As one of the City of Sunderland’s finest restaurants, Asiana serves the city’s food lovers from its stunning base in the Echo 24 building. Renowned for its exceptional Asian fusion cuisine, lively atmosphere and panoramic views over the River Wear, Asiana is a jewel in the crown of Sunderland’s thriving food scene.
OVERVIEW
Serving up thousands of meals is no mean feat and takes a lot of energy, both from the restaurant’s talented team of chefs and the building’s catering equipment, incurring significant cost to the business.
After highlighting this as an area for possible efficiencies, owner Ian Wong enlisted the help of cost saving specialist Great Annual Savings Group (GAS).
SOLUTION
The experts at GAS set about addressing Mr Wong’s contracts and immediately applied their knowledge of the gas market to take advantage of a conveniently-timed dip ahead of a predicted volatile period.
Asiana’s dedicated Account Manager at GAS immediately secured a slightly improved gas price, with a 2% reduction in unit rates. But the real value in extending this contract out over a longer period was the cost certainty it provided the business through a turbulent period in the gas market, offering protection from a potentially difficult renewal period scheduled to take place during that time.
This gave the restaurant an added level of control and improved forecasting ability, allowing Asiana to effectively plan energy expenditure for a significant period of time and protecting it from price rises for five years – a decision which could prove a masterstroke as Brexit unfolds.
The relationship between the two Sunderland businesses flourished as a result. GAS went on to sponsor a city initiative spearheaded by Mr Wong – the first ever Sunderland Chinese New Year Celebration at Keel Square in 2016.
TESTIMONIAL
“As well as the savings for the business, one of the main benefits of working with Great Annual Savings was the fact I had one point of contact to deal with.”
“My account manager took care of the endless list of phone calls required to negotiate prices and secure contracts. It saved me plenty of headaches and lost time.”
Ian Wong, Director and Manager, Asiana Fusion Restaurant