Are Older Men in Thailand Trading Love for Financial Ruin

[bow]

My Thai wife needs some pastime activty, but she doesn't want a job, it must be some sort of business activity.

I have discovered that the giant CP group runs a chain of fried chicken stands called "Five Star Chicken" (in Thai).

They are all over Thailand. I am sure you have seen them, quite small, bright yellow and red stands selling take away chicken.

The stands are based on some sort of franchise system.

Does anybody have any information about "Five Star" from a farang point of view ?

[Cuban]

There are many threads that follow this theme, is she capable of cooking and selling fried chicken? If so set up a simple market stall and allow her to prove this to be the case - otherwise your investment will be for the cost of the franchise and the tie into buying their chicken and packing materials without knowing if she can commit to the hours standing at a stall required to recoup your investment.

[bow]

There are many threads that follow this theme, is she capable of cooking and selling fried chicken? If so set up a simple market stall and allow her to prove this to be the case - otherwise your investment will be for the cost of the franchise and the tie into buying their chicken and packing materials without knowing if she can commit to the hours standing at a stall required to recoup your investment.

First, thank you for answering. I suppose my question was unclear.

I am not looking for advice about if it is a sound business investment, and I am not interested in discussing my wife's ability to fry chicken.

I am trying to find out if somebody has practical information about this franchaise, the numbers.

[gotlost]

My Thai wife needs some pastime activty, but she doesn't want a job, it must be some sort of business activity.

I have discovered that the giant CP group runs a chain of fried chicken stands called "Five Star Chicken" (in Thai).

They are all over Thailand. I am sure you have seen them, quite small, bright yellow and red stands selling take away chicken.

The stands are based on some sort of franchise system.

Does anybody have any information about "Five Star" from a farang point of view ?

http://www.cpthailand.com/CorporateCommuni...-Star-Rice.aspx

Check this website

[changnaam]

Maybe you should buy her a bar and have done with it.

Seriously though, the fact that she doesn't want a job would also suggest she isn't going to take running a business too seriously either.

I agree with the market idea, at least this would be a smaller original investment and if she makes a go of it then upgrade to "five star"

If your wife in your home country claimed "she didn't want a job" how would you react? OK love don't worry I will splash out on a franchise for you instead, and you can open whenever it suits you...

[changnaam]

Or maybe encourage her to get a hobby, or start voluntary work and help those who are in need.

[lensta]

My Thai wife needs some pastime activty, but she doesn't want a job, it must be some sort of business activity.

I have discovered that the giant CP group runs a chain of fried chicken stands called "Five Star Chicken" (in Thai).

They are all over Thailand. I am sure you have seen them, quite small, bright yellow and red stands selling take away chicken.

The stands are based on some sort of franchise system.

Does anybody have any information about "Five Star" from a farang point of view ?

My wife was helping a her friend check out 5 star chicken as a possible business. They have a website but it is all in Thai.

[bow]

Thank you all.

I have checked out the website, the information about the francise deal is not very difficult to understand if you read a bit of Thai. The catch is that it is all from the CP groups point of view, there is nothing about problems and complications; average turnover, things like that.

I am not planning on making a business investment, I am planning to provide a hobby for my wife. I am now trying to calculate how much this hobby will cost me.

My wife won't stand in the stand and fry chicken herself. She will sit in the shade, with a fan nearby, and a glass of ice water at her elbow, chatting up the customers.

To be owner/ manager / supervisor of a francise connected to the CP empire gives face, to fry chicken in an ordinary market stall means losing face. This is Thailand, it's all about face.

[phil2]

Maybe you should buy her a bar and have done with it.

Seriously though, the fact that she doesn't want a job would also suggest she isn't going to take running a business too seriously either.

I agree with the market idea, at least this would be a smaller original investment and if she makes a go of it then upgrade to "five star"

If your wife in your home country claimed "she didn't want a job" how would you react? OK love don't worry I will splash out on a franchise for you instead, and you can open whenever it suits you...

The mother of my first child here said the same thing, and I tried to open a restaurant for her to run. After arguing for almost two months on the location of the restaurant, she left home on the pretext of going to find out the rental cost in Nakorn Pathom. After about two weeks of trying to contact her, she sent her friend to tell me that she would come home if I forgot about the restaurant issue, which I agreed to. When she came home, she said, "I don't want to do anything that has to do with work. I just want to stay home and sleep."

[changnaam]

Maybe you should buy her a bar and have done with it.

Seriously though, the fact that she doesn't want a job would also suggest she isn't going to take running a business too seriously either.

I agree with the market idea, at least this would be a smaller original investment and if she makes a go of it then upgrade to "five star"

If your wife in your home country claimed "she didn't want a job" how would you react? OK love don't worry I will splash out on a franchise for you instead, and you can open whenever it suits you...

The mother of my first child here said the same thing, and I tried to open a restaurant for her to run. After arguing for almost two months on the location of the restaurant, she left home on the pretext of going to find out the rental cost in Nakorn Pathom. After about two weeks of trying to contact her, she sent her friend to tell me that she would come home if I forgot about the restaurant issue, which I agreed to. When she came home, she said, "I don't want to do anything that has to do with work. I just want to stay home and sleep."

