HOOTERS Japan in bankruptcy
Mar 26, 2019, 12:44 pm
#1
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HOOTERS Japan in bankruptcy
HJ, the company which operates HOOTERS restaurants in Japan has filed reorganization plan in the bankruptcy court in Japan. HJ has a franchise agreement with HOOTERS in the U.S. and opened first HOOTERS restaurant at Akasaka, Tokyo in 2010. Initially HOOTERS did well in Japan and expanded to 7 restaurants. However, after initial hype in the media HOOTERS restaurants struggled to increase sales and lately were showing decline in sales. February of this year HOOTERS at Fukuoka was closed and now reorganization at the bankruptcy court.
Any thoughts on why HOOTERS did not work in Japan?
Any thoughts on why HOOTERS did not work in Japan?
Mar 27, 2019, 8:41 am
#5
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Mar 27, 2019, 8:44 am
#6
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I simply love their Buffalo Shrimp. My local Hooter's (across the street from Shanghai Library) closed for renovations about a month ago, and I have been saddened by its absence. I hope it reopens soon, but I don't have a good feeling about this.
Mar 29, 2019, 1:08 am
#8
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Hooters not doing great in my neck of the wood either. Was sad when the one in Vancouver closed. Ones in Seattle just disappeared. The problem could also be the waitress' attire is not aggressive enough, lagging behind their competitors'.
Mar 30, 2019, 4:57 am
#9
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Mar 30, 2019, 4:59 am
#10
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Same can’t be said for the Ginza or Akasaka branches.
Mar 31, 2019, 4:57 pm
#11
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But, I frequently went to the Shanghai Library branch, which is only 3 minutes away from me (walking). They dropped their prices by 30% 6 months ago. Perhaps this revenue loss was too big for them to keep paying the rent. I have a picture on my phone that I can potentially post here; the gist of it is that the inside is currently completely demolished. Off topic, Outback is also gone (from Shanghai), and they started serving USDA Prime steaks during their final month, which were very nice.
Apr 2, 2019, 2:16 am
#12
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The Chain apoears to be in decline globally. Certainly in the U.S. And the Beijing branch near gong ti closed.
Flyer talk connection: anyone ever take Hooters air?
Flyer talk connection: anyone ever take Hooters air?
Apr 2, 2019, 2:31 am
#13
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Scantily clad ladies or not, I honestly prefer Hooter's to TGIF, Applebee's, O'Charley's, Chili's, and Ruby Tuesdays. And, it appears that we don't have any of these options in China any more.
Apr 2, 2019, 6:35 pm
#14
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Apr 4, 2019, 4:36 pm
#15
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My wife and I have eaten at Hooters in Japan 3 times over the years, at her suggestion. (Not that I didn't enjoy it.)
First time, in Akasaka, the food was great and the waitresses were cheerful and seemed to enjoy working there. They also let us take as many photos and videos as we wanted - we even asked in advance to make sure, and everybody was doing it. It was a real party atmosphere.
Second time was a totally different experience. I can't remember which location this was but it wasn't Akasaka and was a couple years later. The food was at best unremarkable, and they seemed to have a new no-video policy. The waitstaff seemed rushed and not particularly cheerful, although you could say it was more like a US Hooters in that way so it seemed kinda normal to me. But not like a place in Japan.
Third time we went thinking maybe the second was an anomaly, but it was even worse. Every time we tried to take a pic or video, somebody rushed over to stop us. The food was borderline inedible. The waitstaff looked like they could not wait to get out of there. We barely had any service.
I think they got into a vicious cycle somewhere where the food and service began deteriorating, which probably caused business to drop off, which led to further morale problems, and repeat.
I don't think the fact that families went had anything to do with it; there's nothing particularly adult about Hooters, and families go in the US too. I think families *not* going at the end probably had more to do with the bankruptcy... generally it's a lack of customers that leads to that, not too many of them.
First time, in Akasaka, the food was great and the waitresses were cheerful and seemed to enjoy working there. They also let us take as many photos and videos as we wanted - we even asked in advance to make sure, and everybody was doing it. It was a real party atmosphere.
Second time was a totally different experience. I can't remember which location this was but it wasn't Akasaka and was a couple years later. The food was at best unremarkable, and they seemed to have a new no-video policy. The waitstaff seemed rushed and not particularly cheerful, although you could say it was more like a US Hooters in that way so it seemed kinda normal to me. But not like a place in Japan.
Third time we went thinking maybe the second was an anomaly, but it was even worse. Every time we tried to take a pic or video, somebody rushed over to stop us. The food was borderline inedible. The waitstaff looked like they could not wait to get out of there. We barely had any service.
I think they got into a vicious cycle somewhere where the food and service began deteriorating, which probably caused business to drop off, which led to further morale problems, and repeat.
I don't think the fact that families went had anything to do with it; there's nothing particularly adult about Hooters, and families go in the US too. I think families *not* going at the end probably had more to do with the bankruptcy... generally it's a lack of customers that leads to that, not too many of them.