Ep 103: Creating 5 iconic restaurants in 3 different Asian cities

China Paradigms

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 Learn more about Philippe Ricard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippe-ricard-220a1236/ Meet the founder of the iconic 17 year old restaurant in Shanghai’s ex French concession: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjL6OHsNpQo Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2y6... Website: http://chinaparadigm.com/ Thanks for listening! If you like what you hear, do us a favor and write a review on iTunes. What is China Paradigms Podcast? China Paradigms is the China Business Podcast for entrepreneurs and China watchers. Learn from business professionals in China on our China Paradigms.