Ha Ha thats a good one.... how long did you let her stay and sleep for ?

[Stumbo]

The mother of my first child here said the same thing, and I tried to open a restaurant for her to run. After arguing for almost two months on the location of the restaurant, she left home on the pretext of going to find out the rental cost in Nakorn Pathom. After about two weeks of trying to contact her, she sent her friend to tell me that she would come home if I forgot about the restaurant issue, which I agreed to. When she came home, she said, "I don't want to do anything that has to do with work. I just want to stay home and sleep."

Yeah mine wanted a restaurant as well, despite better judgment I bought one. She later ran off with the cook and left me having to run a restaurant I never wanted. Well, we live and learn. And that was the last time I was, or ever will be taken.

[getgoin]

Location is an important factor in determining if any food stall will be successful. Then do the math. How much does the chicken cost from the supplier? What are the associated costs? What is the profit margin percentage? How much chicken does she need to sell in a day to make it worth her while? Do you think that the location can do that much business?

Frying chicken is a dirty, greasy business so figure in a helper to fry the chicken.

Edited October 14, 2009 by getgoin

[bow]

Location is an important factor in determining if any food stall will be successful. Then do the math. How much does the chicken cost from the supplier? What are the associated costs? What is the profit margin percentage? How much chicken does she need to sell in a day to make it worth her while? Do you think that the location can do that much business?

Frying chicken is a dirty, greasy business so figure in a helper to fry the chicken.

Thsnk you for giving an answer to my question instead of bitching about former wifes and girlfriends.

Location, location, location: Yes, that is the one thing I definitely have; and I won't tell you were it is.

It is also educational: my wife won't have a clue to begin with, but she will gradually learn, and after a year she will be able to look at her little 5-star stand and truely understand how to run a tiny franchise in Thailand.

[AussieBusinessGuy]

how did it go with the idea or 5 star business. i have been recommened to 5 star hence being here lol. im looking at having several high quaility food stalls ( to western standards ) some what, and currently looking at having fridges / ice boxes in them. can anyone tell me about the 5 star as well. or anything about food stalls thanks max

[Jingthing]

Don't they also do a roast chicken concept? That seems better to me, mainly because I buy from them all the time. I would focus on the location complications; what's involved with getting permission to be at a set location and the costs involved. Also, I think you really need some kind of water source nearby, probably someone elses, thus involving some kind of payoff most likely.

[RAZZELL]

Any up-to-date links on the chicken or the rice "stalls"?

RAZZ

[Jeeem]

Bow said: My Thai wife needs some pastime activty, but she doesn't want a job, it must be some sort of business activity.

I have discovered that the giant CP group runs a chain of fried chicken stands called "Five Star Chicken" (in Thai).

They are all over Thailand. I am sure you have seen them, quite small, bright yellow and red stands selling take away chicken.

The stands are based on some sort of franchise system.

Does anybody have any information about "Five Star" from a farang point of view ?

Jeeem says: Well before I SAY anything, I must commend you on keeping your cool while so many responders A) Don't really answer your question Blather on and on about something that has absolutely nothing to do with your topic C) Respond rudely to you. It just baffles me how immature some people are.

Now, to your issue> I am quite familiar with what you're talking about. These little kiosks are quite popular and when I first arrived in Thailand to begin teaching back in 2004, it wasn't long before I learned of the famous CP Five-Star chicken. Back then the kiosks offered up roasted chicken on a continually rotating rotisserie, some chicken blobs stuck on a stick, packaged sticky rice and if I remember correctly, a tightly bundled chicken sausage. My Thai wife, at the time, raved about the stuff, but being from Isaan (Chum Phae / Wang Hu Guang village) and not used to having a foreigner husband who brought in five times the salary of a regular Thai teacher, who in her world was a rich person, she thought CP five star chicken was too much of an extravagance. So, I showed her it was not by buying up a good selection of the chicken and other tidbits.

Personally, for me, I didn't really care for the stuff. I'm from the U.S. originally and down by the Mexican border and as we all carry on all our first few years of favorites, I was never really keen on this type of chicken and the spices on it were not in my favor. So, we maybe bought the stuff four or five times more.

I have to mention my confusion about your statement, "My Thai wife needs some pastime activty, but she doesn't want a job, it must be some sort of business activity."

I understand the "pastime activity" part but when you say she doesn't want a job...but it must be some sort of business activity...well, those two terms pretty much cancel each other out, as business activity is typically a "job,:" and vice-versa. Unless you are talking about volunteer work....but, whatever the case, let's get back to the CP kiosks.

My wife was staying at home cleaning while I was working. I brought home the money, she bought the groceries, cleaned the house and occasionally cooked the meals....good deal...but, as will happen, she became bored and wanted to do something more. She had done babysitting before but that wasn't going to work because of our dogs...every child in the neighborhood was terrified of our two dogs who were excellent house alarms and great pets, but didn't take well to visitors. So, we looked at many different options and then the CP idea came up.

