【Ikinari Steak】The Ikinari Steak Rescue Squad

In a nutshell

1. My workout buddy, Ikinari Steak, is struggling with same-store sales. I'll consider various strategies they can take from different perspectives.
2. Cost reduction: Discontinue oysters, separate the front-of-house and kitchen, abolish selling steak by weight, abolish topping selection (default broccoli and corn), and close all existing stores that are not in front of a station or in a food court.
3. Sales improvement: Improve the quality of the salad (to the level of Bronco Billy), change all food court stores to "Musashi Hamburg," change the brand (to a more upscale English logo), bring back Suntory black oolong tea, flatten the price range (because people don't eat dinner by weight at stores in front of stations), and expand the lean meat selection and offer a workout set.

My buddy, Ikinari Steak, is in crisis

As someone who is dedicated to working out, Ikinari Steak is like a shining temple. You go through a tunnel, and there is a steak.

When Ikinari Steak first appeared, it was loved as a place where you could easily eat steak, as the biggest ally of the low-carb diet, and now as a mecca for those who are dedicated to working out. However.

General users are gradually leaving, existing stores are starting to cannibalize each other, and the strategy is floundering. Same-store sales in September fell to a whopping 64%. This is a withdrawal level.

Recently, they have become a lost person in the strategy safari, with strategies that can only be described as floundering, such as turning into an oyster bar and selling their own black oolong tea that they switched to from Suntory.

Strategy Safari is a book by economist Henry Mintzberg that discusses the method of finding a strategy heuristically (exploratorily) in a market where the future is uncertain. This way of creating a strategy is called emergent strategy. A famous example is the success of Honda's Super Cub in the United States (the "Nicest people on Honda" campaign). This is a case where Honda was aiming to enter the American market with a medium-sized motorcycle in the early 1960s, but it did not sell at all, and instead, the Super Cub, which was a small motorcycle for employees to get around on, happened to attract attention, and the strategy was changed. After that, Honda succeeded in entering the American market, and the Super Cub established its position as a popular motorcycle in the world.

As a user, it's sad. I've gathered some of gonjitti's knowledge and thought about it.

Cost reduction

Instead of increasing sales, start with cost reduction. Why? Because cost reduction is easier and anyone can do it. Just like anyone can suggest improvements at work, but only a few people can create work.

Discontinue oysters

Discontinue oysters. The oyster bar should be a separate brand. The only thing that is probably correct about this marketing is the demographic attributes.

Demographic attributes refer to demographic attributes such as gender, age, income, and region. This is the first targeting to be done in marketing, but it is not enough to compete.

Separate the front-of-house and kitchen

They are probably doing this to reduce staff, but at Ikinari Steak, the chef cuts the meat, pours the water, and works the cash register. It would be more beneficial to have them specialize, and it would reduce the distance they have to travel. Moving around in a restaurant can be equivalent to walking 5-6km a day, and reducing the distance is a basic principle of production management. Also, I want them to leave the water out so I can pour it myself. I'm not happy even if they pour it for me.

Abolish selling steak by weight

It is possible to sell steak by weight, but I wonder if only about 1% of customers use this option. The freedom of choice makes 99% of users feel tired of choosing, so it would be better to have about 3 patterns for each cut of meat.

Another issue is that in order to sell by the 10g unit, it is necessary to prepare a fairly large chunk of meat for procurement, which leads to a decrease in the yield rate. I even think it would be fine to have it cut at a central kitchen, but I'm worried that the deliciousness will be reduced.

There is also a personnel cost advantage. Cutting in 10g units requires a high level of skill from the chef. If you prepare it in 200, 250, 300, and 450 gram portions in advance, people will be able to cut the meat intuitively, and they will be able to cut the meat without looking, like the old man who makes knife-cut noodles in Yokohama Chinatown. At worst, it could be automated.

