Riding the global K-pop wave, Katrina Group 1A0 has brought Daily Beer, a leading South Korean beer and fried chicken chain, to the city. Daily Beer, founded in 2014 with over 370 locations in South Korea, opened its first international outlet at Telok Ayer.
The store is just the latest in a series of joint ventures between Katrina and DailyBeer Co. Katrina will soon open the family-friendly casual restaurant Daily Chicken at Bugis Junction. By 2028, at least four more restaurants are planned under this agreement.
In a previous interview, Alan Goh, executive chairman and CEO of Katrina, said: “The synergies from this collaboration will add value to our shareholders as we continue to carry out a series of food and beverage rebranding exercises to rejuvenate our F&B brands.”
Daily Beer aims to attract young professionals in the CBD, a departure from Katrina’s other F&B brands like Bali Thai, Streats, So Pho, Tomo Izakaya, Honguo and Sanchos, which focus on fast and casual dining. Before Daily Beer, Goh, who founded the company in 1995, had concentrated on organic growth by creating and developing mass-market brands. However, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted a shift in his strategy.
Goh recalls that the pandemic was a challenging time for Katrina. He permanently closed about 14 outlets due to lockdowns and social distancing measures, which affected the company’s revenue and profitability. In FY2020 ended December 2020, the first full year of the pandemic, Katrina’s F&B revenue fell to $41.8 million, a drop of nearly 40% from $68.9 million in pre-pandemic FY2019.
Goh reconsolidated and recognised the shifting trends. In addition to its role as an F&B operator, Katrina had previously expanded into the co-living hospitality sector, which has seen increasing demand in Singapore.
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The group’s co-living sector has been its saving grace as the restructuring of its F&B business has yet to show results. In FY2023, Katrina reported a loss of $1.35 million, down from earnings of $3.5 million in FY2022. Revenue fell 8% y-o-y to $59.3 million, primarily due to the F&B segment, which Goh notes remains unprofitable amid fewer outlets and increased competition.
In its latest 1QFY2024, earnings saw a similar downward trend, declining 33.8% y-o-y to $88,000, while revenue was 3.1% lower at $14.3 million. This decrease was mainly due to the closure of three outlets, including one in Indonesia and increased competition in the F&B segment. As of March 31, the group operates 25 restaurants in Singapore under seven different F&B brands.
Business consolidation will remain a key focus for the F&B segment. The group plans to allocate resources to new or high-performing outlets while closing those underperforming ones. In contrast, the hospitality segment is expected to thrive, benefiting from the robust recovery of the local tourism industry.
