This summer, Sushiro, a major conveyor belt sushi restaurant, expanded into Beijing. The first store opened in Xidan, a busy area in central Beijing, where the wait time exceeded 10 hours on the first day. In addition to providing private rooms, which is unusual for conveyor belt sushi restaurants, the restaurant also introduced a “DigiRo” system that reproduces the flow of sushi on a large display and allows customers to place orders by touching the screen. When my family and I visited a Seidan store in September, the store was full. My son was fascinated by Digi-Ro and was ordering sushi one after another.
Beijing used to be a “blank area” for Japanese conveyor belt sushi chains, but in January of this year, “Hama Sushi” also expanded into Beijing, and the business is booming.
On the other hand, in China, the slump in consumption due to the economic slowdown is worsening, and it is not uncommon to find few customers when entering a restaurant. According to Chinese media, in Beijing, the total profits of food and beverage businesses with annual operating revenue of 2 million yuan (approximately 42 million yen) or more decreased by about 90% from January to June this year compared to the same period last year. In Shanghai, the company reportedly fell into the red. High-end restaurants such as Michelin-starred restaurants are reportedly in dire straits.
It appears that consumers, who are tightening their wallets amid harsh economic conditions, are flocking to Japanese conveyor belt sushi restaurants with an emphasis on cost performance. I look forward to seeing Japanese chains do their best to take on the Chinese market, where consumer behavior is changing. (Shohei Mitsuzuka)
Source: Japanese