Yang Xiaolan: Deo brews coffee with love

Compared with Starbucks, Dio Coffee is an authentic Chinese brand. Although it was born 30 years later than the former, Dio only took six years to have more than 300 chain stores in nearly 100 cities across the country, leaving Starbucks far behind.

In the latest ranking of Chinese chain catering industry, Dio ranked 16th in terms of enterprise scale, becoming the winner of "China Excellent Franchise Brand" for three consecutive years; it was also continuously rated as "Top 100 Chinese Catering Enterprises" by the Department of Business Reform and Development of the Ministry of Commerce and the China Cuisine Association, ranking first in leisure catering.

What's the secret to Dio's rapid expansion?

This has to start with its executive vice president Yang Xiaolan.

Meeting Coffee

Shanghai-born Yang Xiaolan graduated from the University of Southern California with an MBA and went to a consulting firm in the United States. My daily work is to provide consulting on business management and franchising for many internationally renowned chain enterprises. Busy, daily coffee time has become a part of Yang Xiaolan's life.

One day, Yang Xiaolan received a phone call from Wang Yangfa, a major shareholder of Shangdao Coffee Chain Company. It turned out that Wang Yangfa had set up his own portal and created Dio Coffee because of differences with other shareholders of Shangdao Coffee in business thinking. Facing Starbucks and Shangdao Coffee, two competitors, Wang Yangfa knew that if he wanted to seek greater market expansion, Dio urgently needed professional management and planning personnel in franchise management. Yang Xiaolan came into his sight at this time.

Although she is abroad, Yang Xiaolan, who loves coffee, can't stop talking about the domestic coffee catering market: although drinking coffee is far from becoming a consumption habit of Chinese people, per capita coffee consumption is increasing at a rate of 30% per year, and this increase will be larger and larger, providing huge room for growth for the coffee industry.

And Dio is ready to carry out differentiated business ideas happen to coincide with Yang Xiaolan.

" Dio comes from Shangdao. The starting point must be above it. In terms of scale, decoration, service, products and management, it must be upgraded to a higher level in order to highlight its characteristics and advantages." Yang Xiaolan said it logically, which surprised Wang Yangfa.

That cup of coffee, two people drink from noon to dark, business ideas sparks constantly burst out. In the fragrance of coffee, Yang Xiaolan found the ideal direction, and soon put on the "war robe" of the executive vice president of Dio.

Make the cafe look like a hotel.

As Wang Yangfa expected, after Yang Xiaolan officially joined Dio in 2004, Dio Coffee maintained considerable personality while expanding rapidly.

When Dio Coffee Beijing Guangwai Store opened, this three-story green building has caused many people to comment,"How can there be such a big cafe ah?" "It's so big. It's a hotel, right?"

Dio, more than a thousand square meters of business area, Picasso murals, warm colors of wood and fabric tassels...... with decoration, music, lighting carefully created a classic "European nostalgic style", with a touch of nostalgia temperament, implicit and not publicity. Large enough store area, fully reflect the Baroque style, highlight the atmosphere and cultural atmosphere...

Dio's customers are mostly from the middle and upper classes of society, mostly white-collar and business people over the age of 30, who usually have a solid career foundation and good economic ability. For them, driving to a place not too far away to enjoy the quiet is much more romantic than drinking a cup of fast-food coffee in the middle of the city. This may be the hidden noble complex of successful people. Therefore, the location of Dio's urban-rural combination often surprises coffee industry peers, which is also one of the manifestations of Dio's differentiated operation.

"In order to ask staff to serve before the guests speak, we removed the original design of the service bell next to the customer seat, with a caring heart, a whispered greeting, a gentle gesture, for customers to taste coffee, enjoy a meal to create a noble and intimate feeling." Dio wants to create five-star service." Yang Xiaolan explained that Dio's heavy, steady style and delicate humanistic care are the embodiment of Chinese culture.

