(Institution Name)
Haidilao Hotpot is a very popular food chain that originated in the Sichuan province in China. The restaurant is a very old chain of restaurants that was found in the year 1994 and hence has seen more than two decades of operations up till now. The CEO of the food chain is Zhang Yong, who hails from a small village in the very remote area of the Sichuan province.
He has led the company to success and hence has been seated in the same position for sixteen years. In China alone, there are more that 80 direct marketing stores that the food chain has owned. These marketing stores are based in the areas of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Nanjing. The company website is www.haidilao.com/sg/.
Like any other successful food chain, the Haidilao Hotpot is also trying to expand to other countries so that they can declare their presence in these regions and increase their profits. As part of their expansion plans, they are looking forward to starting their operations in Canada, Australia, and Malaysia. The most important country to look at in this regard is Canada because of its large population and high consumer purchasing power. If the food chain does this right, then this move can prove to be very rewarding from the financial viewpoint.
There are several legal requirements that a business needs to fulfill before they can be allowed to start their operations. The Canadian government is very considerate towards keeping their business sector in line with the best practices that ensure the sustainability of the country and promise that the nationals of Canada do not get exploited or exploiting in any way possible. The first thing that Haidilao Hotpot needs to be considerate about is the factor of consumer rights in Canada.
The consumer rights in Canada are very strict, and a large amount of money is fined on the businesses that are found non-compliant with the provision of these right. Therefore, the quality of the food that is offered at these food chains has to be of good standards, and their price should justify their quality and quantity.
Furthermore, since Haidilao Hotpot is dealing with food items, it is important for them to follow the consumer health laws. Haidilao Hotpot will have to use only the ingredients and the standards of raw materials that are passed by the health safety authorities and will not be allowed to use prohibited materials in their food manufacturing processes.
The matters of taxation are also of great importance for the businesses that operate in the region of Canada. The tax collection authorities of Canada spare no room for commercial money making entities and extract every single penny out of them that is due in the form of tax on them. tax rates are very business friendly in Canada so that the corporate sector does not feel the burden of the taxation that adds to their expenses greatly.
The burden of taxation is spread out in the corporate sector in a way that every business man or entity can pay their part of tax quite easily, so there is no big deal for Haidilao Hotpot to pay the taxes in full and timely. However, the wage rates in Canada are very high as compared to those in China. Therefore, if Haidilao Hotpot opens branches in Canada, they are bound by the law to pay their employees at all levels, in accordance with the minimum wage laws in the country.
After Australia, Canada is the second highest paying country with respect to minimum wage, and this can be a problem for Haidilao Hotpot. Paying their employees high amounts can be a new thing for the company as they are accustomed to saving a lot of expense while operating in China. The expenses will increase.
Therefore, the company will have to increase their prices while at the same time keeping them competitive with the market. This cost, however, gets compensated in another manner that the company gets to operate in a very high consumer purchasing power bearing country. The high paid people of the country afford to buy pricey food items and hence Haidilao Hotpot can set higher prices.
Politically, Canada is a very stable country (Nadeau & Blais, 1993( and with the young leadership now holding the reigns of the state, Haidilao Hotpot can be confident that the political structure of the country does not cause them problems in any way. It can be a very difficult task for companies to expand to countries where there is little political stability mainly because of the unrest that exists in such societies. What happens is that with unstable politics, cities and particularly larger and more densely populated cities become vulnerable to riots and closures very often. This harms the business in several ways.
In addition to that, because Canada is a democratic country, the policies that run the state, including the corporate sector are made by politicians. With changing political leaderships, it is possible that business policies get changed and hence the businesses have to go through rapid reformations to remain legal. Haidilao Hotpot can however confidently expand in the country of Canada because the political situation is very comfortable there.
Most policies are made with long sightedness and are hence very friendly towards the wider societies. Most of the governments that come to power in Canada tend to follow the sunshine clause of the policy making in which previous government policies are continued.
However, if some policies are changed or discontinued, also referred as sunset clause they are reformed in such a way that the businesses face the least hassle in opting the new
requirements. The Canadian government is very considerate towards keeping the environment safe. Businesses that operate in the country have to make sure that they follow the environmental rules so that they do not cause deterioration to the ecosystem of the territory. The waste materials thus produced in business operations are to be dealt with in a proper manner.
Canada has been attracting immigrants from all over the world and because of the high demand of Canadian residence rights, only the best-suited people find their way to the country (Li, 2003). People who reside in the country are either the bests of their respective profession or have a substantial amount of investment with them or at the very least have very good academic backgrounds. With such people coming to the territory, the country is becoming more and more progressive financially.
Most of the financial matters in Canada are dealt with banks. This is so because the government appreciates businesses to keep the authorities aware of their activities and transactions. Banks offer to fund at a very nominal rate of interest and hence are very easy to borrow from in day to day financing requirements. The currency of Canada is also rather healthy,
and though occasionally it gets dipped in comparison with the United States dollar, it has a strong history and a promising future. With such a strong currency to deal in, it is very good for Haidilao Hotpot to operate in the country.
The country of Canada is very welcoming to businesses because incoming investment is mutually beneficial both for the local economy and the businesses that start their operations there. So much so, that the governments allow people to get Canadian citizenships on the grounds that they bring investment in the region.
As part of the policies that the government tries to facilitate the businesses that start operations in the country, they are offered legal advice by the government and the guidelines and structures that the businesses must follow are laid out very clearly and are easy to follow.
Australia and Malaysia are also considered as countries where consumer purchasing power is on the higher side. Hence, the expansion plan of the food chain to these countries is not bad at all. Australia is the highest wage rate bearing country in the world and because of that, people there are able to pay for expensive food that can give the company much profit.
Similarly, while there may be several cultural difference in Malaysia for the company to look after, the country still remains a very viable option for expansion there. Malaysian taste for food is much more unique and of course, a different set of environmental, legal and financial requirements is in place there. These requirements vary greatly from those in Canada and China. In order to effectively expand to these new countries, it is essential that the company mindfully studies and adapts with these rules so that they legally and environmentally comply with the requirements of each of these countries.
References
Li, P. S. (2003). Destination Canada: Immigration debates and issues (p. 33). Don Mills: Oxford University Press.
