CEO blog(en)

We decided 10 years ago to change Japan.

An aging Japan, a Japan with no resources, what do we have?

When we thought about what assets we had, it was "food" and "franchise".

We will supply the world with what the world needs.

By doing so, Japan will earn foreign currency. Without earning foreign currency, Japan will shrink.

The birth rate is not increasing, the population is decreasing, and the population is aging rapidly.

There was only one way to survive in such a Japan.

Firstly, about the franchise business, franchising it firstly appeared in America and expanded around the world.  
The number one share of the franchise market is held by America, followed by Japan in second place.

A craftsman-manager

I had worked on Saint Marc Holdings Co. Ltd.
As the founder fell into the situation of "Shokunin-Soagari" [craftsman uprising] in the early days, he began working on establishing restaurants without craftsmen. Shokuninn Souagari means that all the kitchen staff, as if by common agreement, do not show up one day and subsequently quit. Shokunin=Craftsman, usually used in a positive sense of craftsmanship, but in this context it can safely be used for its negative connotations.
Cook = is not a Shokunin. They are creature of inflexible ideas; hate change, reforms, or improvements; insist on every right and believe that neither shops nor enterprises will keep going without them.

The merit of continuing to conduct the previously mentioned social gatherings with partners (Refer to 04 A social gathering with partners) was -- to attract and hire new talent. Compared to the time (1995 to 2006) when I was managing the Prime–Link restaurants, attacricting & finding employees is getting more difficult now. I often hear the difficulties of recruiting & hiring new talent, not many people attend recruiting information sessions, candidates often cancel interviews, not only is hiring Japanese difficult, but hiring foreigners is challenging and difficult as well. Although people say these things “people are not coming to recruitment information sessions” and “people don’t come for interviews”, but, in a labor-intensive business, such as the restaurant business, the target of recruitment is already within the company. 

The building of an enthusiastic partner (a person fighting for the same cause, the same vision and a comrade), does it require monetary reward? Could only monetary reward create a group burning with enthusiasm?
When developing a service company, you often hear the following:

Are the stores in the red really bad?
When you run stores, some stores will be in the red for sure.
Management reaction to this situation varies and it differs.
Close the stores immediately.
Close the stores within certain period.

【Fourth】

The business performance of Starbucks in the U.S.A mainland is making a progress and recovery. This is where the founder, Howard Schultz, puts the most effort now. Communication with customers, new forms of communication, commitment to additional products. Starbucks clearly falls into the high price range amongst the coffee shops.The high-priced business is vulnerable to recession. Among recent food businesses performing well are gyoza shops (fried dumpling shops – Ohsho), Japanese family restaurants (Teishokuya), and McDonald's...It is only a group of companies that seems to be visibly in the low price zone. Actually, MacDonald’s is expensive. (Presentation technique?)

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