Summary of Key Points
The "Four Friends," which opened 14,000 stores in just 3 years, have risen rapidly thanks to their "unmanned self-service chess and card rooms" model. They use intelligent systems to replace human staff, focusing on privacy, affordability, and flexibility to attract young people and franchisees looking for an easy way to make money. However, franchisees find it difficult to turn a profit (long payback periods and diluted customer traffic), while the brand itself makes money by selling equipment and charging fees. The company also plans to expand this "self-service system" to other industries such as KTVs, billiard rooms, and even restaurants.
I. Why Do Young People Love Self-Service Chess and Card Rooms?
Traditional mahjong halls rely on the owner to manage the place and acquaintances to bring customers, but self-service rooms solve the problems faced by young people with their unmanned approach:
- Convenience for Users: Users can select a room, pay, scan a code to enter, and leave without interacting with anyone. There are vending machines for food and power banks for charging devices, offering complete freedom of movement.
- Privacy and Flexibility: Rooms are private and well-equipped (with windows, new air conditioning, and mahjong machines that are easy to use). The rooms are open 24 hours a day and are located in office buildings, making them safe even at night.
- Affordable Prices: The average cost per 4 hours of use is 70 yuan nationwide, which is cheaper than using an unairconditioned mahjong table in a park in Shenzhen (40 yuan per table). Group bookings make it even more cost-effective.
- Versatile Use: These rooms are not only for playing games but also for team building, business meetings, and even as affordable accommodations for college students.
II. How Did the "Four Friends" Expand So Quickly in 3 Years?
In contrast to KFC, which took 36 years, and Mixue Ice City, which took 20 years to reach 10,000 stores, the "Four Friends"' success lies in their "low-franchise-barrier + standardized system":
- Low Franchise Costs: Franchise fees and brand usage fees are often free, and the headquarters handle location selection, decoration, and design. Opening a store in first- or second-tier cities costs only a few hundred thousand yuan (compared to Mixue Ice City's franchise approval rate of less than 5%, which is similar to that of new stocks).
- Easy Operation: There's no need to hire full-time staff; part-time cleaners are sufficient to maintain the rooms. Intelligent systems (door locks, apps, SaaS) handle everything, allowing one person to manage multiple stores.
- Standardized Expansion: The mahjong machines, smart equipment, and online operations are packaged into a system that can be quickly replicated, enabling new stores to open every two hours on average.
III. Has the Franchisees' Dream of Easy Profitting Crumbled?
The brand claims a payback period of 11.3 months on average, but the reality is more challenging:
- Limited Revenue: Even if all 8 rooms in a store are occupied 24 hours a day, customer traffic can be diluted by new stores in the area, forcing them to rely on cheap group bookings to attract customers (any price increase drives them away).
- High Marketing Costs: Without promoting on platforms like Douyin and Meituan, there are no orders. However, promoting too much reduces profits. For example, a franchisee in Shenzhen lost 200,000 yuan after investing 200,000 yuan in marketing.
- Fierce Competition: New stores opening in the same area significantly reduces business, leading many franchisees to consider selling their businesses.
IV. The Brand Is Really Making Easy Money: They Sell a "Store-opening System"
The "Four Friends"' profit model is different from that of their franchisees. They are essentially selling a complete solution:
- One-time Revenue: They earn from selling smart equipment and decoration materials, even if franchise fees are waived.
- Continuous Fees: They charge a 5% fee from franchisee sales. With 14,000 stores in operation, they can generate steady income even without new openings.
- Investment in Growth: They are spending 100 million yuan on offline advertising in 2024 (including subway ads and Douyin competitions) to attract more franchisees, with revenue expected to exceed 1.2 billion yuan in 2025. Their real goal is to make money through franchisees.
V. Can the Self-Service Model Be Expanded to Other Industries?
The "Four Friends" are not satisfied with just chess and card rooms; they have already applied this system to other businesses:
- They opened 700 self-service KTVs in one year.
- They are also expanding into billiard rooms.
- In the future, they plan to enter the food and live music industries—any business that requires an independent space and unmanned operation could potentially benefit from this system.
In essence, the brand's focus is not on mahjong games but on the "unmanned self-service system." It's always easier to persuade others to open stores than to do it themselves.
Conclusion
The popularity of self-service chess and card rooms stems from the combination of young people's needs for privacy and affordability, along with a low-franchise-barrier model. Franchisees should be aware that the promised easy profits are more marketing hype. The real key to success lies in location, operation, and competition. The brand's ambition is to turn this system into a versatile template for starting businesses. In this business model, the most stable option is always the one that sells the system.