Shengwei Lai's questions to Super Hi International Holding Ltd (HDL) leadership • Q4 2024
Question
Shengwei Lai from CICC posed questions regarding the effectiveness of recent management system and incentive adjustments, the forward-looking projections for gross profit margin and staff expenses, and the investment budget and unit economic model for new ventures like barbecue restaurants.
Answer
CEO Lijuan Yang explained that management adjustments focusing on employee growth and autonomy have yielded encouraging results, improving customer service and loyalty. CFO Cong Qu stated there is room to improve the gross profit margin through menu and kitchen process optimization without sacrificing quality, and that staff cost optimization is not the top priority over service quality, though labor efficiency can improve. Regarding new brands, investment is a bottom-up approach reviewed by an innovation committee, with no mature unit economic model for barbecue yet as the first stores are still under renovation.