A Chinese quick-service fish restaurant chain is expanding in the U.S. as weaker consumer sentiment drags on its performance in the Chinese catering sector.
The Yu Ni Zai Yi Qi chain, which trades as Together With Fish, has opened a new Fish With You eatery in the Convoy district of San Diego, California, U.S.A. The company also has a restaurant in a Chinese neighborhood of Flushing in the New York City borough of Queens.
Fish With You uses pangasius for its whitefish and fermented cabbage stews, which sell for USD 14.95 (EUR 13.75) per serving.
Boasting over 2,000 stores in mainland China, the Yu Ni Zai Yi Qi chain is one of a new wave of similar fish-focused informal dining chains opening across the country in recent years, including the fast-expanding Tai Er Yu brand, operated by Jiumaojiu Holdings. Many have relied on cheap pangasius, mainly imported from Vietnam, to drive growth.
U.S. expansion is one method for Chinese chains to circumvent the impact of weak consumer sentiment in China that is hurting domestic restaurant chains. Jiumaojiu recently issued a profit warning, saying it expects its H2 2024 profits to decline significantly.
In a note to investors, Jiumaojiu Chairman Guan Yihong blamed “decreases in both average spending per customer and table turnover rates” driven by “a shift in consumer habits as affected by changes in the external environment” for the downturn.
Jiumaojiu posted 6.4 percent higher earnings in H1 2024 year over year, with revenue of approximately CNY 3.04 billion (USD 425 million, EUR 395 million), but the company projects profits will be down 69.8 percent year over year in H2 2024 compared to the CNY 222.2 million (USD 31 million, EUR 28.8 million) recorded for the first half of 2023.
An expansion in the U.S. market may offer new sources of revenue and higher margins to companies like Yu Ni Zai Yi Qi. In China, its bowls of sour and spicy soup and rice sells for CNY 33 (USD 4.62, EUR 4.29) per person, less than one-third of the price charged in the company’s American stores. Competition in China’s hotpot and casual fish soup sector is fierce, with several large chains competing with similar offerings to Jiumaojiu’s.
