Japan's deep recession spells big change for branches of US brands
Nation's Restaurant News, Feb 15, 1999 by Elizabeth BrentE-mail Print Link << Page 1 Continued from page 2. Previous | Next
Hard Rack Cafe International has said it would allow its Japanese Hard Rock branches to depart from the chain's standard menu for the first time this year. "American visitors want Japanese items. So we'll introduce tempura sushi," explained Einosuke "Eddie" Sumitani, chief executive of WDI Group, the master Japanese licensee of both Hard Rock Cafe and Wolfgang Puck's famed Spago. The chain's Tokyo unit is particularly reliant on American tourists, whose numbers have dropped dramatically in the last two years, yielding a 10-percent decline in sales. To keep prices constant, WDI has switched to more advance purchasing contracts and is attempting, in a nation accustomed to multistep distribution, to deal directly with producers.
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SWOT Analysis - To Make Your Business More Profitable Switching from U.S. imports to local sources can help defray costs, Domino's Higa said, pointing out that prices of local products have stabilized. Bankruptcies have been so numerous that "many producers are just happy to get paid," he quipped.
Burger King Japan is sourcing more of its food, equipment, and building-facade materials locally The changes, part of a campaign to cut costs by 30 percent at the store level, were instigated by Masao Mabuchi, BK Japan's new president and representative director.
Mabuchi ...