Zhang Yong & Shu Ping, Hot Pot’s First Family

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- The first Haidilao hot pot restaurant had only four tables when it opened in 1994 in Jianyang, in China's Sichuan province. Since then, Zhang Yong and Shu Ping have expanded it into a chain of almost 600 restaurants in 10 countries. Customers know Haidilao for its quirky service (if you dine alone at a table, a waiter will place a stuffed animal in the empty seat so you're not lonely) and amenities (shoeshines, manicures). But the company's real innovation is technological. Last year, Zhang and Shu opened their first fully automated restaurant in Beijing, where robot arms made by Panasonic Corp. prepare and deliver dishes that customers order on an iPad. Haidilao plans to lower labor costs and boost efficiency in this way at all its restaurants, which this year included new locations in Sydney and London.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jeremy Keehn at jkeehn3@bloomberg.net, Claire Suddath

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