Strengthening Development of Street-Level and In-Building Stores

「As part of our store rollout, we carried out renovation renewals and reopened Tsubakiya Opera City on 1 May and Tsubakiya Shimbashi Saryo on 3 June to strengthen our growth platform.」

「We have introduced a best-practice method that rolls out the operating model of high-profit stores across the network, sharing frontline know-how throughout the company, while implementing measures such as changing the business format and reviewing operating hours at low-profit stores.」

「The Kotegaeshi and Pastakan Group opened Ikebukuro Pastakan, one of the largest stores in our network. Although we had operated at the same facility for 31 years, the new store is approximately 1.5 times larger and opened on the restaurant floor.」

「For new openings, we opened 3 stores: Tsubakiya Coffee Kichijoji Saryo, Tsubakiya Coffee Roastery & Cafe, and Italian Dining DONA Shinjuku Kinokuniya.」

「Regarding store openings and closures, customer numbers and sales at the newly opened Tsubakiya Coffee Kichijoji Saryo, opened in May 2024, and Tsubakiya Cafe Kashiwa Takashimaya, reopened with an expanded floor area in July, have both been progressing smoothly.」

「At Kote Gaeshi Urawa Parco, whose fixed-term lease had reached its expiration, we proposed renovating the previously enclosed interior to create a more open atmosphere that would be accessible to a broader customer base. This led to the signing of a long-term lease.」

「Regarding store openings, closures and renovations, Ginza Wakan Tsubakiya Coffee Kashiwa Takashimaya Station Mall closed on 28 January 2024 for floor renovations. Kote Gaeshi Urawa Parco reopened on 15 March 2024 following renovations. The interior, themed around a natural Japanese-modern style, uses sophisticated colors and natural materials to create a more relaxing space. In addition, construction is under way on Tsubakiya Coffee Kichijoji Saryo, scheduled to open in May 2024 in the following fiscal year, with JR Kichijoji Station as its nearest station, while work has begun on Tsubakiya Coffee Roastery, whose nearest station is Sumiyoshi Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line and whose opening date has not been determined.」

「For new openings, we opened 3 stores in total: Saryo SiKi Tsubakiya Coffee Queens Isetan Sengawa on Wednesday, 4 October; Kotegaeshi Chiba Sogo on Friday, 6 October; and TSUBAKIYA Jiyugaoka on Friday, 20 October.」

「In response to rising demand for dine-in service, we are opening full-service stores as part of our plan to build a network of 120 stores. In October, we will sequentially open Saryo SIKI TSUBAKIYA Queens Isetan Sengawa, Kotegaeshi Chiba Sogo and TSUBAKIYA Jiyugaoka.」

「At the retail-only Cake and Roasted Coffee Tsubakiya Coffee Omori Tokyu store, newly opened on 20 October, small whole cakes and coffee beans, including Tsubakiya drip coffee, have proved highly popular, and the store is becoming a profitable model for our retail business.」

「For new openings, on Thursday, 20 October, we launched Cake and Roasted Coffee Tsubakiya Coffee Omori Tokyu on the first floor of Atre Omori, a commercial facility directly connected to JR Omori Station. This takeout-only store offers a lineup centered on house-made cakes and specialty coffee beans, all roasted in-house, including the store-exclusive Omori Blend and the new Bullman Blend.」

「On 28 July, we announced a medium-term management plan covering the fiscal years ending April 2023 through April 2025. Under our store-opening strategy, we will focus on relocating stores to areas near central Tokyo to accommodate the shift toward shorter commutes in the with-COVID era, granting franchise rights through the split-off model, and expanding our franchise network, with the aim of returning to the pre-COVID total of 120 stores.」

「As the shift toward proximity between home and work continues against the backdrop of working from home and telework, we will avoid concentrating store openings in central areas and increase the proportion of stores opened in areas near the city center, within 30–40 minutes of central Tokyo, combining commercial and residential districts. At the Ginza Wakan Tsubakiya Coffee Tama-Plaza store, which opened in the previous fiscal year, customer traffic has increased slightly compared with pre-pandemic levels in line with the shift toward suburban areas, and stable monetization has been achieved since shortly after the opening.」

「Regarding new store openings, in line with our plan to relocate stores from central Tokyo to the suburbs, we opened Ginza Wakan Tsubakiya Coffee Tama-Plaza (62 seats) at Tokyu Department Store Tama-Plaza on Friday, 25 February. We are also expanding Tsubakiya Coffee Shinjuku Saryo, our largest flagship store, to a total of 220 seats across 2 floors, with the work targeted for completion ahead of its mid-April opening.」

