[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Mom's Touch has opened its first franchise store in Japan, sending a signal for full-scale expansion of its local franchise business.

The local burger and chicken brand Mom's Touch announced on the 3rd that the first day of opening of 'Mom's Touch BLiX Chigasaki Branch' (hereinafter referred to as Chigasaki Branch), which opened on November 27th in the coastal city of Chigasaki, located 50 minutes by subway from Shibuya, Japan, achieved sales 63% higher than Shibuya Mom's Touch based on the number of seats, successfully completing the opening as the first franchise in a rural area.

Mom's Touch's fourth Japanese store and first franchise, the Chigasaki store, opened on the first floor of a local shopping mall, a five-minute walk from JR Chigasaki Station, within walking distance of the residential area and the famous beach, Southern Beach. The location is where Lotteria Japan (now Jeteria) operated for 45 years, from 1979 until the end of last year. Since its opening on the 27th, the store has received an explosive response from local residents, with a constant line of people waiting to get in for the five days in a row.

In particular, the Chigasaki store revealed that despite having only about 70 seats, which is about one-third the size of the large directly-managed 220-seat Shibuya Mom's Touch store located in a key commercial district, the average sales per seat after opening was 63% higher than the initial performance of Shibuya Mom's Touch. While the Shibuya store, which opened in April of last year, had sales per seat of 9,970 yen (about 94,200 won) on its opening day, the Chigasaki store recorded 16,300 yen (about 154,000 won). In addition, it boasted an elevated brand status in just 20 months since entering the Japanese restaurant market, recording daily sales 2.5 times higher than the previous Lotteria store.

This success is attributed not only to the brand awareness and preference Mom's Touch has built in the Japanese restaurant market over the past two years, but also to the tailored pricing strategy unique to the Chigasaki branch, a local shopping district. The Chigasaki branch is not only Mom's Touch's first franchise in the country, but also differentiates itself from existing stores in that it is the first to open in a local shopping district outside of Tokyo. Specifically, by lowering product prices by approximately 7% compared to the core Shibuya commercial district, the company has lowered the price barrier for its products, encouraging repeat visits from nearby residents, its primary customer base. This strategic pricing optimization policy has maximized the "cost performance competitiveness" unique to local shopping districts.

Additionally, as a medium-sized store with 70 seats, it was designed with the interior concept of a “warm and comfortable local burger shop” and variable seating, taking into account the characteristics of a local commercial district with many family visitors compared to core commercial districts such as Shibuya and Harajuku.

In fact, an analysis of the age distribution of visiting customers revealed that customers of a wide age range visited the store, with 20% in their 20s or younger, 40% in their 20s and 30s, 20% in their 40s and 50s, and 20% in their 50s or older, compared to stores in key commercial areas that are concentrated among the younger generation. This can be interpreted as a high satisfaction rate due to Mom's Touch's unique DNA of providing high-quality, reasonably priced popular dining menus such as burgers, chicken, and pizza that the whole family can enjoy together, which aligns with the residential area's location and local cost-effective consumption trends.

A representative of Mom's Touch stated, "The Chigasaki store is a local expansion model that embodies the message, 'The taste of Korea is entering the daily lives of Japanese people,' and will serve as a showcase store for prospective store owners who wish to open franchises in the future." They added, "Through stable expansion of the brand and establishment of a franchise model, we will establish ourselves as a daily dining brand that permeates the daily lives of Japanese consumers, just like our brand positioning in Korea."

For the past two years, Mom's Touch has been building on its successful experience operating directly-operated stores and pop-up shops in key commercial and residential areas of Tokyo, including Shibuya, Harajuku, and Shimokitazawa. This success has led the company to refine its franchise model to suit the Japanese restaurant business environment. This consistent effort, with the opening of its first regional store in Chigasaki, marks the culmination of this ongoing effort. The company plans to expand its franchise network beyond the Tokyo metropolitan area and aim for nationwide expansion.