Risk of Reduced Dining Demand and Operating Restrictions Due to COVID-19

「Following the reclassification of COVID-19 as a Class 5 disease under the Infectious Diseases Control Act, requests under the law to refrain from going out were discontinued. In addition, measures to promote economic activity by the government and an increase in the number of visitors to Japan led to an improvement in consumer sentiment and a recovery in the flow of people.」

「Following the reclassification of COVID-19 as a Class 5 disease under the Infectious Diseases Control Act, requests under the law to refrain from going out were discontinued. In addition, measures to promote economic activity, such as nationwide travel assistance and the issuance of premium-bearing vouchers by local governments, led to an improvement in consumer sentiment and a recovery in the flow of people.」

「Following the reclassification of COVID-19 as a Class 5 disease under the Infectious Diseases Control Act, requests under the law to refrain from going out were discontinued. In addition, measures to promote economic activity, such as nationwide travel assistance and the issuance of premium-bearing vouchers by local governments, led to an improvement in consumer sentiment and a recovery in the flow of people.」

「Although the company was temporarily affected by a resurgence of infections, consumer sentiment improved and human mobility recovered as a result of government measures designed to balance infection control with economic activity, including the nationwide travel assistance program.」

「The impact of COVID-19 was temporarily exacerbated after the priority preventive measures were lifted nationwide in late March. Meanwhile, measures designed to balance infection control with economic activity, including the nationwide travel assistance program, led to improvements in consumer sentiment and signs of recovery in human mobility.」

「Although the seventh wave beginning in July produced the highest number of new infections on record, signs of improvement emerged in consumer sentiment as a result of government measures designed to balance infection control with economic activity.」

「Depending on the future spread of COVID-19, a decline in customer visits due to requests to refrain from going out, as well as temporary store closures and shortened operating hours in response to requests from the government and local authorities」

「However, the outlook for the economy remains uncertain amid inflation caused by soaring global resource prices and the weaker yen, as well as concerns about a renewed spread of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant.」

「A decline in customer visits due to requests to refrain from going out following declarations of a state of emergency or the implementation of priority preventive measures, as well as renewed requests to refrain from serving alcoholic beverages and shorten operating hours」

「Although the impact of the spread of COVID-19 has eased in stages compared with the state of emergency declared during the same period of the previous year, the situation has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and the company expects a difficult environment to continue for the foreseeable future.」

「Depending on the future spread of COVID-19, the company's operating results and financial condition could be affected by a decline in customer visits due to requests to refrain from going out, temporary store closures and shortened operating hours in response to requests from the government and local authorities, and employees being unable to work because company officers or employees, or individuals at stores, production sites or suppliers, become infected.」

「Sales began to recover as a result of the Go To campaign launched in October, but the campaign's effect was limited by the resurgence of COVID-19, and sales have remained below the previous year's level.」

「In the food-service industry, many stores were forced to curtail normal operations, including suspending business and shortening operating hours, in response to the government's declarations of a state of emergency and requests from local governments to refrain from going out as COVID-19 spread. Although sales began to recover gradually after the state of emergency was lifted, they remained below the previous year's level.」

「The end of the COVID-19 pandemic is still not in sight, and its impact is expected to continue. In the food-service industry, in addition to rising labor costs due to continued tight labor supply and demand and soaring food ingredient prices, many stores were forced to curtail normal operations, including suspending business and shortening operating hours, in response to the government's declarations of a state of emergency and requests from local governments to refrain from going out as COVID-19 spread.」