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OSAKA MANMARU
Stall style Japanese izakaya, OSAKA MANMARU has taken a step forward in Vietnam and the Philippines.
While a single item franchise is gaining popularity, Mr.Yamaguchi (Eat Factory Co., Ltd., Representative Director) is now operating 30 directly-operated izakaya restaurants and a total of about 50 franchise restaurants. There will be a total of 84 stores within 2019.
History up to MANMARU
When I was 20 years old, my uncle introduced me to participate in the launch of a café bakery and an Italian combined restaurant, which was operated by a trading company. At that time, my colleagues were older professional cooks and there were many conflicts. They didn’t show me the essential craftsmanship. Though I was in the position of a restaurant manager, at first I was really puzzled. One day, I decided to work earlier than anyone else and work late. I did my best to help the chefs and cooks work more easily by cleaning the kitchen and organizing the fridge and disposing of the extra ingredients. This allowed them to thank me, taught me many tasks, acted cooperatively, and I was able to work well. What I learned from this experience is that I have to change to change my partner.
After that, I spent 12 years as an area franchisee for “Sushi Takeout / Catering”. This experience has been very helpful in my current business. During this period, I gained knowledge and confidence in fish dishes such as fish sourcing and stocking, and accumulated the know-how of the Skipjack tuna sushi business. At that time, I started to think about launching a fish & “Kushikatsu” restaurant, inspired by a very prosperous izakaya restaurant run by a friend where the specialty was Tempura,
Origin of MANMARU brand
The Japanese word “満=MAN” means to be full and satisfied. With this brand name, I included the desire that the restaurant is “full” with customers, the customers “satisfied” with foods, and “filled” with energy, family “fullness”, making customers happy and filled with smiles. Nine years have passed since the start by fast. At the beginning of the restaurant opening, I had a hard time with funding, but I was confident that I could succeed. In lectures and other places, I talked as“the success or failure of the restaurant business depends on the business type you choose” based on my previous experiences. On the other hand, I also established a baseball team to support various ways of working. I realized that there are many needs to continue playing baseball even when working in society. For this reason, MANMARU provides employees with a work style that allows them to continue playing baseball while working. Their experience of balancing team play in baseball and work at MANAMRU have a positive impact on themselves and other employees through their further career advancement including the restaurant manager’s position.
Our ideas for hiring foreigners and overseas restaurants
At overseas restaurants, there are language difficulties, but the employees respond appropriately to what we have taught. At the time of overseas expansion, the taste was tailored to each region, but now, MANMARU has been differentiated from restaurant competitors by making full use of authentic Japanese cuisine. By adding local dishes to the menu, even customers who are not good at Japanese cuisine come to our restaurants. As a result, we achieved record sales overseas this year. In order to facilitate communication between employees, they participate in the opportunities joying barbecue parties and company trips.
On the other hand, at our restaurants in Japan, not only Japanese employees but also people from overseas work together. We would like to actively utilize Japan’s specific skill visas that began in April this year. For this purpose, we applied as a registration support organization. In the future, I would like to expand opportunities for foreigners to play active roles both in Japan and overseas.
Opportunities for overseas development and future development
Overseas expansion is all about meeting good partners. Population growth leads to national power growth. In terms of national growth, this is the case with Vietnam and the Philippines, which we are currently developing. “Izakaya culture” has permeated in these two countries. Customers don’t drink too much during meals like Japanese, but the price per customer is great. In the future, we aim to expand overseas by focusing on Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and other countries with growth potential. The target after entering Asia is Europe and America.
Currently, we are also developing new business developments that are completely different from MANMARU for the Japanese and overseas markets. We are also preparing to be listed on the market several years later. I hope that through this preparation, the company will be further improved and that it will be useful to our society as a company.
In Japan, there are many families with children on weekends, and elderly people come to our restaurant early in the evening and enjoy a drink. In this way, customers enjoy MANMARU from noon to late at night. We will respond flexibly to changes in lifestyles and increase our brands loved by customers both in Japan and overseas.
Company Profile
Company Name: Eat Factory Co., Ltd
Head Office: Tenma Garden 4F, 3-4-14, Tenjinbashi, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan
Founded: June 2010
Main Business: Restaurant Management, Store Produce, Consulting, Franchise Headquarters
Capital: JPY10,000,000
Representative Director: Isao Yamaguchi