(Yicai Global) March 2 -- The founder of Haidilao International Holding is standing down as chief executive officer and will be replaced by his deputy CEO as the loss-making Chinese hotpot giant looks for ways to turn itself around after a spree of overaggressive expansion coupled with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic left the restaurant chain mired in debt.

Yang Lijuan will be responsible for overseeing the management and strategic development of Haidilao, the Beijing-based company said today. She was the brains behind the ‘Woodpecker Plan,’ brought in November last year, to close around 300 restaurants, or one fifth of its worldwide outlets, that were underperforming.

51-year-old Zhang Yong, who set up the popular hotpot chain in 1994 together with his spouse and another couple, will continue to serve as chairman of the board and executive director to lead and supervise the company’s operations together with senior management, the firm added.

Yang has risen through the ranks during a 27-year career at the hotpot chain. She started off as the manager of Haidilao’s first restaurant in Jianyang, southwestern Sichuan province and was behind its expansion to becoming the largest hotpot chain in the country. The 43-year-old became chief operating officer in 2018 and deputy CEO in August last year.

The company is bracing for losses of up to CNY4.5 billion (USD711 million) in 2021, a far cry from 2020’s profit of CNY309.5 million (USD48.9 million), the firm said on Feb. 21. Revenue, though, is expected to jump 40 percent from the year before to CNY40 billion (USD5.1 billion).

Haidilao’s stock price [HKG:6862] was trading down 1 percent at HKD17.88 (USD2.30) as of 1:30 p.m. today, giving it a market valuation of HKD99.6 billion (USD12.7 billion).

Editor: Kim Taylor