"Watami" sales declined with the new corona to switch to a yakiniku restaurant October 5, 14:03
Watami, a major restaurant chain, announced that it will convert about 120 izakaya chains in the group to yakiniku restaurants, and is rushing to change its business format amid a sharp drop in izakaya sales due to the impact of the new corona virus.
Watami has announced that it will convert its existing izakaya restaurant into a yakiniku restaurant and develop a chain with a new brand.
By next year, we will replace about 120 stores nationwide with yakiniku restaurants, aiming to open about 400 stores in the next five years.
The stores to be converted include the izakaya "Watami," which was once the core of the group. In the future, the "Watami" brand will remain as a yakiniku restaurant, but it will disappear as a izakaya in Japan.
As for izakaya, sales in August have been sluggish, with sales falling by nearly 60% compared to the same period last year, as summarized by industry groups.
While consumer behavior has changed significantly due to the effects of the new coronavirus, Watami decided that it would be difficult for the izakaya business to recover significantly in the future, and decided to switch to a yakiniku restaurant, which has a relatively fast pace of recovery among eating out. about it.
At a press conference, Chairman Miki Watanabe said, "I'm sad to lose the brand of my life as a Japanese pub, but as the times change, I have to change the products I offer." I emphasized.