Canceled 24-hour operation, entering the era of “substituting SNS at midnight”

Canceled 24-hour business To the age of “substitute with SNS at midnight” January 20 19:12

The largest restaurant in the world, Skylark Holdings, has discontinued its 24-hour operation at all stores for half a century. With the movement to abolish 24-hour operations being widespread, lifestyles have changed dramatically, especially among young people.

Public Relations Officer: Are late-night customers substituting for SNS?

Hiroyasu Ito, spokesman for Skylark Holdings, commented on the background of the measure: "In some times, many people, including groups of young people and people returning from work late at night, used restaurants late at night. There is an increasing number of people who are conscious of their health, such as not wanting to.In addition, with the development of SNS, the era has come to be able to communicate without having to bother with face-to-face, and late-night customers have been substituted with SNS Perhaps during peak times, places to meet and enjoy meals could be valuable. "

Experts: 70-80% excluding densely populated areas is 24 hours away

Takayuki Kurabayashi, senior consultant at Nomura Research Institute, which is well-versed in the restaurant industry, points out that the background of the 24-hour review of restaurants is the spread of food delivery services such as Uber Eats and changes in communication among young people.

Mr. Kurabayashi said, `` When the service of bringing restaurant meals to the house spreads, the behavior of going to the store is decreasing, and it is better to close the store during hours when customers do not come much In the last couple of years, 70% and 80% of stores will be closed 24 hours a day except for the densely populated areas such as central Tokyo. Or not? "

Mr. Kurabayashi said, “However, in the next four or five years, digitalization will progress with the spread of 5G and IoT, creating a store that can be operated unattended or can be handled alone. If it becomes more widespread, labor costs will be reduced, so it is likely that there will be a trend to return to 24-hour operation again. "

Open 24 hours 48 years ago

Skylark opened a 24-hour family restaurant in 1972, 48 years ago.

We started to open 24 hours a day in response to the young generation and those who work late at night, asking for a place where they can gather and eat at midnight. Initially, it was only a few stores, but as the number of stores opened increased, it spread throughout the country, and other companies began to open 24 hours one after another.

The 24-hour store has been used as a place for people who missed the last train to wait for the first train or for young people to gather and exchange various information.

However, recently, the number of users in the late night hours tends to decrease.

Recruit lifestyle, which conducts a market survey of restaurants, etc., surveyed about 10,000 people in the Tokyo metropolitan area, the Kansai region, and the Tokai region in October last year about the use of restaurants at midnight. 23.3% of respondents said that eating out at night decreased compared to 4.7% who said they had increased.

In addition, 13.5% of respondents answered that they felt the need for restaurants to open late at night, while 68.3% said that they did not feel the need. So why are late-night users on the decline?

One of the reasons behind Skylark is the change in communication among young people.

With the spread of SNS such as LINE, it has become easier to exchange information between friends without having to gather at a family restaurant late at night and exchange information.

According to the company, sales from midnight to 6:00 used to be more than 10% of daily sales, but these days it has been declining.

24-hour business review expanding, even in the restaurant and retail industries

The review of 24-hour operations is spreading in the restaurant and retail industries.

In the food service industry, Royal Host and Saizeriya have already closed all stores 24 hours a day and are working to reduce opening hours.

The Royal Host stopped working 24 hours a day, which made it easier to secure women's parts and improved sales during lunch and dinner hours, which attracted many customers.

This time, the company decided to abolish the 24-hour business.Even Skylark will focus on staffing during lunch and dinner hours to improve the quality of service and make it easier for women and elderly employees to increase each year. I want to improve the environment.

The convenience store industry is also reviewing its business model, which is based on 24-hour operation.

Seven-Eleven has been accepting reduced hours since last November, and 132 stores will be working in full time by next month.

FamilyMart has reviewed the contract between the headquarters and member stores and has decided to allow shorter working hours from March in accordance with the owner's wishes.

Lawson, which had previously accepted shorter working hours, saw fewer stores open for business hours, and as of January it had 155 stores, almost four times the number since February last year.