Despite weak consumer spending power, Central Restaurant Group will continue to expand its two Japanese restaurant chains, Chabuton and Yoshinoya, this year.
Pol Sridaeng, assistant vice-president of Central Restaurant Group, is counting on Japanese food.
Assistant vice-president Pol Sridaeng said the company plans to open two new Chabuton and five Yoshinoya restaurants in the second half of this year, requiring an investment of 55 million baht in total.
With the plan, the number of Chabuton outlets this year will reach 15-16 while the number of Yoshinoya branches will rise to 20.
"Chabuton sales in the first quarter were on a par with last year, but we were satisfied with the bottom line because of our efficient cost control scheme and the closure of non-performing branches," Mr Pol said.
He said he still sees potential for Japanese restaurants in Thailand despite fierce competition during the past two years with the continuous entry of new players in the market.
Japanese restaurants, estimated to be worth 10 billion baht, are expected to continue to grow by 10% annually over the next few years from both store sales growth and new branch expansions, due to the increasing number of health-aware customers. There are an estimated 2,000 Japanese restaurants in the Thai market.
Mr Pol said the company did not open any new Chabuton branches last year, focusing instead on carrying out consumer insight research. Based on customer surveys, it found that customers want more value from menus.
Therefore, the company has changed some menu items and slashed the number of dishes by one-third to just seven popular menu items, plus new soups and toppings every three months.
"We hope to make Chabuton the automatic choice among premium ramen brands within the next 2-3 years," Mr Pol said.
Apart from new branches, the company will launch a mobile application and online ordering systems to lure more customers.
The company expects Chabuton sales to grow by 10-14% to 260 million baht this year. The group also plans to launch a new look for Yoshinoya, the Japanese rice bowl restaurant, in August this year.
The new Yoshinoya will have a more Japanese look that is both trendy and comfortable, targeting younger consumers and families.
"Yoshinoya's business went well in the first three months of 2017, growing 10%, which is impressive given the current economic environment and slower consumer purchasing power," Mr Pol said.
The company expects Yoshinoya sales to grow by 25% to 250 million baht this year.