"Open Your Wallet" Chinese Hotpot Chain Haidilao Washes Customers' Hair Too

Chinese hot pot dining company Haidilao, known for its nail art service, has introduced a new "hair washing" service. Following the transition to the with-COVID-19 era, the company appears to be opening customers' wallets with differentiated innovative services as it quickly recovers its performance.

According to local media such as China News on the 16th, a Haidilao branch in Wuxi, famous for its hot pot franchise, recently launched a new service that washes customers' hair. Customers have responded that compared to the existing nail art service, this post-meal service is useful for removing the lingering hot pot scent from their hair, China News reported.

A Haidilao representative explained to the media, "This is a personalized innovative pilot service conducted in stores to provide members with more services and benefits."

Prior to this, Haidilao attracted attention by setting up a street stall at a night market through a branch in Qingdao. As the stall gained great popularity, the company introduced a new type of operation by offering catering services in other cities such as Beijing and Xi'an.

Haidilao is considered one of the biggest beneficiaries of the abolition of the zero-COVID policy. The company's operating profit forecast for the first half of this year is about 2.2 billion yuan (approximately 402.2 billion KRW), more than 30 times that of last year. Sales are expected to surge 24% during the same period to 18.8 billion yuan.

Founded in Sichuan Province in 1994, Haidilao actively expanded overseas, including South Korea, thanks to its local popularity. However, it suffered from China's stringent zero-COVID prevention policies amid the COVID-19 outbreak and restructured by closing 300 stores in 2021.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.