| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JUNE 14, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL -- ASIAN COVER STORY
Michael Chan, Chairman, Cafe de Coral Holdings, Hong Kong (int'l edition) UNLIKE MANY HONG KONG EXECUTIVES, fast-food restaurateur Michael Chan, 47, has never wanted to be a property baron. During the boom years, Chan resisted calls to move into real estate, and focused instead on his Cafe de Coral's strength: food. ''All along, I have been saying, 'Stick to our core business,''' he says. Now, with Hong Kong in recession, he's expanding and leading the way in the service industry. Lower rents have allowed him to triple the pace of store openings, to three a month. He's also experimenting with a more upscale chain, Bravo le Cafe. An urban planner educated in Canada, he worked for the Edmonton (Alberta) government before returning to Hong Kong. He began working for his father-in-law, the founder of Cafe de Coral, and took over after his death in 1997. Chan takes a personal interest in creating the look and feel of his 176 restaurants, even scouting trendy Tokyo boutiques for ideas. ''I'm the in-house interior designer,'' he says. His attention to detail keeps profits sizzling. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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 The Stars of Asia RELATED ITEMS Michael Chan, Chairman, Cafe de Coral Holdings, Hong Kong (int'l edition) ONLINE ORIGINAL: ``We Want to Become a Global Company'' (int'l edition) INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
