Watami has opened the new-model Korean-born bb.q CHICKEN store, bb.q CHICKEN Takadanobaba, in Tokyo. The company has indicated that it intends to use the store as a flagship to accelerate future franchise expansion.
On 11 November, Watami opened a new-model bb.q CHICKEN store in Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. The brand name is bb.q CHICKEN, and the store will serve as a flagship location highlighting its positioning as a global brand shared worldwide. Photos of the opening ceremony and the store exterior have also been released.
The new store retains the Olive Chicken Cafe menu while narrowing the product lineup and reducing ingredients to improve profitability and operational efficiency. The company said it eliminated 8 of the 39 items and reduced the number of ingredients by 30% from approximately 100, and has set out plans to increase the proportion of takeaway sales. It also aims to increase customer numbers by strengthening its combo menu and capitalising on the characteristics of the format, which has a low dine-in ratio compared with other businesses in the same category.
Going forward, the company plans to establish the model with 3 directly operated stores as flagships and accelerate franchise expansion. It will seek to attract prospective new franchisees by expanding mall-format stores outside Edogawa-ku and exhibiting at events in mid-November, with a plan to build a network of 100 bb.q CHICKEN stores on a standalone basis by 2030.