On July 28, Japanese restaurant company Yoshinoya Holdings announced that it would close 150 stores worldwide in the current fiscal year due to the impact of the new Crown Pneumonia epidemic on revenue.
The epidemic has affected the number of visitors, naturally, but Yoshinoya, a century-old company, has continued to decline in recent years, it is also an indisputable fact that the causes behind it are worth exploring.
1 year burst loss of more than 600 million, Yoshinoya global will close 150 stores
Yoshinoya stores
The times are changing, the pace of life and the shape of the people have been changing, the competition in all walks of life is more and more intense, a lot of traditional stores are facing the test of survival.
The sudden epidemic, destroyed many traditional stores, many people always love to focus on the "last straw that broke the camel", but not too much attention, the fall is an "old camel".
By 2020, Yoshinoya has been open in Japan for 121 years, but in recent years there have been repeated rumors of loss crisis. The year before the loss, last year also continued the state of decline. July 28, Yoshinoya Holdings announced the latest financial results, due to the new crown epidemic affect the number of customers, the first quarter of this year's revenue of only 39.6 billion yen, a decrease of 24.8% compared with the same period last year, a net loss of up to 4 billion yen.
Yoshinoya Holdings said it estimates that by the end of February next year, the year, I'm afraid it will lose 9 billion yen, or about 603 million yuan; therefore, the decision to close the 150 stores around the world.
Yoshinoya by a Taipei MRT station
Currently, Yoshinoya Holdings has about 3,300 stores in Japan and overseas markets. Once 150 are closed, it will account for 5 percent of the total. The company also announced that opportunities for Yoshinoya to open new stores will be suspended this year.
Yoshinoya, a famous beef and rice chain franchise with a 100-year legacy in Japan, has a history of 121 years, counting from the opening of its first store in 1899.
Yoshinoya's "bullhorn" logo was also designed by founder Eikichi Matsuda.
When Yoshinoya was rumored to be in the red in 2018, it blamed rising beef prices in the U.S., as well as salary increases for employees, which made expenses higher than earnings. This time, Yoshinoya blamed the deficit crisis and store closures on the epidemic.
But the question is, Yoshinoya's sales and business strategy is not a problem, in fact, many Japanese netizens have previously pointed out that the cause of the loss is more in the service regression. The store opened a lot, but the staff training is not enough, ordering food production is very casual, the speed of serving slow. In addition, Japanese netizens also mentioned the problem of declining quality, such as "meat and firewood", "rice ice cold", portion size is small, expensive and nothing to eat.
Taiwan and other overseas markets in the report, there are also netizens complained, "First cook the rice and meat before it!"
A hundred years of craftsmanship, a careless, hard-earned brand can easily be ruined. in July 2016, Ms. Zhao in Beijing, Yoshinoya ordered a set meal, and found a cockroach in the meal. The next day, received an apology phone call from the store manager, but the other side pointed out that the "little strong" vitality is too tenacious. In December of that year, some people in Taiwan reported that Yoshinoya's natto gasoline packets came from Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan, a nuclear disaster area that was banned from importing at the time. Later, Yoshinoya had to suspend the sale of shelves.
Takeru Kawamura, president of Yoshinoya Holdings Japan
Undoubtedly, China is the most important part of Yoshinoya's overseas market expansion, and it can even be described as "half of the country".
As early as 2014, then 45-year-old Yoshinoya Holdings President Yasutaka Kawamura said he planned to double the number of stores in the United States to about 200, and three years later, the number of stores in China increased to about 1,200.
In the U.S., Yoshinoya has sought growth by selling at low prices. Back then, President Kawamura said he wanted to expand the number of stores in China to the same level as in Japan itself. He said he could not survive by doing business only in Japan.
Six years ago, Yoshinoya's revenue from overseas markets, accounted for only 6% of total sales, but Yasutaka Kawamura was convinced that the two had to be reversed within a decade.
Today, Yoshinoya has about 3,300 stores in Japan and overseas, including its brands Yoshinoya, which specializes in beef donburi; Hanamaru, an udon noodle dish; and Kyotaru, a sushi restaurant. "Yoshinoya's restaurant portfolio includes Yoshinoya's beef bowl franchise, Hanamaru, udon and sushi brands. President Kawamura Taikui expects the impact of the epidemic will continue for a long time, in addition to freezing the new store opening program, he did not specify the plan to close the 150 stores, mainly under which brand more, in addition, did not specify the closure of the store exactly in Japan or overseas which countries and regions.
Incidentally, Starbucks also announced its biggest loss in more than 10 years on July 28, as turnover fell and costs climbed due to the outbreak, and it expects to permanently close 400 stores in the U.S. and Canada and reduce the number of new openings.
A century-old restaurant chain, can survive across 121 years, but also to cope with a variety of challenges and the existence of a variety of challenges, there is no doubt that, in this long process, will be subject to intergenerational inheritance of succession, operation, the general environment and the industry competition shuffle, and other challenges and impacts. Survival is not easy, the more courageous more difficult, can stretch and shrink, turtle life long years, first to ensure that live is the first .
