FW:Japan's burger eaters lose out

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http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,3973196%255E401,00.html

 

Japan's burger eaters lose out

Agence France-Presse

18mar02

 

McDONALD'S has said it would shut a record 130 stores

in Japan this year and cut the number of new burger

bars planned by 23 per cent, as recession forced large

shopping complexes to close.

 

" A lot of our restaurants are located inside big

shopping malls and department stores, but many of them

have been forced to close down, so the environment is

not favourable for us, " said Kenji Kaniya, a spokesman

for the Japanese arm of the American fast-food chain.

 

" The market potential for us is difficult so we have

been forced to relocate many outlets, " he said.

 

The number of new restaurants planned for 2002 would

slip 22.8 percent from the previous year to 220

stores, said Kaniya, as McDonald's rapid expansion

enjoyed in the land of fish and rice since 1971,

appeared to lose steam.

 

McDonald's had opened between 300 and 500 branches

annually from 1995 to 2000. The discovery of mad cow

disease in Japan has also hit business, Kaniya said.

 

The government has confirmed three cases of the

brain-wasting disease in Japan since last September,

sending beef prices plummeting as the Japanese public

lost their appetite for meat.

 

Last year net profit at McDonald's plunged 39.4

percent from 2000 to 10.2 billion yen, with pre-tax

profit down 35.4 percent at 18.9 billion yen.

 

Annual sales inched up 1.1 percent to 361.67 billion

yen.

 

 

 

 

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