Blog

Run restaurants in Asia

Matthieu David interviews Philippe Ricard, Founder of La Creperie in Asia. The restaurant business in Asia and all around the world took a big hit with the coronavirus outbreak. But there are some places that can survive anything. La Creperie is a well-established brand in China, Vietnam, and Hong Kong because of its longevity on the market and its originality when it comes to creating an atmosphere. Find out how La Creperie came to be and why it is succeeding in this China Paradigm interview.

• 0:15 Guest introduction
• 2:23 La Creperie – a brief history and current situation
• 4:32 The La Creperie locations throughout Asia
• 7:07 The coronavirus outbreak impact – advice on re-opening restaurants
• 8:57 First actions taken when closing the restaurants
• 11:31 Will adding a delivery service affect the La Creperie brand?
• 14:12 The New Normal – how to make a comeback after the outbreak
• 20:08 La Creperie – how it all started
• 22:52 Before La Creperie – ideas that did not make the cut
• 26:24 From 2007 to the present day – an evolution of running a restaurant
• 29:47 How is La Creperie viewed by the Chinese customers?
• 33:30 How did Philippe Ricard manage to scale his restaurant?
• 36:20 Negotiating good rent is an important task
• 42:30 Building a brand – does it happen naturally or intentionally?
• 45:06 Originality is in the details – why La Creperie is a trademark
• 46:39 The hassle of managing a business in 3 countries
• 48:10 No Copy-Pasting – the reason La Creperie is not a franchise
• 52:00 What is the criteria on the basis of which Philippe Ricard would consider partnering with someone and opening a new restaurant?
• 54:32 What books or resources have inspired Philippe Ricard in his entrepreneurial journey?
• 58:08 What unexpected success or failure did Philippe Ricard witnessed in China?
• 1:04:13 Outro

🔖 China Paradigm website

The related interview

We believe, that China, with 20% of the world population and as the second world economy, is impacting every single business, small to big. That is why it is a new paradigm. How does China impact your business is the ultimate question we will answer through those podcasts.

China paradigm is a China business podcast sponsored by Daxue Consulting where we interview successful entrepreneurs about their businesses in China. You can access all available episodes from the China paradigm Youtube page.