Listing of the old Chinese can be youthful?
Hong Mingji, general manager of Beijing Yoshinoya Fast Food Co.
Yoshinoya has opened chain stores in many large and medium-sized Chinese cities, but most people don't quite understand, what exactly is the relationship between these Yoshinoya stores and Japan's Yoshinoya Holdings, and who is the owner?
In 1992, the first Yoshinoya restaurant in Beijing opened in Wangfujing North Exit, in fact, until 1996, Beijing Yoshinoya is still in the red. However, many people do not realize that Beijing Yoshinoya Fast Food Co., Ltd. was at that time the only Yoshinoya chain system in the world that did not have a Japanese background and equity.
Back then, Beijing Yoshinoya was a chain of fast-food companies established by Hong Kong's Hung's Group, which imported patents from Japan. Initially, the Hong Kong Hung's is entrusted to the Hong Kong summer domain limited company in charge of Li Bairong, later, Li Bairong acquaintance at the time of the Beijing industrial system, "double top ten factory director" Zhao Shen, after eight months many times "three florida", Zhao Shen finally came out of the mountain to be responsible for the management. Zhao Shen, previously Shougang elevator factory director.
In 2003, after Zhao Shen left, Yoshinoya has opened 33 chain stores in Beijing, turnover also increased from 5.42 million yuan in 1997 to 146 million yuan. Later, Zhao Shen came out and created another brand "Hehe Valley". Beijing Hehe Valley Restaurant Management Co., Ltd. was established at the end of 2003, the next year in March opened the first Chinese fast food chain stores.
Today, the general manager of Beijing Yoshinoya Fast Food Co., Ltd. is Hung Ming-kee, born in July 1970, who is also an executive director of Hong Kong's Hung's Group, vice-chairman of the board of directors, and chief executive officer of Hop Hing Group Holdings.
Su Hi-Ying, general manager of Yoshinoya Taiwan
It is important to mention that because Beijing Yoshinoya does not have a Japanese shareholding, it is also subject to Japanese restrictions, which only allow it to open stores in Beijing, Hebei, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia.
In fact, Yoshinoya in many regions of China are either directly operated by the Japanese, or are joint ventures, or they are licensed to operate under a brand name like Beijing Yoshinoya. For example, the Yoshinoya in Taiwan, the general manager Su Hi-Ying is a professional manager, she first Want Want Group, and later "parachuted" to Taiwan Yoshinoya as general manager.
Traditional Japanese companies, it is inevitable that the concept of "machismo" remains, as a woman in charge, Su Hi-Ying's ability to naturally have a superhuman place.
Take two more examples. For example, Shanghai Yoshinoya, founded in 2002, is a joint venture between Shanghai Xinya Group and Japan Yoshinoya Holdings. Initially, it was operated by the Japanese side, and the general manager was sent by the Japanese side.
Another example is Shenzhen Yoshinoya, which is also operated by Japan Yoshinoya Holdings itself. Initially, the owner of the Beijing Yoshinoya - Hong Kong Hong's group is optimistic about this market, repeatedly to the Japanese side to fight. But because of Shenzhen's proximity to Hong Kong and many other reasons, the Shenzhen market was not finally taken by Hong Kong Hong's, and indirectly taken over by the Japanese side.
The agent of Yoshinoya part of the regional franchise of the Hop Hing Catering Group, its shareholders are the Hong Kong Hong's family, its industry across the supermarket, catering, food oil refining and processing, light industry and toys and other diversified industries. 1998 in Hong Kong listed on the "Hop Hing Holdings", is engaged in food oil refining and processing, its brands include Hap Hing Holdings, listed in Hong Kong in 1998, is engaged in food oil refining and processing, and its brands include "Lion Ball Mark" and "Camel Mark", etc. The Hong family's fast-food restaurants are also under the Hung's umbrella. There is a trend towards younger people, but there are fewer "evergreens" and more "flashes in the pan".
Japan's Yoshinoya, which has survived for 121 years, naturally has its own excellence, and many of its things are worth learning from, especially in dealing with crises like epidemics.
In terms of the number of companies in the world with a 100-year lifespan, ranked by the absolute number of each country, the first is Japan, with 25,321; the second is the United States, with 11,735, and the third and fourth are Germany and the United Kingdom, respectively. The rest of the top ten countries are Switzerland, Italy, France, Austria, the Netherlands and Canada, and there is no China.
The fact is that a 100-year old Japanese company like Yoshinoya doesn't rank among Japan's long-lived companies. Among the 2.6 million companies in Japan, there are 21 companies with more than 1,000 years of history, 147 companies engaged in construction, such as the King Kong Group, have a history of more than 500 years, 1,938 Japanese companies with more than 300 years of history, and 3,939 with more than 200 years of history, and there are as many as 25,321 companies with more than 100 years of history in Japan, ranking the first in the world.
Japan's old century-old enterprises, most of them are family-owned enterprises, many domestic academics and investment market analysts criticized the "family" and other shortcomings, the hard slap in their own face, who dares to say that the family business must be backward? Don't be a frog in the well!
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