CRG Unveils Grand Game Plan ‘TRANSFORM FOR THE FUTURE’, Driven by 5 Key Strategies, Expecting Revenue Lift of Over Bt12 Billion in 2021

 

CRG Unveils Grand Game Plan ‘TRANSFORM FOR THE FUTURE’, Driven by 5 Key Strategies, Expecting Revenue Lift of Over Bt12 Billion in 2021

· Synergizing CRG’s 16 brands of Thailand’s leading restaurant chains with ‘shop-in-shop, cross-sale’ format

· Launching ‘Mobile Box’ mini-kiosk model at gas stations

· Revving up delivery business and opening 50 cloud kitchens

· Venturing into online channels and adopting digital marketing strategy

· Expanding New Brands & Business

Central Restaurants Group Co., Ltd (CRG) today unveiled its grand business plan, “CRG 2021: TRANSFORM FOR THE FUTURE”, in a sign that the Thai economy is on track for recovery and consumer purchasing power is increasing. The company has set out five key strategies to meet customers’ all lifestyle needs. These include establishing synergy between the company’s 16 brands of restaurant chains to highlight the group’s key strengths and introducing a “shop in shop – cross-sale” strategy to add variety to customers’ food orders. CRG is also aiming to add to modern-world customers’ convenience by introducing a Mobile Box” mini-kiosk model at gas stations and boosting its delivery business by opening 50 cloud kitchens nationwide.

The company is also teaming up with online shopping giants to enhance its aggressive marketing drive, setting its sights on launching a few new restaurant brands this year and joining forces with partners in the street food segment. CRG’s win-win approach looks set to give a big boost to sales expected to top Bt12 billion in 2021, a rise of 18 to 19 percent over last year.

Mr Nath Vongpanich, President of Central Restaurants Group Co., Ltd (CRG), said that CRG is ready to ramp up its aggressive drive amid the company’s recovering growth momentum in 2021 thanks to the Thai government’s nationwide Covid-19 vaccination rollout. There’s been a clearer sign of Thailand’s economic recovery and greater consumer spending power and confidence. CRG is pursuing a grand, forward-thinking business plan titled “CRG 2021: TRANSFORM FOR THE FUTURE” in a bid to achieve the goal of becoming a restaurant chain that transcends all limitations.

Setting Out Five Key Strategies

The sweeping business plan consists of five main strategies. Firstly, New Way to Serve the Customers: CRG is looking to expand channels to satisfy the needs of customers in terms of variety and comprehensiveness in a meal. To achieve this, the company is drawing on the strength of 16 brands of its restaurant chains with over 1,100 outlets, 10,000 staff and 800 menus to meet the needs of customers of all styles, age groups and lifestyle choices.

The company’s restaurant chains are also adopting a new shop-in-shop format with the introduction of an Arigato counter inside each Mister Donut store. A “cross-sale” strategy will be incorporated into all brands of the group. Brown Café’s dishes will, for example, be available at Katsuya restaurant to offer new choices to customers and satisfy their every need much better. More than 400 outlets will adopt a cross-sale strategy as part of CRG’s outlet expansion plan.

The company promotes collaboration between brands in the group as a way to develop new products and services. In response to the Thai government’s legalization of cannabis for medical purposes, there has been, for example, cooperation between the Thai Terrace and Aroi Dee brands to develop more than 10 new dishes created using organic marijuana leaves purchased from a community enterprise that’s engaged in growing vegetables, herbal plants and energy crops in Nakhon Sawan’s Phanomrok sub-district. The community enterprise’s organic farm meets high standards of quality control for all aspects of marijuana cultivation. So, one can be sure that the leaves of marijuana used are fresh, safe to consume and of excellent quality. The company has plans to extend the use of marijuana leaves to other brands as well.

Secondly, New Way to Expand – New Format, New Landlord: CRG is prioritizing an expansion of outlets with a new business model to meet customers’ lifestyle needs. The company is always searching for new commercial spaces for these outlets. This year the company plans to launch a new mini-kiosk model called “Mobile Box” at gas stations nationwide hot on the heels of the successful “Delco” mobile store model that has proven to aid the company’s rapid expansion of outlets and outreach to new customers in different areas and communities much more efficiently.

Thirdly, The Upside-down - Delivery & Cloud Kitchen: The company is also expanding its delivery and cloud kitchen business with plans to open delivery service points in a greater number of areas. CRG plans to open 15 cloud kitchens in 2021 and 50 such facilities nationwide by 2023. The business will be strengthened even further thanks to new partnerships to improve efficiency in all aspects.

Fourthly, Go Digital & Omnichannel: CRG is aggressively driving its digital marketing campaigns and enhancing its omni-channel footprint by delivering a better O2O (Online to Offline) customer experience and adding new channels for selling its products via e-commerce and leading online shopping platforms such as JD Central, Shopee and Lazada.

Last, but not least, New Brands & Business: CRG’s last strategy involves a plan to introduce new brands, new-concept restaurants and new businesses. This year the company plans to add a few new restaurant brands and form new partnerships as part of its resilient business strategy that has got CRG through the Covid-19 pandemic and achieving success. Its sales growth doubled last year in a win-win situation [for both CRG and its customers].

“Over the past year CRG has had new partners and achieved tremendous success. Our partnership with Salad Factory resulted in sales from the delivery channel alone growing 400 percent. This year sales growth is expected to double. We’re also forming a partnership with OR to enhance an expansion of Café Amazon in Vietnam. Up to five outlets have opened in 3 months. Since its opening in October 2020, the first café has met with a warm reception from Vietnamese consumers.”

Confident in 2021 Economic Recovery and Expecting Revenue Lift of Bt12 Billion

Nath adds that during the Covid-19 pandemic throughout 2020, CRG made adjustments to its business strategy to catch up with every rapidly changing situation and drew on its multiple strengths to overcome negative factors. While overall sales hardly grew last year, sales doubled in new channels and new businesses, especially delivery and online marketing, which experienced maximum growth.

In 2021, the company has confidence in Thailand’s economy recovering thanks to authorities’ successful containment of the Covid-19 pandemic despite a second wave of coronavirus infections and new clusters of cases bubbling up. These factors have helped to

bolster customer confidence and led to subsequent growth in employment and the tourism industry’s gradual recovery. Being quite well prepared for virtually all aspects of operations, CRG sets its revenue target of over Bt12 billion, a jump of between 18 and 20 percent over last year.

However, competition is higher in the restaurant business and at its highest especially in delivery and online services. Competition is no longer limited to large restaurant chains. Newcomers including big companies outside of the food business, SME groups and small enterprises that are interested in operating a food business are joining the vibrant restaurant industry that still continues to thrive with plenty of room for further growth