{"text":[[{"start":10.53,"text":"In a slowing economy filled with value-conscious consumers, the “all you can eat” buffet format holds out special appeal by allowing even the hungriest diners to stuff themselves silly for a set price. That format has lifted the up-and-coming Big Pizza chain onto China’s fast-food map in short order, making it the nation’s largest homegrown brand in the pizza category, behind only global giants Pizza Hut and Domino’s."}],[{"start":39.97,"text":"Now, the company behind Big Pizza, Big Catering International Holding Co. Ltd., is hoping to attract investors to its successful formula with plans for a Hong Kong IPO, according to its new listing document filed last week."}],[{"start":57.92,"text":"https://www1.hkexnews.hk/app/sehk/2026/108086/documents/sehk26011601258.pdf"}],[{"start":76.05,"text":"While other chains have struggled lately in terms of same-store sales, Big Catering’s most impressive feat was boosting that metric for its self-operated stores by 5.1% in 2024, at a time when most rivals were reporting declines. The figure accelerated to 16% growth in the first nine months of last year, as the company embarked on an aggressive expansion that saw it boost its store network by more than 50% during the year."}],[{"start":108.22999999999999,"text":"In addition to its all-you-can-eat buffet format, Big Catering also stands apart from many of its fast-food rivals with its adherence to a model of mostly self-operated stores. Pizza Hut and Domino’s also mostly use a self-operated model, but many of China’s fastest growing homegrown restaurant and beverage chains have achieved their rapid expansions by relying heavily on the franchise model."}],[{"start":136.31,"text":"Big Catering also prides itself on its early localization strategy, which, again, has become a critical element for most Western-style brands operating in China. It says it was one of the first to start using fruit-topped pizzas that have become a national staple, adding that durian- and lychee-topped pies are two of its best sellers. It also notes that its buffet-style format allows diners to sample many different flavors at a single meal, which “aligns with the Chinese dining culture of sharing multiple dishes and seeking diversity in food offerings.”"}],[{"start":173.4,"text":"The biggest headwind Big Catering’s IPO is likely to face is a recent investor preference for high-tech listings in Hong Kong, with less appetite for more traditional consumer offerings. The plight of the similar Xiao Noodles (2408.HK) chain shows the challenges Big Catering could face. Xiao’s stock limped out of the gate following its trading debut last month, and is now down about 37% from its listing price. Like Big Catering, Xiao also had a strong growth story to tell, including revenue that rose 34% in the first half of last year, while its profit for that period nearly doubled."}],[{"start":216.29000000000002,"text":"Big Catering reported similarly strong 67% revenue growth in the first nine months of last year, as the figure reached 1.39 billion yuan ($200 million) from 833 million yuan in the year-ago period. While much of that gain owed to last year’s aggressive store expansion, which we’ll describe in more detail shortly, part of the rise also came from its strong same-store sales gains."}],[{"start":245.29000000000002,"text":"Around 85% of Big Catering’s revenue comes from its self-operated store business, while the rest comes from its smaller franchising operation. And while many of its rivals are finding growth by building up their delivery business, Big Catering still gets the big majority of its revenue from in-store dining, which makes sense due to its buffet format."}],[{"start":268.93,"text":"Big Catering’s gains last year are all the more impressive in the current climate where consumers are reining in their spending due to growing economic uncertainty. Its strong growth in such an environment testifies to its ability to offer the kinds of value-oriented meals that those cautious consumers are seeking out with their limited dining-out budgets."}],[{"start":290.27,"text":"Burger background"}],[{"start":292.31,"text":"While it’s officially based in Beijing, Big Catering hails from China’s frozen north, starting from the frosty city of Jiamusi, just across the Ussuri River from Russia in Heilongjiang province. That was where business student Zhao Jiaqiang founded his first restaurant, a burger joint, back in 1999. Zhao, now 52, currently serves as the company’s chairman, while wife Ma Jifang is its CFO, in a relatively common case where many such companies are family affairs."}],[{"start":328.65,"text":"Big Catering has been growing steadily since its founding, but that expansion shifted into high gear last year. It currently has 387 stores, up 55% from the 250 it had at the end of 2024. Before that, the company’s store footprint rose by a brisk but far slower 19% in 2024."}],[{"start":352.19,"text":"Big Pizza is now China’s third-largest pizza chain, with about 4.3% of the market, according to third-party market data in the listing document. That compares with 30.1% share for Pizza Hut, whose China store count stood at 4,022 at the end of last September; and 10.1% for Domino’s, which had 1,315 China stores at the end of last year. Pizza Hut’s China operation is part of Yum China (YUMC.US; 9987.HK), while Domino’s is operated in China by Hong Kong-listed DPC Dash (1405.HK)."}],[{"start":397.67,"text":"While its two larger rivals are still much bigger than Big Catering, the homegrown challenger cites third-party market data to point out that its gross merchandise value (GMV) grew by a much faster 59.2% year-on-year in the first nine months of last year due to its aggressive expansion. By comparison, Pizza Hut’s GMV grew 0.8% over that time, while Domino’s grew 25.3%, according to the listing document."}],[{"start":430.51,"text":"Most of the company’s business metrics tell the same story of falling consumer spending, but growing traffic at individual stores from customers in search of good value. In the first category, the company reported that average spending per order at its self-operated stores fell to 62.8 yuan in the first nine months of last year from 70.9 yuan in 2023. In the latter category, it also reported its average daily table turnover rose to 6.0 from 4.6 over the same period."}],[{"start":466.09,"text":"Big Catering’s bottom line also looks quite healthy, with its profit rising 59% year-on-year to 51.6 million yuan in the first nine months of last year, slightly ahead of its store expansion rate. Most of its peers currently trade at price-to-sales (P/S) ratios of 1.7 to 2, which would value Big Catering at around $500 million, based on its forecast sales for last year. Now, the company just needs to convince investors to take a break from the high-tech listings they’ve become accustomed to and sample its own brand of value-oriented pizza with Chinese flavors."}],[{"start":516.0600000000001,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1769011662_7139.mp3"}