Saizeriya

Did You Know?

• Saizeriya uses prefabricated ingredients from a central kitchen to reduce procurement and processing costs.
• A subsidiary was established in Shanghai in June 2003, operating fifteen stores by August 2007.

History

Yasuhiko Shōgaki, while a student at Tokyo University of Science, worked at a western restaurant in Ichikawa, Chiba called Saizeriya. The manager recognized his skill, and when Shōgaki became a senior, he inherited the restaurant. As Italian cuisine grew popular, Shōgaki converted the restaurant to Italian food, but customers stopped coming. He then cut prices by 70%, which drew long lines and necessitated opening another store. In May 1973, Shōgaki established a kabushiki gaisha named Maria-nu in Ichikawa, beginning chain expansion. The company changed its name to Maria-no in 1987 and to Saizeriya in 1992. The network has grown to over 750 stores, appearing in various forms: roadside stores, piloti types, locations in commerce buildings and train stations. Saizeriya opens stores where competitors have withdrawn, leading to varied store forms and billboard logos. On August 24, 2005, it launched a fast food store called "Eat Run"; as of 2008, three operated in Jūjō, Tokyo; Kawaguchi; and Aoto, Katsushika, Tokyo. In October 2006, Saizeriya reported its best performance in eight years, with sales up 3%, customer numbers up 2.1%, and average spending per customer up 0.8%. The company covered store expansion costs while improving menu quality. In October 2008, the restaurant was in the news for serving pizza with melamine-tainted dough from China.

Timeline

In April 1968, Yasuhiko Shōgaki took over the Saizeriya store and began a private business. The business incorporated as Maria-nu in May 1973. Multiple stores began opening in December 1977. Shopping center stores started in April 1981 at LaLaPort. The company moved to a new Ichikawa location in May 1983. Train station stores began in March 1987 at Shapō. The company renamed to Maria-no in April 1987 and introduced an Order Entry System in October 1987. Suburban roadside stores started in September 1989 at Mito Kaidō. The company moved to Funabashi, Chiba in October 1991 and renamed to Saizeriya in September 1992. The 100th store opened in Enoshima in July 1994. A factory was built in Yoshikawa, Saitama in October 1997, and the company moved there. Stock registered with JASDAQ in April 1998; two stocks listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in July 1999. The 500th store opened in Kyōnan, Yamanashi in October 2001. The first overseas store opened in Shanghai in December 2003. Eat Run opened in August 2005; Spa-Q and TacoQ opened in Saitama in November 2005. Saizeriya Express opened in Green Walk, Hachioji, Tokyo in April 2007. A store opened in Guangzhou, China in December 2007. The first Singapore store opened in 2008. The melamine-tainted dough controversy occurred in October 2008. A Hong Kong store opened in North Point in October 2010. Around six stores opened in Beijing in 2010.