Daegu Franchise Industry's Leading Young Consultant: "Now Is the Era of Shop-in-Shop"

[Interview] Started Business Barehanded, Minyoung An, CEO of 'Dada Company' with 80 Chain Stores at Age 42

CEO Minyoung An of Dada Company.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] "In the era of small-capital startups, it is now all about shop in shop."

Amid the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ann Min-young (42), CEO of Dada Company, has become even busier this year in the food and beverage industry in Daegu. These days, she is overwhelmed with calls from business owners across Daegu and nationwide who have heard about her and seek consultations on changing their store types.

Even on the weekend of July 31, CEO Ahn spent a lot of time at the 7th floor of the downtown Daegu theme park shopping mall "Dongsung-ro Sparkland," consulting with a churros specialty restaurant owner about converting the business into a coffee and beverage shop with snacks.

'Coffee King,' 'Spoon Pilaf,' 'Tteokbunnie Tteokbokki,' 'Cheonha Jjimdak,' 'Dada Sushi,' and many more... CEO Ahn's franchise brands are so diverse and numerous they cannot be counted on one hand. Recently, when business owners are ready to give up due to operating losses, the first thing she recommends is the "shop in shop" model.

"Those who start small-capital businesses tend to jump in easily but also give up easily. I often hear them say, 'Success is someone else’s rice cake' if they don’t change their mindset. Before closing their stores, I strongly advise them to handle delivery-focused snacks inside their shops at minimal cost."

The brands that CEO Ahn launched consecutively this year following last year, such as 'Tteokbunnie,' 'Coffee Das,' and 'Food Cart,' are all aimed at the shop-in-shop concept. Coffee Das is the delivery version of her first franchise brand, 'Coffee King.' Using delivery apps, a cup of Coffee Das costs 3,800 KRW. Although customers initially think it’s expensive, once they receive the coffee in a premium container costing 1,800 KRW along with snack cookies and a 1-liter coffee, they become regulars, she explains.

As her franchise brands have increased, even large delivery chain companies that rejected participation in delivery systems a few years ago are now uneasy managing Dada Company’s franchise customers, reflecting CEO Ahn’s changed status.

However, her 20s were a cold and harsh time. From her second year of high school (Daegu Technical High School), she was more interested in cooking than studying and worked part-time in Chinese restaurants and other food service businesses. She opened hamburger, pizza, and meat restaurants using seed money and loans totaling about 200 million KRW but repeatedly failed.

Becoming a debtor with billions of won in debt, she turned to a real estate brokerage office. Searching for the cause of failure in poor location choices, she worked as a real estate assistant and by chance turned her attention to low-cost coffee. In 2016, she launched the 'Coffee King' brand and established the corporation 'Dada Company.' The 'Spoon Pilaf' brand, launched the following year, broke the common belief that Western food delivery was difficult and marked the start of her brilliant mid-30s era.

Since then, she has been on a solid path to success. With nearly 80 franchise stores of 'Coffee King' and 'Spoon Pilaf,' Dada Company’s sales exceed 2.5 billion KRW.

Looking ahead to targeting the distribution and logistics markets, CEO Ahn said, "The company name 'Dada' is an abbreviation of 'Dadaikseon' (the more, the better). I will do my best to build a system where many people can live together shoulder to shoulder, helping and supporting each other without losing the original intention."