February 3, 2011

Zensho's April-December beef bowl sales may hit record level

Zensho Co., operator of the beef-bowl chain Sukiya, is seen to report a group operating profit of around JPY12 billion (US$147 million) for the nine months ended December 31, up 30% on-year and a record for the said period.

Sales grew an estimated 14% to about JPY280 billion (US$3.43 billion). Same-store sales jumped 21%. The store network expanded to 1,530 locations as of the end of December, up 164.

Sukiya drew in more families as it added locations in suburbs and installed tables, a departure from the stores' traditional counter seats. The company doubled its advertising spending for this fiscal year, airing more television commercials featuring three generations of a family visiting one of its restaurants.

Zensho slashed the price of its regular beef bowl to JPY280 (US$3.43), undercutting competitors Matsuya Foods Co. and Yoshinoya Holdings Co. Yet Sukiya managed to convince many diners to upgrade their servings to bowls topped with celery, cheese or kimuchi. This helped keep average customer spending from falling as much as the sharply reduced beef bowl price.

The higher yen also helped reduce costs for procuring imported beef and other main ingredients.