日高屋 is on track for a record profit for the third consecutive year on higher customer traffic, while かつや and あみやき亭 expect first-half sales to exceed ¥20 billion. In the second year of inflation, attention is focusing on the ability to attract customers in the food-service industry.
This week's food-service earnings and IR reports included news that Hidakaya, the company commonly known as 日高屋, posted net sales of ¥34.0 billion and net profit of ¥2.7 billion for the interim period, marking a record profit for the third consecutive year. A combination of its station-front locations, its strategy of attracting customers for casual drinks and limited-time discounts drove an increase in customer traffic at existing stores.
アークランズ, which operates かつや, released a special investigation report following accounting irregularities at a subsidiary, but its food-service operations themselves continued to perform well at existing stores. Measures to raise both customer traffic and average spending per customer through a cycle of monthly limited-time menu launches are continuing.
あみやき亭 disclosed its interim earnings forecast on 3 October, projecting net sales of ¥20.0 billion, up 10.3% year on year, and operating profit of ¥1.14 billion. It is concentrating resources on the self-service steak concept “感動の肉と米” rather than suburban-format stores and is pursuing high efficiency by rigorously streamlining operations.
Overall, more companies are pursuing real growth not only through price increases but also by streamlining operations. In the second year of inflation, the food-service market has reached a stage where strengthening the ability to attract customers is becoming decisive.