Maturation of the restaurant and izakaya markets, intensifying competition, and changes in demand

「In the food-service industry, market conditions remained firm as food-service demand recovered against a backdrop of recovering foot traffic, expanding inbound demand and rising wages. However, the operating environment remained challenging due to higher raw material prices, logistics costs, energy costs and labor costs, as well as labor shortages and higher recruitment costs.」

「In addition to rising labor, recruitment and training costs against a backdrop of increasingly severe labor shortages, higher logistics costs and soaring store fit-out and construction expenses have made the cost environment surrounding the food-service business increasingly challenging.」

「At the same time, amid continued geopolitical risks and uncertainty stemming from overseas economic trends, the weaker yen has also contributed to persistently elevated raw material prices and energy costs. In addition to rising labor, recruitment and training costs against a backdrop of increasingly severe labor shortages, higher logistics costs and soaring store fit-out and construction expenses have made the cost environment surrounding the food-service business increasingly challenging.」

「Demand for dining out has remained firm and continued to recover, supported by various events, the holiday season, and expanding inbound demand from the increase in foreign tourists. However, the operating environment remains challenging due to soaring raw material, utility, and labor costs, as well as consumers' increasingly frugal spending habits resulting from continued inflation.」

「The foodservice industry has also been recovering as the economy normalizes, including following the reclassification of COVID-19 as a Class 5 disease, and spending on dining out and inbound tourism is on a recovery trend. However, store operating costs remain elevated due to soaring food ingredient and energy prices and higher labor costs resulting from labor shortages, and the challenging operating environment continues.」

「Although customer numbers have been steadily recovering as economic activity normalizes, the foodservice industry continues to face challenging conditions, including higher food ingredient prices and labor-related costs resulting from labor shortages.」

「Although the number of customers visiting foodservice establishments has shown signs of recovery, the industry continues to face challenging conditions due to rapid inflation and labor shortages in the economic environment described above.」

「The business environment surrounding the foodservice industry to which the company belongs also remained challenging, due to factors including higher minimum wages, the expansion of social insurance coverage from October 2022, and sharp increases in raw material and utility costs.」

「However, in addition to the economic deterioration caused by the increase in infections during the seventh wave of COVID-19, raw material and utility costs have risen markedly due to factors including a weaker yen than expected and geopolitical risks arising from the protracted Russia-Ukraine situation, and the challenging operating environment continues.」

「The foodservice industry has also seen the lifting of various requests, including requests for shorter business hours, but the operating environment remains challenging.」

「In the foodservice industry, requests from local governments to refrain from certain activities were gradually eased from October 2021, and economic activity showed signs of a gradual recovery. However, customer numbers remained sluggish due to lifestyle changes, including a shift from eating out to prepared meals and home cooking, restrictions on eating out in large groups and going out at night, and other factors, and the operating environment remained challenging.」

「The foodservice industry continued to face a challenging operating environment due to states of emergency and priority preventive measures issued by the national and local governments.」

「Although improvements in consumer sentiment are expected as the economy recovers, the operating environment for the foodservice industry is expected to remain challenging due to increasingly diverse consumer needs, expansion of the market for prepared meals such as boxed lunches and deli foods, intensifying competition with other companies, higher food material costs, greater competition to secure personnel, and rising labor costs.」

「The foodservice industry continues to face a challenging operating environment as the state of emergency led to fewer opportunities to eat out and requests to shorten operating hours, while people avoided dining inside restaurants to prevent infection.」

「Although economic activity gradually resumed and some industries showed signs of recovery following the implementation of various policies, the increase in infections during the third wave led to renewed uncertainty about the outlook.」

「The foodservice industry is showing signs of recovery following the lifting of requests to refrain from going out and to shorten operating hours, but a mood of self-restraint remains and customer traffic remains weak.」

「More recently, demand for foodservice declined significantly due to calls to refrain from holding events and to avoid nonessential, nonurgent outings to prevent the spread of COVID-19, while requests to shorten restaurant operating hours restricted business activities.」

「Demand for foodservice declined significantly, while requests to shorten restaurant operating hours restricted business activities.」

「Although the foodservice industry as a whole is on a gradual recovery trend, conditions remain challenging due to continued difficulty in recruiting personnel, higher hourly wages for part-time workers, rising labor-related costs against the backdrop of work-style reforms and labor shortages, and intensifying competition among companies.」

「Although the foodservice industry as a whole is on a gradual recovery trend, conditions remain challenging due to continued difficulty in recruiting personnel, higher hourly wages for part-time workers, rising labor-related costs against the backdrop of work-style reforms and labor shortages, and intensifying competition among companies.」

「The foodservice industry has become a mature market, and the operating environment remains challenging due to increasingly diverse consumer needs, growth in the market for prepared meals such as boxed lunches and deli foods, and intensifying competition with other companies. The izakaya industry also faces issues such as younger people moving away from alcohol and Japan's declining birthrate and aging population.」