Can the decline at existing stores be reversed in FY2027-H1?

Revenue in the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027 was ¥1,129 million, down 3.3% from ¥1,167 million in the year-earlier quarter. The operating loss was ¥25 million, the ordinary loss was ¥23 million and the net loss for the quarter was ¥30 million, all worse than the operating loss of ¥15 million, ordinary loss of ¥18 million and net loss for the quarter of ¥21 million recorded in the year-earlier quarter. The company said that same-store sales remained weak at 91.5% of the year-earlier level, and that it faced challenges in maintaining store operations and service quality.

The full-year forecasts are revenue of ¥5,000 million, operating profit of ¥107 million, ordinary profit of ¥103 million and net profit of ¥60 million, and had not been revised as of the quarterly results announcement. First-quarter revenue represented 22.6% of the full-year forecast, below the simple quarterly elapsed proportion of 25%. To achieve the full-year revenue target, the company must generate an additional ¥3,871 million after the first quarter. If first-half revenue is assumed to equal half of the full-year forecast, ¥1,371 million in the second quarter alone would be one benchmark to monitor. For operating profit, the company needs operating profit of ¥132 million over the remaining period to cover the ¥25 million first-quarter loss and achieve the full-year target of ¥107 million.

In the fiscal year ended March 2026, total-store sales were 108.9% of the year-earlier level and same-store sales were 102.1%, but same-store sales fell to 91.5% in the latest quarter. Accordingly, in FY2027-H1 it will be necessary to confirm whether customer traffic, average spend per customer and service quality at existing stores have returned to year-earlier levels, rather than focusing solely on revenue from new openings. Cumulative operating results through the second quarter, same-store sales, the impact of openings and closures by format, and whether the full-year forecast is revised will be the key evidence for assessing the plan's repeatability.