Return of the King - Chunkification of Japan

Hi all! Don't have anything new and exciting to pass on to you, but just wanted to share a segment of an article from weekly free magazine "Tokyo Metropolis" on the return of Burger King to Japan after a 6 year hiatus. It's funny and sad how the worst parts of American culture have infiltrated the rest of the world. Maybe it's all part of an insidious plan to remain a dominant superpower by slowly killing everyone off with arteriosclerosis, hypertension, and diabetes. You be the judge...

If you're interested in reading the rest of the article, go to: http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/692/feature.asp. There's always interesting stuff about current events in Tokyo at this site. By the way, do you think that regular frequenters of Burger King look like this little cutie model??



Battle of the Burgers (reprinted without permission...hey, at least I'm honest!)


As Burger King returns to Japan after a six-year absence, fast food restaurants are pulling out all the stops to attract more customers


Names like Whopper, MegaMac, Double Straight, Big Triple and Shin Mos Burger can only mean one thing: big is back for the fast food business, which is reshaping itself after years of drastic price wars. The latest entry into the market is Burger King, the world’s No. 2 hamburger chain after McDonald’s. The Miami-based fast food giant, which quit the Japanese market amid cutthroat competition in 2001, returned this month, opening two stores, in Shinjuku and Ikebukuro.

No one knows how many hamburgers are consumed in Japan each year, but the fact that McDonald’s Japan achieved record sales of ¥441 billion in fiscal 2006 gives some indication of the size of the market. McDonald’s is clearly dominant (with over 3,800 stores), followed by Mos Burger (1,462), Lotteria (587), Freshness Burger (193), First Kitchen (133), Wendy’s (75) and Becker’s (28).

All companies are trying to carve out a niche for themselves through marketing campaigns and signature products. McDonald’s has had tremendous success with its MegaMac, featuring four beef patties, but had to limit sales. “We couldn’t keep up supply because the serving capability of the whole menu is limited when you are preparing four patties for one burger,” said Shotaro Shimizu, director of McDonald’s corporate relations division. “We sold 3.32 million over four days from January 12-15. It was on the menu again in April and May.” Building on that success, the company has introduced the Mega Teriyaki burger, which will be sold until July 19.

As the newest entrant in the market, Burger King is counting on its Whopper for success. But has it learned the lessons from the past? Yes, said Burger King Japan President and CEO Shinichi Kasa, who spent 29 years with McDonald’s and 1 ½ years with Wendy’s before joining Burger King last September. “I talked to many former Burger King Japan staff. Ten years ago, all companies in the food industry were doing big discount promotions. Not just hamburger outlets, but Yoshinoya, Mister Donut, everybody. Burger King came to Japan as that was happening. Its prices and food costs were a little bit higher than its competitors. It didn’t cut prices and suffered as a result. This time, the economy is different; it is showing signs of a recovery. All hamburger chains have started to sell higher-priced burgers, some costing more than ¥300. Nowadays, customers are prepared to pay for quality hamburgers.”