Chinese braised duck takeaway chain Zhou Hei Ya aims to open thousands of new outlets as it eyes global expansion

The company, which started out as a single stall in a wet market and now has 1,300 stores in mainland China, plans to open an outlet in Macau next year

It faces stiff competition at home, where the industry is forecast to grow 36 per cent between 2016 and the end of this year to US$432 billion

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The company aims to more than double its outlets to about 3,000 in the next two years. Photo: SCMP Handout

Published: 3:30pm, 15 Nov 2020Updated: 9:51pm, 15 Nov 2020

Chinese braised duck chain Zhou Hei Ya International hopes to open a shop in Macau next year, its first outside mainland China, in a step towards achieving its ambition of bringing its popular fast food snack to the every corner of the world.

“We are talking to some partners in Macau. We hope, as our first store outside mainland, it can yield a solid business model that we can apply to other markets,” Zhang Yuchen, chief executive officer, told the Post in an interview. “Our dream is that wherever a human being exists, Zhou Hei Ya is there.”

Starting out as a stall serving freshly cooked spicy duck necks in a Wuhan wet market in 1997, Zhou Hei Ya built its name on its special flavours and seasonings. It is now a Hong Kong-listed company operating in more than 100 Chinese cities, with a market value of nearly HK$20 billion (US$2.58 billion).

Now, it is seeking a second growth spurt as competition between home-grown casual food makers heats up.

It aims to more than double its outlets to about 3,000 in the next two years, from the 1,300 it currently runs. In comparison, its biggest rival Juewei Food, which also specialises in braised duck, has over 10,000 stores, including 25 in Hong Kong.

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