「For new store openings and investment, we will open new stores centered on relocating toward suburban formats, moving away from a business model weighted toward central areas that is particularly vulnerable to telework and the loss of inbound demand. In addition, to grow the retail business, we will promote investment in renovating existing stores and improving factory productivity.」

「Among the new stores, we opened 2 stores: Pronto Yurakucho on 1 June and Italian Dining DONA Shinjuku East Exit on 16 July.」

「In addition, demand for proximity between home and work, driven by working from home and telework, means that a certain degree of the shift toward suburban areas near the city center is expected to continue after the pandemic subsides. Accordingly, while limiting our store-opening area to the Tokyo metropolitan region, we will not concentrate exclusively on central locations. We will carefully select locations based on the balance between commercial activity and the resident population, as well as store scale, and aim to expand into vibrant street-level locations with strong affinity for retail businesses, including street-level floors of large commercial facilities, food retail floors and station-building floors connected to ticket-gate decks.」

「Given these circumstances, we renovated 4 suburban stores that were recovering quickly in order to meet demand for takeout. By remodeling the stores to place a cake display case at the entrance and highlight a dedicated takeout counter, we have secured sales exceeding the previous year's level since the renovations.」

「On 5 June, Ducky Duck Yokosuka opened as a grand-opening location inside Coaska Bayside Stores, the commercial complex newly opened in front of Shioiri Station on the Keikyu Line. The store offers a spacious, comfortable 125-tsubo setting,」

「The company will develop street-front stores to diversify the risk of having to vacate stores under fixed-term lease agreements that cannot be renewed, while strengthening area-based openings of suburban and residential-neighborhood stores in response to the spread of working from home and staggered commuting. In addition, alongside the manufacture and sale of food for household use, it will pursue property and format development for roadside stores, where strong takeout demand is expected.」

「On Friday, 24 April, Yokosuka Ducky Duck, which has been loved by the local community for 24 years since the Shoppers Plaza Yokosuka era, will reopen in a new form at the Coaska Bayside Stores shopping mall, scheduled to grand-open in Honcho, Yokosuka City.」

「The company positions the fourth quarter as a runway for the next fiscal year and will further develop comfortable spaces by repairing existing stores, including their interiors and exteriors, and installing smoking-separation equipment in response to the amended Health Promotion Act.」

「Sales at Ducky Duck Kashiwa Takashimaya Station Mall, which underwent renovation and reopened, have been running at 120% of the previous fiscal year, while sales at Ikebukuro Pastakan Sunshine City Alpa have been running at 130%.」

「In response to rising labor costs caused by labor shortages, the company will review its criteria for opening stores in commercial facilities with high fixed costs. Accordingly, it will focus human resources on openings subject to long-term lease agreements and strengthen openings in commercial facilities offering so-called experience-based consumption, seeking to improve store profitability while maintaining sales scale.」

「Among the new stores, we opened Italian Dining DONA Mitsukyo Life and Tsubakiya Café Musashikosugi in November and Tsubakiya Café Minato Mirai in December, working to build a customer following. After the start of the fourth quarter, we also opened Tsubakiya Café Keikyu Department Store Kamiooka on 7 February.」

「As noted above, opening stores in shopping centers carries the risk of having to vacate them when the lease term expires, even when operating performance is stable. The company therefore developed a street-front store less subject to operating-hour restrictions under an ordinary lease agreement and opened it along Meiji-dori near the east exit of Ikebukuro Station.」

「Under our best-location strategy for the Tokyo metropolitan area, we have also decided to open a street-front Tsubakiya Coffee store.」

「In addition to opening 11 new stores based on the strategy of prime station-front locations in the Tokyo metropolitan area, light food and women as the target market, we made active investments including major renovations and reopenings.」

「As an aggressive investment toward the next fiscal year, the 20th, we will hold grand openings for 6 new stores in March and April. We will also carry out refurbishment and reopening work at 2 existing stores.」

「On 1 December, the company opened Italian Dining DONA Kyodo at Kyodo Corty’s fourth floor in front of Kyodo Station on the Odakyu Line as a new type of casual dining restaurant. On 13 December, it opened Tsubakiya Cafe Shin-Koshigaya Valie at the fourth floor of Shin-Koshigaya Valie, directly connected to Shin-Koshigaya Station on the Tobu Skytree Line.」

「For new store openings and renovations, the company opened 3 new stores and renovated 4 stores, focusing on the development of street-front and street-level commercial premises stores.」

「As the number of fixed-term lease agreements for large commercial facilities has increased, the risk of having to vacate stores tends to rise, while operating hours are also subject to restrictions. Accordingly, the company will continue strengthening development of street-front and street-level commercial premises stores.」