, with the field growing increasingly crowded, while the economy continues its gradual recovery,” group managing director Michelle Hsu (徐儷萍) said.
The group saw its revenue fall 6 percent last year and is looking for a modest pickup or flat performance this year, as consumers remain cautious about spending and more competitors are poised to enter the market, Hsu said.
Adding to the challenge is a continued decline in business travelers to Taiwan in favor of trade shows in China, Hsu said.
The group is coping with the structural changes by seeking to raise food and beverage sales and tap into the frozen food market, Hsu said, citing the growing revenue contribution from food and beverage sales over the past few years.
The frozen food industry has rapidly gained popularity worldwide, with the local market valued at more than NT$10 billion (US$326.2 million) a year, Hsu said.
Landis Hospitality is capitalizing on the trend by partnering with local supermarkets to sell its classic Chinese pork dish dongporou (東坡肉) from its Tien Hsiang Lo (天香樓) restaurant, which recently opened a small branch in the food court of Uni-UStyle Department Store (統一時代百貨) in Taipei.
Still, the group aims to strengthen its core business by spending NT$200 million this year renovating its signature property, Landis Taipei Hotel (亞都麗緻), Hsu said.
The renovation is to start in the third quarter and is to accentuate the art-deco design of all 140 standard rooms, she said.
The renovation will inevitably weigh on revenue, but is a necessary investment to enhance competitiveness for the 38-year-old property, she added.
Landis Taipei spent more than NT$10 million modernizing its kitchen, lounge bar and Chinese restaurant last year.
It also changed the name of its five-star property in Taichung from Hotel One (台中亞緻大飯店) to Landis Taichung to boost brand awareness, communications manager Candy Chiang (江夢怡) said.
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