Four “transformations” that have survived without returning before the spread of GDP infection

Four “conversions” that have survived without returning before the spread of GDP infection November 16, 18:27

As announced by the Cabinet Office, GDP = gross domestic product from July to September has a real growth rate of + 21.4% in terms of annual rate, the highest growth rate since 1980, which is comparable. ..

However, due to the influence of the new coronavirus, the scale of GDP has not returned to the level before the spread of the infection, largely as a reaction to the historic plunge in the previous three months.

What are the survival measures for the corona wreck that can be seen from the four "conversions" that are being tackled at restaurants and factories around the world?

Converted from a popular izakaya to a "small group, high unit price" Japanese restaurant

Some restaurants are trying to survive by boldly switching equipment and business formats in line with the “new daily life” of refraining from large-scale banquets.

The Japanese restaurant in Ota-ku, Tokyo has completely renovated its former popular izakaya and relaunched last month.

Izakaya sales fell by nearly 90% compared to the average year in response to the state of emergency, and have continued to decline by about 40% since June.

The owner, Ikuo Amizo (45), said that it is difficult to survive in the "new daily life" era of large-scale banquets and second parties with the "thin profit and high sales" style, which is open until midnight with a low-priced menu. I thought.

Therefore, we decided to switch to a Japanese restaurant by switching to a “small number of people and high unit price” strategy that raises sales per person even with a small number of customers.

We invested 8 million yen to completely renovate the store by borrowing from the national “sustainable benefits” and financial institutions.

The aim of the renovation is to create a space where you can stay with peace of mind by creating a sense of luxury and thoroughly implementing infection prevention measures.

We have added air conditioning equipment and provided partitions to prevent splashes by increasing the space between seats.

The counter widens the space between the chef and the customer, and the panel that prevents splashing is conscious of luxury.

The menu has been switched to an assortment that is about 50% higher than at the izakaya.

While preparing seasonal high-class ingredients, we stopped using individual dishes and narrowed down to course dishes so as not to waste them.

Business hours are shorter than at izakaya, and the number of customers entering the store at the same time has been reduced by 7, but sales have recovered to the same level as last year.

Customers who came to the store said, "It's amazing to think about investing in a difficult time in Corona," or "I took a picture because I wanted to introduce it to my friends and tell them that it was safe."

Mr. Amizo says, "I think that my anxiety about Corona is endless, but I would like to take on challenges in the future and overcome the new era."

1000 yen per canned fish paste is also a hit product

Some food companies that handle local specialties, which were dominated by tourism demand, are also moving to develop household products to recover sales.

At a company that manufactures specialty fish paste in Shiogama City, Miyagi Prefecture, sales fell to about 10% of the average year in April and May due to a decrease in tourists.

Sales are returning due to the effects of Go To Travel, but they are still below 50% of the average year.

We set out to develop products for home use in an attempt to increase sales by breaking away from the situation of relying on tourists.

In September, we started selling canned Ahijo, a fish paste that is suitable for pasta ingredients and sake snacks.

Although it is a high-priced product that costs about 1,000 yen per piece, it is mainly sold online and has become a hit product that accounts for nearly 20% of total sales, and we plan to continue developing canned products for home use.

In addition, at Matsushima, a tourist attraction that represents Miyagi, we have installed vending machines that can be bought without contact with people this summer, and we plan to increase the number in the future.

Takeda no Sasakamaboko, president of Takeda no Sasakamaboko, said, "Miyagi is expected to be even more difficult to manage because the number of tourists will decrease in winter. I want to continue taking on the challenge as much as possible."

Market development at an intermediary site From brake parts to bait manufacturing equipment parts

Some subcontracted SMEs whose orders do not recover are using valuable funds to develop sales channels by utilizing intermediary sites with business partners.

Seiwa Seisakusho, which has more than 20 employees in Tatebayashi City, Gunma Prefecture, manufactures parts used for brakes of railroad cars and automobiles, but orders fell sharply due to the impact of the new coronavirus, and in July Sales fell to about 60% of the same month last year.

The operating rate of the factory has dropped, and the state-of-the-art laser machining machine that was introduced last fall with an investment of about 100 million yen can hardly be operated, and only the maintenance cost is high.

To overcome the difficult situation, the company dared to pay a commission and registered on an intermediary site to find business partners.

This site accepts parts orders from approximately 1500 companies nationwide and introduces them to registered companies.

As a result of the registration, we received an order for parts for livestock feed manufacturing equipment from a new business partner, and last month we were able to secure sales of nearly 90% of last year.

On the 11th of this month, we asked the person in charge of the intermediary site who visited the factory to introduce more work in order to increase the operating rate of the latest laser machining machine.

The person in charge advised us to try the parts of semiconductor manufacturing equipment whose orders are increasing.

President Masanori Tada said, "Because major companies are in a difficult situation, I started to make them in-house without ordering from subcontractors, and my work does not come around. I thought I had to take action as well. "

From aircraft parts to artificial joint shipment with 3D printer

Companies that handle aircraft parts, which are particularly affected by the new coronavirus, are also moving to focus on product development in new fields by making use of their own technology.

A metal processing company located in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, has been working on parts such as aircraft by making use of polishing technology that reduces the unevenness of the metal surface to 1/1000 mm or less.

One of our flagship products is the use of thousands of parts called "turbine blades" that pump air into the aircraft's engine.

Even the slightest error can lead to engine trouble, so experienced employees polish each one by hand.

These technologies were evaluated and it was decided to use them in new aircraft of Boeing in the United States, but due to the influence of the new coronavirus, orders were postponed and sales of all aircraft parts decreased by about 40%.

Therefore, we have decided to focus on the development of medical-related products as a field where we can expect demand in the future and utilize our own technology.

We aim to process artificial joints made with 3D printers using our own polishing technology and ship them to medical device manufacturers.

Hidetoshi Abe, president of "NS Equipment", said, "I think that the work of 3D printers will increase steadily in the future, so I want to move forward. I want to survive and continue the work that is said to be" I could not do it without this company "." It was.