Dumpling restaurant chain Bafang Yunji International Co (八方雲集) is to introduce measures to stop losses at unprofitable outlets if they fail to improve next quarter, the company said on Wednesday.
Bafang Yunji also runs pork rice restaurant chain Liang She Han (梁社漢排骨), boxed meal restaurant chain Bai Fung Bento (百芳池上便當) and Bafang Noodles (八方台式麵屋) in Taiwan and China.
The company said it is considering shutting down coffee shop chain Dante Coffee and Foods Co (丹堤咖啡), which it acquired in 2020, and other outlets that incur losses.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The COVID-19 pandemic affected Dante, especially during a level 3 COVID-19 alert last year and a prolonged outbreak of the disease this year, and operations remain disappointing after adjustments, Bafang Yunji told an investors’ conference.
DANTE CLOSURE?
“It is possible that we, after conducting a full review of affiliated businesses, choose to close Dante outlets and call the investment a failure,” the company said, adding that transformation efforts proved unsuccessful.
Takeout services at Dante generated less than 5 percent of the company’s overall revenue, rendering the chain a heavy financial drag, it said.
There are 41 Dante outlets across Taiwan — 18 franchised outlets and 23 directly owned stores, corporate data showed.
The closure plan would extend to unprofitable dumpling outlets in China, where strict COVID-19 controls are hurting sales without a solution in sight, the company said.
It might be better to exit the market to curb losses, the company said, adding that it would re-evaluate investment opportunities after the pandemic eases further.
Bafang Yunji declined to comment on whether it is planning to sell the Dante brand.
However, it said that it intends to expand its operation in overseas markets, including by opening new dumpling outlets in the US.
Revenue at the firm’s local dumpling restaurants grew more than 10 percent in the first seven months of the year, it said.
Bafang Yunji share gained 1.9 percent to NT$160.5 in Taipei trading yesterday, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
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