A leading Japanese conveyor-belt sushi chain, Kura Sushi, has opened its first outlet in Mainland China in June 2023, as part of its global expansion plans.
With this, it joins the ranks of several Japanese restaurant operators who are aggressively scaling up their overseas presence. Besides targeting revenue growth in the immediate future, the diversification move is part of the Japanese operator’s long-term play to ensure business continuity. Japanese operators are accelerating overseas expansion even as the domestic foodservice sector is set to expand by a value compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10 per cent over 2023–27*, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Bobby Verghese, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kura Sushi operates 541 conveyor-belt sushi (Kaiten-zushi) outlets in Japan, 47 in the US, and 51 in Taiwan (Province of China). The company’s new China outlet is located in a bustling shopping centre in Shanghai close to three subway lines. The restaurant is fully automated, with robot sushi chefs preparing dishes, circular conveyor belts that carry dishes to diners, and contactless ordering and payments. Kura Sushi offers a menu comprising a mix of Japanese dishes and China-only dishes. The company plans to source 80 per cent of its ingredients locally to optimise costs. Kura Sushi aims to open 100 stores across China by the end of the decade, in line with its plan to expand its overseas locations to 400 stores, and worldwide network to 1,000 outlets by 2030.”
