00:00this doubles your footprint in the city essentially now yes why double down so it has actually been
00:07an exciting journey an exciting time for us at tim ho one to be able to actually double the
00:12journey within the past one year itself and i think as we actually look at it uh since being
00:18part of the jollybee group tim ho one has actually flourished further because what tim ho one was
00:23actually known for is authentic hong kong tim sum of high quality and of great value but since
00:29being part of the group in the past one year we've actually been able to actually strengthen our
00:34operating process our systems and this now allows us to actually create and build a sustainable and
00:40replica model because one of the things that is very important for us at tim ho one is to ensure
00:45the consistency of the food that we actually offer across our restaurants around the world
00:51what is the the road map then if you've doubled just in the space of a few months in hong kong
00:56we're talking about do you have a target of how many restaurants you're looking at here say by
01:01the end of this year i think for us how we actually look at business is really to actually look at the
01:06number of consumers or guests that we're actually reaching around the world while there might actually
01:11be a number in terms of number of stores what we first focus on is actually sustainable growth and
01:17making sure that our fundamentals are actually in place so beyond just the normal store expansions
01:23itself we're actually looking at expansion in different areas for instance uh in the market
01:28of hong kong itself uh delivery is actually a fast growing trend so that becomes a new channel that we
01:33could actually tap onto and being in the theme some space that is predominantly strong in the lunch day
01:39part we are now looking at how do we actually create more uh customers coming into our stores across
01:44the other different day parts as well so beyond just physical store expansion expansion in our case would
01:50actually even include new channels and different day parts as well and i remember the first time
01:56you know i opened back in 2009 you had a little hole in the wall 20 seater in mong kong you you
02:02switch that quickly to sham shui po but to see that expand to now you've rewritten through the ups and
02:08downs of hong kong's fmb scene there seems to be now recently signs of optimism coming back that perhaps
02:16things have bottomed out a little bit we just heard from adriel chan from hang long saying look
02:20we're seeing foot traffic but retail sales not quite needs still needs to catch up what are you seeing
02:25in terms of foot traffic right now so to start off with we have surely came a long way yeah from the 20
02:30city restaurant to actually having presence in 11 markets globally right now and it is true we're actually
02:36seeing uh we are seeing a bit of a paradox in the market right now whereby we're actually saying that
02:42there's a bit of a decline in certain areas but there are growing opportunities in other areas
02:47within the food and beverage scene so if i were to actually look at some reports by the hong kong
02:52census and statistics department the food industry in 2025 was flat in the year before this is really a
03:02bit of a progress coming off a decline in the previous year and if we were to actually look at quarter by
03:07quarter we're actually seeing signs of encouraging traffic uh growth but having said that from a
03:13consumer perspective uh it's not everywhere that consumers are actually going to where are they
03:19going then that's that's interesting well they're going to shenzhen we know but but if you're saying
03:24that there are some sectors in or areas in hong kong that are performing better than others or different
03:29different types of consumer behavior how are you sort of categorizing it i think it's actually
03:34interesting what we're actually seeing right now that there's a divergence you have one end where
03:38consumers are actually seeking value that i need the best bang for the buck and that those are the
03:44places that i would actually be going for but similarly the same group of consumers would actually
03:48be willing to actually indulge and spend over the weekends so we're actually seeing on a day-to-day
03:53basis consumers are actually looking for great value but every now and then on special occasions
03:58they're actually willing to actually spend a bit more and for team ho one this is a unique space that we
04:03actually occupy because we pride ourselves is serving high quality authentic hong kong dim sum at
04:09affordable pricing all together so this is not only in hong kong this is something that we actually see
04:14across global markets in all the markets that we operate in as well it's it's the young consumers
04:19right they're much more budget conscious they maybe opt out for fine dining for something that is more
04:24affordable as you say this northbound travel trend though is there any way to offset that i think some of
04:31the trends are actually there to stay and this is actually a good reminder for us in the hong kong
04:36fnb or hospitality scene to really look at what are the gaps what are the areas we could actually further
04:42focus on if i were to actually look back at team ho one for instance when we started the priority the
04:47focus was really on the kitchen and the quality of the food that still remains our core guiding principle
04:52today but having said that good quality food itself is not enough today where we are actually seeing
04:59in the northbound consumption is really the quality of service and this is where we've actually
05:03really upped our service ensure that we're actually creating an overall improved guest experience so i
05:10think it's a combination of this kind of things uh the trends are here to stay yeah but what we can
05:14actually do in the hong kong market is really to see how we can catch up and to actually create an
05:19overall satisfying guest experience for people walking through our doors how do you uh how do you
05:25plan that expansion because you have different sort of models you've got the company operated
05:31you've got the joint venture and you've also got the franchise or the franchisee model as well
05:36how do you how do you determine which model to take as you look at new markets and new opportunities
05:42i think the way we actually look at it is especially assess opportunities market by market we really look
05:48at the opportunities and where we could actually leverage on the strengths of partners of franchisees in
05:53market and where as a group as a company we do believe that we have the right to win uh by going
05:59direct via company operated stores so for instance in hong kong china singapore and most recently in the
06:05united states those are company operated stores but as we actually assess opportunities geographically
06:12there are some areas whereby we do see synergies by working with a local franchisee who would know the
06:17market better so i think it's a combination of the best of both worlds yeah i mean you have you have
06:23markets right 11 markets as you say philippines china australia japan i mean us what markets still
06:29excite you where do you think you can still tap into and are there other geographies that you're
06:33looking at now to i think i think for us right now hong kong being the whole market remains a priority
06:38but we are actually looking at the united states as a key priority market because if we would actually
06:43look at trends in the market itself we're actually seeing a growing need and where consumers are
06:48actually looking for authentic hong kong tim sum so this is what we are one of the markets that we're
06:53actually looking at uh expanding across and we've actually set a goal to open up another 20 stores by
07:002028 uh in us itself okay well um others in terms of trends is of course the rise in these glp drugs
07:10and we've seen it from many sort of restaurant chains and the like that saying you know people are consuming
07:15fewer calories they're choosing protein over carbs now and they really had to force themselves to kind
07:20of rethink the value you know the menus or even change the marketing i mean have you had to do
07:25anything so one of the things that we've actually done on our end is like dim sum authentic hong kong
07:30taste remains the core but we're actually really trying to understand and listen to our customers we've
07:36actually put in place a program which we call voice of customers whereby we are really trying to
07:40understand from our customers and guests what they're actually looking for so recently we've
07:45actually launched a couple of new menu items to complement the course that we have that taps into
07:50this kind of trends one favorite example that i could actually quote is avocado dumplings uh oh so that
07:57plays into the healthy trends as well right dumplings so fried dumplings is something which is synonymous
08:02with dim sum but when we actually put it together with avocado paste that is something which is
08:07unique the dim sum and the dumpling remains authentic though sorry i'm a local hong konger so i get
08:13very fired up about this i am curious though because yeah you've got these new avocado dumplings but but
08:19how does that stack up against sort of the traditional pork bun what if you had to say three top selling
08:24dishes globally what are they so for sure our pork buns our char siu pao would actually still be the best
08:30selling not only in hong kong but around the world uh that is what customers and consumers come to our
08:35stores for but over and above it's no surprise for hong kong tim sum chin like ourself our top three
08:41items would actually be the chassis bow the hakau and the siu mai those would actually be our top
08:45selling items regardless of which market we operate in keep it traditional that's always my thing what's
08:52your favorite shang so of course it's a barbecue pork bun i think it's my yeah it's a must have every
08:56every single time i'm actually in store
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