Gyoza no Ohsho’s Increased Customer Sales Despite Three Price Hikes

Operating income increased more than 30% year-on-year to approximately 5 billion yen, and monthly sales reached a record high for 21 consecutive months since February 2022.

The Chinese restaurant chain Gyoza no Ohsho is doing extremely well. On October 31, 2023, Naoto Watanabe, president of the chain’s operator,  announced the company’s interim results for September 2023. Sales grew steadily, recording a 10.2% y-o-y increase to 49.7 billion yen. What is the reason for this strong performance? The following is an analysis by economic journalist Takashi Matsuzaki.

 

“Despite three price hikes since last year due to soaring raw material costs and other factors, the company’s performance has continued to grow. Bottled beer has gone up more than 100 yen at some stores in western Japan, and fried rice with pork ribs has gone up 50 yen in the Kanto region, but the number of customers has increased more than 100% every month compared to the previous year.”

“Gyoza no Ohsho did not perform badly even during the COVID-19 crisis, when other Chinese food chains were hit hard. At that time, takeout was the mainstream due to “nest basket demand,” but ramen, the main product of other companies, did not support their performance because of the image of ramen that stretches and loses its taste when taken home. However, Gyoza no Ohsho, as the name implies, has gyoza at its core, and customers were impressed that they could enjoy the taste of takeout as well, so there was a certain level of demand for takeout.”

Ohsho Cooking Dojo

 

“Even after the COVID-19 crisis subsided, Gyoza no Ohsho continued to grow because of its anti-popularity line,” Mr. Matsuzaki continued.

“The mainstream of restaurant chains is the central kitchen system, in which ingredients and other items are sent from the headquarters in batches. However, Gyoza no Ohsho is trying to differentiate itself from other companies by sticking to cooking at each store, which goes against the trend. Furthermore, the company is striving to improve the quality of its staff by creating systems such as the Ohsho Cooking Dojo.”

“At the same time, the company is also working to streamline its operations, such as by contracting a factory to wrap gyoza dumpling skins. Each restaurant concentrates on its cuisine and strives to improve the taste, and the fact that the taste is not uniform is probably the reason for the popularity among many customers.”

Other companies that were hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis have not been silent.

“Hidakaya, which has many stores in front of train stations and in downtown areas, is enjoying a V-shaped recovery thanks to inbound demand and other factors. The company’s thorough streamlining efforts, including the use of touch panels on menus and the introduction of meal delivery robots, have also contributed to the recovery in business performance. Osaka Ohsho has devised an appearance and menu that are familiar to the locations where it has opened restaurants, and is aiming to become more community-based. While Gyoza no Ohsho’s main dish is yaki-gyoza, Osaka Ohsho’s mizu-gyoza has been popular.”

Ohsho Gyoza has been doing well since the COVID-19 crisis, and appeared to be the sole winner. However, the business world is not easy. Other companies are also rapidly regaining their footing, and the Chinese restaurant industry is entering a period of warring wars.