3 ms·
> ...and if a single location fails to grow adequately we can literally move it within an hour or two. And one would imagine there'd already be a noodle stand
by UncleEntity 8y ago
> ...and if a single location fails to grow adequately we can literally move it within an hour or two.
And one would imagine there'd already be a noodle stand sitting there since they've had ~80 years to find the optimum spots (going by TFA).
Brings back memories of when they opened a Taco Bell close to the Humboldt State campus and then had to hire 24/7 security to protect it from the anti-corporate vandals who didn't appreciate having tasty tacos within walking distance from campus. I can certainly imagine the mobile robonoodle stands will suffer many an unexplained breakdown when they try to displace another noodle stand.
- contingencies 8y agoAs an outsider it is easy to severely underestimate the dynamism of mainland Chinese urban environments. Also, according to a recent international study by HSBC mainland Chinese consumer enthusiasm for technology adoption is off the charts versus all other countries surveyed. While resistance to vandalism is a design consideration with any public facility, mainland China has extremely small rates of petty street crime relative to, say, the US or UK. Besides, our business model is not "displace another noodle stand" but "serve frustrated demand wherever it exists" which is typically somewhere else.