Before I get into the gist of this answer, I want to mention an important revelation. If you are really familiar with these CP kiosks, you know that only very recently they began to offer up fried chicken. Not JUST fried, but a fried chicken that brought good competition to the likes of KFC.....and WON. This new CP fried chicken (obviously they have their own special recipe) was not only (IMHO) better but more importantly....it is a LOT cheaper. A good example of price ranges in contrast with big name brands.

My observation was this...

I live in the deep south of Thailand, but I often travel to Ban Phrue to purchase items cheaper than I can get in my area. Like most larger villages in Thailand, this has a large walkover. On the Southern bound side of the road, near the walkover, there was always a CP five-star chicken kiosk. They sold the typical roasted chicken...I even purchased a couple of roasters there from time to time when I was too lazy to go home and cook or to help out my wife a bit and give her a bit of a surprise...but, I can certainly say that this little CP kiosk wasn't busting ass...their business was only what I would call mediocre.

Two weeks ago I flew into Ban Phrue on my motorcycle to purchase goods...the minute I stepped off my motorcycle a familiar smell hit my nose. It was that delicious fried chicken smell. I took a quick look around and saw the origin of that smell. Another CP kiosk had opened up...quite literally twenty-five feet from the other kiosk...but this one was selling the fried chicken I spoke of. I purchased what I needed and got back out on the sidewalk, heading right back over to that kiosk to purchase some of that chicken.

Low and behold....there was a LINE. Not a short one either...people had queued up at least ten people in a line. I waited a good ten minutes in that line before getting to the kiosk and there was only remnants left...a few chicken wings, an odd back piece and one dilapidated looking leg. I took all of them...much to the chagrin of the guy behind me. The woman operating the kiosk? Her composure could only be described as "harried." That stuff sells like hotcakes. Best idea CP has ever had.

Most families in my village cannot afford to go to KFC and feed their five to ten children. But, with CP's new fried chicken and their low prices....they can.

Briefly, I would like to give my opinion on the "location" issue. If you've spent any time in Thailand, you've seen the ridiculous concept of two, three or even four or five vendors setting up shop within mere feet of each other. Where in the U.S. or other mostly Western places, even if it were legal, this would not be accepted and there would certainly be a fight imminent or a lawsuit or something similar. But, in Thailand this is all Mai pen rai....no big deal. Don't freaking worry about it. So, there really isn't much to worry about, regarding location, except to pick an area where motorcycles, cars, and pedestrians alike can have easy access.

Long story short, I suggested my wife go to Ban Phrue, meet the woman there and stick around for awhile and watch her. She did and even ended up rolling up her sleeves and helping her. She asked the woman for information about where to apply for a job to get her own kiosk and although I don't know the details, she not only got the job but she got the kiosk and has picked a place in town to set up business. Her first night home she was discouraged because the job entailed constant work...you just could not sit down....you had to be continually unpacking flour, adding spices, soaking chicken, dredging them, frying them, etc...but, her business was brisk and she sold out before her time to close up came around. SOLD OUT.

So, If your wife is interested...really interested...I'd suggest she do the same. Go hang out with a worker at one of the chicken kiosks and see if it really is something she'd like to do. Then, if she does, as the woman for the info and go from there like my wife did.

Hope that helped a bit.

Jeeem

[Soutpeel]

Why are you lot commenting on a post from 2009 ?....

Posted 2009-10-15 10:57:46

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Here's the website for Gai Yang Haa Dao (Five Star Chicken) relating to their franchising.

http://www.5dao.co.th/franchise.php

And here's a Google Translate of roughly what it says.... kinda short on details:

A facade features five stars.

• Age not exceeding 40 years.
  
• In Thailand.
  
• Patriotic sales and service.
  
• Five stars is the proper facade location. Approved by an officer of the company.
  

The cost of owning a five star archway (approximately 15,000).

1. Guarantee the safety and equipment 3,000 which will be refunded on liquidation.
   
2. Transportation cabinet and equipment. To the point of actual sales.
   
3. The product (free shipping available).
   

Equipment, the company lending.

Led cabinet refrigerator sales.

Five stars is the owner of the arch.

1. I would like to set up kiosks at five stars. To determine the proper authorities to investigate.
   
2. Who will be training with the company for at least 4 days (training costs 250 baht / person).
   
3. After training contract * and then start selling kiosks.
   

The contract documents: A copy of the license and took home three card three cards.

Regulations and practices.

1. Vendors must wear a form. Bib apron. And the hat.
   
2. Need to clean the facade and equipments as well. Because the loan without any fee.
   
3. Must not lead to a sale of the company to keep the arch or in combination with the use of the company.
   
4. Can not bring the old days back for holding.
   
5. The need to support new product of the company.
   
6. Payment to the Company in cash immediately upon receipt of the product.
   
7. Selling price by the Company.
   

Call 02-800-8000 do business.