In addition to the coffee bar, Dio also has a professional kitchen to provide delicious meals for guests. Steak, fruit, noodle soup and porridge are all on the menu, fully integrating the functions of coffee shop, western restaurant and tea restaurant. "Dio's difference is precisely in its inclusiveness." Yang Xiaolan said Dio created a Chinese-style coffee culture.

Remember every customer.

"Many domestic franchise brands, either can not form a scale, can only barely survive in the gap between international brands; or is blown out, hyped out, the real connotation of the brand is superficial, thin, there is no way to stand firm in the market." Yang Xiaolan, who prefers to drink Mantenin coffee, has a manly style. She does not allow Dio to encounter the usual problems of domestic chain brands in her own hands.

Yang Xiaolan knows that the core of differentiated management is to create differences in corporate culture.

Dio's service desk has a customer record sheet, which clearly records the last name, facial features, favorite sitting position and eating habits of every old customer of Dio. For every detail of service requirements, new employees must be familiar with it.

As a result, Dio's regular customers often find that even when they meet a waiter on his first day at work, they will naturally call out his name like old friends, ask him about his warmth, and take him to his usual seat to serve him the usual drinks and food. Customers who have been to Dio and have special requirements for food do not have to repeat it twice.

In order to truly sow the seeds of care into the hearts of employees, Yang Xiaolan never hides her love. She boldly promotes the love of giving, hoping to influence more people around her.

Driven by Yang Xiaolan, Dio began to launch "poor college students to Dio New Year" and holiday work-study activities at the end of 2004. Yang Xiaolan also led the Diou people around her to subsidize out-of-school children in Guizhou and donate money to build water cellars in arid areas in western China. In 2005, the Dio Love Fund was established to help people in need of support and love inside and outside the team. Shanghai Dio Coffee Xuanhua Store, Suzhou Dio Coffee Bachelor Store and other chain stores across the country are also carrying out community volunteer services.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive." Yang Xiaolan said,"When we foster kindness and give care and help to others, we can sincerely experience happiness and pass it on to others." Our abilities may be limited, but even charcoal dust still has a temperature that can warm people's hearts."

It is this bond of love that binds Dio's busy guests to Dio every day, waiting for a cup of good coffee when their hearts need nourishment.

Be picky about franchisees

Deep corporate culture provides the soil for the growth of brand development. But in Yang Xiaolan's heart, Dio has just started. At present, she is most worried about how to screen the franchisees who keep coming to the door to ensure the healthy development of the brand.

Different from other chain enterprises, Yang Xiaolan plans how to scientifically assess franchisees when they lower the threshold and recruit franchisees in senior year. In addition to economic strength and the ability to continuously maintain the healthy development of brands, Diou will focus on considering the individual personality characteristics and business philosophy of franchisees to see whether they can shoulder the responsibility of continuous operation, including reaching unity with the company in concept.

"Only those franchisees who can accurately position themselves, trust the system, are willing to cooperate with the system, and can invest and undertake can become our partners." We're looking for partners who can go on for the long haul."

The over-reliance on "employee-type" franchisees, as well as the overemphasized "entrepreneurial" franchisees are not within Yang Xiaolan's ideal range. In addition, whether the franchisee's family supports his investment, whether the franchisee has the necessary professional skills and experience, and even personal connections will also become reference conditions. For this reason, there are not a few franchisees rejected by Dio.

Last year, Dio spent a lot of money to cooperate with Oracle, the world's second largest software company, to introduce ERP system into the company, marking the beginning of Dio management to enter the professional deepening stage. "We expect to have 800 stores by 2009, and we want to spread Dio's fragrance to more places."

Finally, when talking about the secret of Dio's rapid development, Yang Xiaolan gave an example: there is a store that is often brightly lit, and someone asked,"What brand of lamp do you use in your store?" So durable." The shopkeeper replied,"Our lamps often break down, but we change them when they break down." It turns out that keeping bright is very simple, as long as it is often replaced and self-improved. Dio's lead in casual restaurant chains stems from this.