In the Tankan = Corporate Short-term Economic Observation Survey released by the Bank of Japan, the index showing the economic judgment of the manufacturing industry of large companies remained unchanged from the previous time and remained unchanged, while the non-manufacturing industry stayed after the state of emergency was lifted. The pick-up movement has strengthened due to food and beverage services, etc., which has greatly improved to a plus 9 points.

We have summarized the current state of the economy in each region.

Travel agency "Omicron Co., Ltd." also revised its business plan

Due to the influence of the new mutant virus "Omicron strain", some companies in the travel industry are forced to revise their business plans.



The travel agency "Reiwa Travel" in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, stopped selling tours after the spread of the infection last year, but since the emergency declaration was lifted in October, demand for the year-end and New Year holidays will also increase from this month. Looking ahead, we were planning to start selling tours including overseas travel.



However, due to the expansion of "Omicron stock", Japanese people who returned from overseas travel had to wait at home for 14 days after entering Japan, so the company decided to stop selling the tour.



In order to secure sales as much as possible, the company has started a service on behalf of procedures such as obtaining vaccination certificates and travel certificates required when traveling overseas.



Hiroki Ueda, executive officer of "Reiwa Travel," said, "If the infection of Omicron strains spreads overseas, we will not be able to travel from Japan, so we are in a situation where we will hit our business directly. If the conditions for isolation when returning to Japan are not relaxed, users will not be relieved and the demand for overseas travel will not return, so I think it is time to put up with it. "

Hiroshima Hotel "Temporary Holiday" Continues

At hotels in Hiroshima City, the number of guests is still about 70% of the average year even after the state of emergency has been lifted, and even now, we continue to take a temporary rest to reduce the number of employees who go to work. increase.



At hotels near JR Hiroshima Station, tourists and business travelers have begun to return since October after the state of emergency was lifted, but the number of guests stayed at about 70% before the spread of the infection.



Since the management is still in the red, we are still implementing "temporary leave" to reduce the number of employees who go to work, and apart from holidays, we take an average of four days off per person per month.



In addition, the banquet hall, which is another pillar of sales, is often used by a small number of people, so the number of reservations is only about 30% of the average year.

At this hotel, the number of people who can enter the banquet hall is halved, and the staff is serving food in small plates and calling for a "mask dinner" to remove the mask only when eating and drinking to strengthen infection control. increase.



Amid concerns about the re-expansion of the new coronavirus infection, we would like to continue these efforts and lead to the recovery of future users.



Hideki Kiso, General Manager of the Planning Department of Hotel Granvia Hiroshima, said, "We hope that we will strengthen disinfection and cleaning so that it can be used by many people during the year-end and New Year holidays."

Auto parts manufacturers Labor shortages and soaring raw material prices are issues

At manufacturers of automobile parts in Hiroshima Prefecture, production has recovered to the level before the spread of infection as the semiconductor shortage of customers is being resolved.

However, labor shortages and soaring raw material prices due to the rapid recovery of production have become new issues.



At the Kitahiroshima-cho factory of Molten, a manufacturer of automobile parts that process rubber and metal, production in September decreased by 40% compared to before the spread of the infection due to the shortage of semiconductors.

However, as the semiconductor shortage of our business partners has been resolved since last month, orders have increased sharply, and production has recovered to the level before the spread of infection.



Under these circumstances, a new issue has been raised due to the rapid recovery of production, but there is a labor shortage.



Since the production of the factory has been reduced since April, the number of employees who quit their jobs during this period is one after another, and the current number of employees is about 10% less than planned.

Although the company is strengthening recruitment activities, it is inevitable to increase production by increasing overtime on weekdays and work on holidays.



In addition, soaring raw material prices are a major burden on management.



Purchasing prices for rubber and metals have risen by about 10% in the last six months, and transportation costs have also risen.

For this reason, it is said that even if the production volume increases, the profit does not rise as expected.



Mitsuhiro Shintani, the plant manager of Molten Chiyoda Plant, said, "Although the shortage of semiconductors has been prolonged longer than expected, we are expecting a recovery in production in the future. Soaring prices are also squeezing profits. We want to overcome them by improving productivity. "

Izakaya chain

居酒屋チェーンの間では「ウィズコロナ」の時代に合った新たな店舗の運営方法を進める動きが出ています。



全国に110店舗を展開する焼き餃子の居酒屋チェーン「肉汁餃子ダンダダン」では、ことし10月以降、飲食店への時短営業の要請が解除されたことで通常の営業時間に戻しています。



客足は徐々に回復し、忘年会シーズンを前にさらなる売り上げの拡大を見込んでいますが、会社では、新型コロナの感染が再拡大する可能性も見据えてDX＝デジタル変革に取り組み店舗の運営方法の見直しを図っています。



新たな変異ウイルス「オミクロン株」の影響も踏まえて今後もテイクアウトの需要が続くと見込んでいて、今月からは店舗の外で利用客がスマートフォンで注文することができるシステムを導入し、店舗内で待たずにすぐに料理を受け取れる取り組みを一部の店舗で始めました。



また、店内でも、メニューなどに多くの人が触れないようにするため、利用客自身のスマホでQRコードを読み取り、注文ができる仕組みも取り入れているということです。



今後、需要が本格的に回復した際にはアルバイトなどの人手不足も課題となることから、AI＝人工知能を活用して店舗ごとの利用客の数を予測し、料理に使う食材を自動で発注するシステムも導入しています。



食材の発注業務は、これまで各店舗で1時間以上かかっていたということですが、新たなシステムの導入で不慣れなアルバイト店員でも5分ほどに短縮することができるということです。



会社ではDX化を進めることで、「ウィズコロナ」の時代に対応した新たな店舗の運営方法を進めていきたい考えです。



Daisuke Obayashi, president's office of "Meat Juice Dumplings Dandadan," said, "Since we do not know the future of Omicron stock, we have entered an era where we cannot do izakaya unless we prepare for new initiatives such as DX conversion. I would like to review the store management method according to the way of thinking. "