Korea Is Not Such A Welcoming Place Anymore For USA Restaurant Brands

South Korea and the Philippines have always been the most welcoming markets in Asia for USA restaurant concepts.  Strong cultural ties forged by war and colonialism certainly helped not to mention the growing Korean and Filipino diaspora on the West Coast of the USA. But while the Philippines continues to embrace new American concepts like […]


Will China Ever Love The American Doughnut?

Dunkin Donuts made big news last December with their announcement that they were partnering with the Philippines fast food giant, Jollibee, to develop the Dunkin Donuts brand in parts of Mainland China. The development plan calls for an investment of US$300 Million for 1400 units over the next 20 years. This is basically a Master […]


Is It Crazy To Operate A Restaurant In Hong Kong Today? Part IV

There was an article this week in the South China Morning Post discussing the latest victim from escalating rents in Hong Kong. The Press Room bar and restaurant on Hollywood Road will close this Friday.  Food critic and restaurateur, Lau Kin-Wai, was quoted as saying that running a food and beverage business in Hong Kong […]


The USA Restaurant Industry May Not Recover Anytime Soon!

Two recent articles crossed my desk this week and if accurate would suggest that the recovery in the USA restaurant market will not happen anytime soon. First, the average American consumer still has way too much debt and is still in the process of de-leveraging.  In the latest Quarterly Review of Hoisington Investment Management – […]


Hony Capital Buys Pizza Express for USD 1.54 Billion – Was It Worth the Price?

Hony Capital Ltd, the private equity arm of the Lenovo Group, announced earlier this week the acquisition of Pizza Express, a very well known and established restaurant chain based in the United Kingdom.  This was a very bold move and somewhat unexpected.  The final purchase price was somewhere in the vicinity of 10x current EBITDA. […]


Does the Lotteria Chain make any money?

Lotteria, the Korean hamburger chain, recently placed a half page ad in the Asian Wall Street Journal, touting the grand opening of their first store in Cambodia with plans to open 20 more locations by 2018.   The chain now has 231 stores in Vietnam(189), Indonesia (26), China (11) and Mynamar(5) combined.  I have personally […]


Is It Crazy To Operate A Restaurant In Hong Kong Today? Part III

I just came across an article in the June 27 issue of HK Magazine entitled “How to do Absolutely (Almost) Everything in Hong Kong,” and the piece contained a brief interview with Paul Hsu, Executive Director of the restaurant group, Elite Concepts.  Paul gave some very honest answers to the question “How to…Set up a […]