Roast duck restaurant Quanjude looks at multi-brand expansion

Since the middle of the 19th century, Quanjude has been known for its signature dish, Peking roast duck.

Now the owners of the 148-year-old restaurant plan to diversify into a multi-brand catering service provider that taps both high-end and mass markets.

"We have plenty of ideas on our plate," said Liu Xiaohong, vice-general manager of China Quanjude Group. "We have rolled out a detailed plan to diversify our business."

The traditional business survived four emperors, civil wars, and decades of state planning. Now a blueprint for the next three years envisages the opening of more restaurants and retail outlets, an expansion into fast food and food services, and building a new upmarket catering brand.

The company is less likely to speed up the pace of overseas expansion, because of import restrictions on poultry in many markets, and a lack of skilled chefs and managers to help run newly opened restaurants. However, Liu said, "we are still looking for partners who can bring our brand to a new market."

On a weekday morning, chefs in Quanjude's Hepingmen restaurant in Beijing were hanging ducks in a wood-fired brick oven. In 45 minutes or so, the crispy, brown-skinned ducks will be taken out, carved at the tables of diners, and laid out on plates with steamed pancakes.