Catering company OURHOME has thrown down the gauntlet in the mid-priced buffet market dominated by Ashley Queens and VIPS. It is part of the expansion of the dining business led by Hanwha Group's third son, Kim Dong-Sun, executive vice president overseeing future vision at Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, Hanwha Galleria and Hanwha Vision.
According to the retail and food industry on the 16th, OURHOME plans to open the first location of its buffet brand "Take" at Young Poong Building in Jongno District, Seoul, at the end of this month. The price range is reportedly in the low-to-mid 20,000 won per adult. Based on weekday lunch prices per adult, Ashley Queens is 19,900 won and VIPS is 39,700 won.
Take is the first new brand that OURHOME has launched since being acquired by Hanwha Group. As the company moves to expand from a B2B (business-to-business) focus to B2C (business-to-consumer), it appears set to gauge market response by opening its first store in a prime Seoul district that draws both office workers and tourists.
OURHOME is a company that grew on the back of group catering and food material distribution. It was acquired by Hanwha Hotels & Resorts in May 2024. OURHOME's revenue last year was 2.4497 trillion won, up 9.2% from a year earlier. Operating profit, however, was 80.4 billion won, down 9.3% in the same period. Net profit also fell 10.3% to 49.7 billion won. While the company grew in size on a stable sales base, the need to diversify its business increased due to rising food material and labor costs.
The buffet market focused on mid-to-low prices is growing. As high inflation raises the burden of dining out, value-for-money consumption that allows people to enjoy a variety of menu items at once is increasing. An OURHOME official said, "In line with growing demand for value-for-money buffets, we are expanding our dining business based on our large-scale ingredient sourcing and cooking capabilities built through our group catering business," adding, "We plan to focus on menu composition and price competitiveness."
Still, some expect it will not be easy for latecomer OURHOME to succeed because Ashley Queens and VIPS have already secured a foothold in the buffet market. Ashley Queens is the core brand that accounts for about 70% of the total sales of E-Land Eats, the food and beverage (F&B) affiliate of E-Land Group. E-Land Eats posted 568.5 billion won in sales and 45 billion won in operating profit last year, up 20.8% and 41%, respectively, from a year earlier. CJ Foodville, which operates VIPS, also recorded 1.0208 trillion won in sales last year on the back of business restructuring and store expansion. That figure is up 12% from a year earlier.
A retail industry official said, "Buffets are a sector where it is difficult to compete on price alone," adding, "With Ashley Queens and VIPS already having established brand recognition, OURHOME, entering as a latecomer, may face limits in quickly building its presence."
Some also say it will not be easy to shift the center of gravity from a catering-focused structure to dining out. In the buffet business, competitiveness is hard to secure through cost cutting alone; so-called "experience design" — menu composition, store flow, service quality and table turnover — determines success or failure. The key will be how quickly OURHOME, strong in bulk purchasing and operational efficiency, can implement this in the B2C dining space.
Hwang Yong-sik, a professor of business administration at Sejong University, said, "Success or failure in the buffet business hinges on price point and target setting," adding, "If OURHOME opts for a mid-to-low-price strategy, differentiation amid competition with existing players will be the key task." He added, "Only by factoring in the profitability structure affected by rising food material and labor costs can the company build a stable business."
Executive Vice President Kim Dong-Sun has expanded dining and retail businesses centered on Hanwha Hotels & Resorts and Hanwha Galleria, but some new ventures have received mixed reviews after direction changes or restructuring. In fact, robot-cooking-based stores such as "Pasta X" and "Yoodong" were operated on a test basis and shut down in a short period. The premium burger brand "Five Guys," which Kim brought into the country, also moved toward sale a little over two years after settling in the domestic market. This has heightened calls to validate performance through the proprietary new brand, Take.
A food industry official said, "Given that Executive Vice President Kim has pursued various attempts in dining and Foodtech, this buffet venture will be a project that needs to prove results." Seo Yong-gu, a professor in the School of Business at Sookmyung Women's University, said, "While buffets have a relative edge as dining prices rise, it is important to build a stable revenue structure because demand is highly volatile depending on economic conditions," adding, "Ultimately, the key is how quickly differentiated competitiveness can be secured."