Impact of COVID-19 on the Dining-Out, Advertising and Business Markets

「The external environment surrounding restaurants is recovering from the effects of COVID-19, but difficult conditions remain for restaurants' future operating environment, including higher raw material prices and a shortage of human resources.」

「In 2023, the effects of the spread of COVID-19 remained at the beginning of the year, but the restaurant industry's business conditions have been recovering since the classification of COVID-19 under the Infectious Diseases Control Law was changed from Category 2-equivalent to Category 5 in May 2023.」

「Although the impact of COVID-19 on the company's business has gradually diminished, the number of paying participating restaurants under the Shop Membership (fixed) plan, the company's most important KPI, has continued to decline during the fiscal year due to the impact of a specific agency with a high cancellation rate.」

「In 2023, the effects of the spread of COVID-19 remained at the beginning of the year, but the restaurant industry's business conditions have been gradually recovering since the classification of COVID-19 under the Infectious Diseases Control Law was changed from Category 2-equivalent to Category 5 in May.」

「As a result of this impact, particularly during periods when a state of emergency or priority preventive measures were in effect, the number of paying participating restaurants under the Shop Membership (fixed) plan, the company's most important KPI, has gradually declined as restaurants' willingness to spend on promotion has weakened, falling from 10,422 at the end of the second quarter of the fiscal year ending September 2020 to 5,676 at the end of the third-quarter accounting period.」

「Our primary revenue is fixed service fees collected from restaurants, and the business has been significantly affected by COVID-19 since around March 2020. In particular, during periods when a state of emergency or priority preventive measures were in effect, restaurants' willingness to spend on promotion declined, causing the number of paid restaurants under the fixed Restaurant Membership Plan, our most important KPI, to gradually decrease from 10,422 in the second quarter of the fiscal year ended September 2020. It stood at 6,186 at the end of the second quarter of the current fiscal year.」

「Our business environment remains affected by COVID-19, and the outlook remains uncertain. From October to December 2022, the average monthly number of new participating restaurants under the fixed Restaurant Membership Plan was 357. Regarding cancellations, the number of participating restaurants declined by 262 from the end of the previous fiscal year to the end of the first quarter, to 6,659, due to irregular cancellations resulting from restaurant closures and other factors in trial contracts for large corporate customers, particularly izakaya chains, as well as high cancellation rates at certain agencies.」

「Our business environment remains affected by COVID-19, and the outlook remains uncertain. During the fiscal year from October 2021 to September 2022, the average monthly number of new participating restaurants under the fixed Restaurant Membership Plan was 332, still below the pre-COVID-19 level of 500.」

「Although the priority preventive measures were lifted nationwide in late March, restaurants' willingness to spend on promotion remained low after April because the number of new COVID-19 cases remained elevated. As a result, the average monthly number of new participating restaurants under the fixed Restaurant Membership Plan during the cumulative third-quarter period from October 2021 to June 2022 was 327, still below the normal level of 500.」

「Our business environment remains affected by COVID-19, and the outlook remains uncertain. As a result, the average monthly number of new participating restaurants during the cumulative second-quarter period from October 2021 to March 2022 was 321. Advertising content has continued to be affected by declining advertising rates since the state of emergency was declared in April 2020.」

「Our business environment remains affected by COVID-19. Although customer traffic to restaurants recovered to some extent following the lifting of the state of emergency at the end of September 2021, the outlook remains uncertain. Under these conditions, the average monthly number of new participating restaurants in FRM, or Fan Relationship Management, during the cumulative first-quarter period from October to December 2021 was 329. Compared with the normal average of approximately 500 new participating restaurants per month, this indicates that restaurants' willingness to spend on promotion was still recovering because the outlook for COVID-19 remained uncertain. Advertising content has continued to be affected by declining advertising rates since the state of emergency was declared in April 2020.」

「The average monthly number of new participating restaurants during the fiscal year was approximately 392. Cancellations also occurred in trial contracts for large corporate customers, particularly izakaya chains, due to irregular cancellations resulting from restaurant closures and other factors. As a result, the number of participating restaurants declined by approximately 1,380 from the end of the previous fiscal year to the end of the current fiscal year, to 8,350. Advertising content continued to be affected by declining advertising rates.」

「The spread of COVID-19 in Japan and overseas has reduced not only the number of visitors to Japan but also demand in Japan's restaurant market due to requests for self-restraint and other measures. The markets for restaurant promotional spending and internet advertising in which we operate have also been affected. Advertising content has continued to be affected by declining advertising rates since the first state of emergency was declared in April 2020. User numbers have also temporarily trended downward due to the state of emergency and the priority preventive measures to prevent the spread of disease.」

「The spread of COVID-19 in Japan and overseas has reduced not only the number of visitors to Japan but also demand in Japan's restaurant market due to requests for self-restraint and other measures. The markets for restaurant promotional spending and internet advertising in which we operate have also been affected. In addition, outbreaks of infection could make it difficult to secure employees for work, potentially hindering business operations.」

「Advertising rates have continued to be affected by declines in unit prices since the state of emergency was declared in April 2020. Although we have begun providing the Food Data Platform, the acquisition of new clients has been limited due to the impact of COVID-19.」

「The spread of COVID-19 in Japan and overseas has reduced not only the number of visitors to Japan but also demand in Japan's restaurant market due to requests for self-restraint and other measures. The markets for restaurant promotional spending and internet advertising in which we operate have also been affected.」