Ctrip Finds Growth Recipe in Restaurants 携程：进军在线订餐

There’s some interesting news out there regarding online travel pioneer Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP), which Chinese media say is adding the restaurant business to its menu of services. (English report; Chinese report) Now normally I’m not a big fan of Chinese industry leaders that look for new growth outside their core areas, but in this case I think that Ctrip’s move may actually be a good one. After all, this is one of the few cases of a Chinese Web company that ventured from its original roots to become successful in another related area. In this case I’m talking about Ctrip’s move from its original online hotel booking service into airline booking, which now makes up a big chunk of its business. Restaurants are sort of related to its two current mainstays, as travelers often want to find good places to eat. I also like Ctrip’s go-slow approach to adding new businesses, unlike other me-too Internet companies like Shanda (Nasdaq: SNDA) and Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), that keep venturing into new business areas every few months, mostly without success.

Bottom line: Ctrip’s move into the restaurant space is a smart one, and could easily fatten up its top and bottom lines in the next few years.

中国在线旅游服务的先行者携程旅行网<CTRP.O>也有了新动作。中国媒体报 道，携程进军在线订餐市场，旗下美食订餐频道已经上线接受预订。通 常，我并不看好处於行业领先地位的中国公司扩展其主业之外的业务。但携程可能成为少有的例外–毕竟，这已经不是携程第一次成功拓展核心业务领域。携程以 在线预订旅馆酒店起家，後来成功进军机票预订领域。而餐饮与上述两项都密切相关：旅行者往往喜欢品尝旅游目的地的美食。另外，携程对扩展业务比较谨慎，三 思而後行，这与盛大<SNDA.O>和百度<BIDU.O>动辄贸然出击截然不同。

一句话：携程进军餐饮预订是聪明之举，在未来几年对其销售额和盈利能力都有帮助。