Abolish topping selection (default broccoli and corn)

Did you know that you can change the toppings? Most workout users change the topping to broccoli, so broccoli is fine. Corn is cheap, but it's not something that users are happy with as a topping, and they should at least use onions. It just feels like they're cutting costs.

Close all existing stores that are not in front of a station or in a food court

Now that Ikinari Steak has become a common food, the key to a restaurant's sales is no longer anything but location. I can't help but laugh at how often wework fails at land acquisition, but for chain stores and coworking spaces, location is the main factor of value.

Sales improvement

This is where it gets tough. Improving sales requires a sense of marketing, and you need to keep trying different measures. I've thought about some possible strategies.

Improve the quality of the salad (to the level of Bronco Billy)

Considering people's loss aversion, the salad and soup at Ikinari Steak are of such low quality that I don't feel like eating them. Let's take a look at Bronco Billy, which is at the top of customer satisfaction in the family-friendly steakhouse chain.

Bronco Billy's strategy is very different from its rivals "Steak no Ken" and "Steak Gusto." The price range is one rank higher, but they put a lot of effort into their salads. The salad bar seems to be a direct delivery from contract farmers, with a focus on the origin of the ingredients, and they offer 10-20 variations. Of course, the cost of goods sold will be tough, but they cover it with the repeat rate. Ikinari Steak should also improve its salad with the momentum of renaming it to Ikinari Salad. There is a possibility that they can attract the family segment that they have not been able to attract so far, and they may be able to increase the average customer spending and lifetime value.

Change all food court stores to "Musashi Hamburg"

What is successful in food courts is not Ikinari Steak, but Musashi Hamburg. Musashi Hamburg is another brand developed by Pepper Food Service, the same as Ikinari Steak, but it is tuned for families and has a firm grasp on the family segment (according to a survey at Grand Tree Musashikosugi). Therefore, this valuable strategy with a proven track record should be rolled out nationwide. As it is, Ikinari Steak can only be sold to individuals.

Change the brand (to a more upscale English logo)

The sense of luxury that Starbucks is good at. This is a strategy that Den Fujita also valued when developing McDonald's Japan. The general public longs for things that feel luxurious, so let's push forward with an English font and logo that has a sense of luxury like Wolfgang's. It's cheap and uncool. *Den Fujita is introduced in the blog below. The power of the book is amazing. It's like it's looking at me. 【Book Review】The strange business book by the founder of McDonald's Japan, "The Jewish Way of Business That Moves the World Economy" (Den Fujita/KK Bestsellers)

Bring back Suntory black oolong tea

The discontinuation of Suntory black oolong tea in 2018 greatly saddened existing users. Suddenly, the black oolong tea was replaced with a strange OEM oolong tea. It is no exaggeration to say that the sense of loss for existing users with gold cards stems from this. Anyway, I want you to look at the prospect theory. I've suffered a lot of damage.

Prospect theory is a model of decision-making under uncertainty. It is a model that describes what choices people make in situations where the profit or loss resulting from the choice and their probabilities are known. It is well known as a representative achievement in behavioral economics.

Flatten the price range (because people don't eat dinner by weight at stores in front of stations)

Abolish selling by weight for dinner. The price should be flattened to make it easier to predict the average customer spending, and it should be raised a little.

Expand the lean meat selection and offer a workout set

The important existing customers who go to Ikinari Steak are those who are dedicated to working out. Their numbers are gradually increasing due to the effect of the Rugby World Cup. Therefore, I would like to propose a menu with easy-to-understand prices and a clear indication of the amount of protein it contains.

We who are dedicated to working out need to take in 1-2 times our body weight in protein per day, and we calculate it every day, but it's a pain. If we could eat meat at Ikinari Steak according to the calculated amount of protein, we would gladly eat steak every day.

Let's try offering plans with calculated meat amounts for 25g, 50g, and 75g of protein. Muscles will visit your store like the Big Bang.

Conclusion

The battle to save our Ikinari Steak has only just begun.

Aside (Recommended Book)

A recommended design book. It's packed with design tips that you can use forever. I use it often myself.