Sushi King

Last updated

Sushi King
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryFood and hospitality
Founded1995 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia [1]
FounderFumihiko Konishi [1]
Headquarters
Subang Jaya, Selangor [2]
,
Malaysia
Areas served
Malaysia, Indonesia [3]
Key people
Fumihiko Konishi, Elaine Chiew
ProductsSushi
Parent Texchem Resources Bhd
Website sushi-king.com

Sushi King Sdn. Bhd. (formerly Sushi Kin Sdn. Bhd) is a Malaysian conveyor belt sushi restaurant chain that is a subsidiary of Malaysian multinational company Texchem Resources. It was established by Japanese entrepreneur Fumihiko Konishi in 1995. [4] [1] In March 2016, Sushi King received halal certification from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim). [5] By August 2024, Sushi King had 130 restaurants in Malaysia and two in Jakarta, Indonesia. [3]

Contents

History

Sushi King was founded by Japanese pharmacist and entrepreneur Fumihiko Konishi in 1995 as a conveyer belt sushi restaurant at Yaohan department store in Kuala Lumpur. The restaurant became popular and subsequently expanded into a chain. [1] In 2015, Japanese fast food restaurant chain Yoshinoya acquired a 28% stake in Sushi King. [6] By 2016, Sushi King had about 100 stores in Malaysia with plans to reach 160 stores by 2020. [5]

While Sushi King's customers were initially predominantly non-Muslim Malaysians including Malaysian Chinese, Konishi made efforts to appeal to Malay Muslim customers, who comprise the majority of Malaysia's population. To comply with Islamic halal standards, the chain ended the use of mirin rice wine and reduced the alcohol content of other ingredients; screening 150 ingredients to ensure that they were halal compliant. [1] In March 2016, Sushi King received a halal certification from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim). [5] By July 2017, the chain's Muslim customer base had risen from 22% to 40%. [1]

On 19 March 2016, Sushi King opened its 100th store at the Aeon Mall Shah Alam. Sushi King's founder and Texchem Resources executive chairman Konishi also confirmed plans to open four new stores in Vietnam. [7] In April 2017, Texchem established an Indonesian subsidiary called PT Sushi King Group Indonesia in order to expand its operations to Indonesia. [8]

In July 2019, Sushi King's managing director Hiroki Mori confirmed plans to increase the number of stores in Malaysia from 135 to 200 over the next five years. Mori confirmed that the restaurant chain planned to collaborate with highway operation PLUS Expressways to establish new stores at rest and relaxation areas, petrol stations and airports. [9]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sushi King's parent company Texchem Resources implemented various rationalisation initiatives including closing its Indonesian operations and reducing the number of its Malaysian stores from 150 to 121, which decreased the 2021 tax losses for Sushi King's restaurant division from RM15 million to RM1.3 million. [10]

In January 2022, Yoshinoya Holdings sold its 28% share in Sushi King, citing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Malaysian economy. [11] [6] In February 2022, Texchem Resources dissolved its Vietnamese subidiary Sushi King Co Ltd (SKCL), citing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and market uncertainty in Vietnam. [12]

In April 2022, Texchem Resources confirmed plans to establish cheaper kiosk and satellite stores to take advantage of the post-COVID reopening of the Malaysian economy. The company allocated RM10 million to open several new stores including 20 kiosks in 2022. To reduce manpower requirements, Sushi King also introduced self-order kiosks and robotic trays in addition to new menu creations and intensified marketing activities. [10] In December 2022, Sushi King Malaysia issued an apology after a Malaysian customer circulated a TikTok video of maggots in a Shoyu bottle at a Sushi King restaurant. [13]

In April 2024, Texchem Resources appointed former Nando's Malaysia's head of marketing Elaine Chiew as Sushi King's general manager for marketing. [14] In August 2024, Texchem Resources confirmed plans to re-establish its Indonesian operations, setting up two stores in Jakarta in November and December 2024. Konishi confirmed plans to establish 10 more Sushi King stores in Jakarta and other major cities, with the goal of establishing 150 new restaurants in Indonesia over the next five to ten years. [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Entrepreneur Fumihiko Konishi Caps His Career Serving Halal Sushi For The Masses". Forbes . 26 July 2017. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  2. ↑ "Contact Us". Sushi King Sdn Bhd. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Tan, David (19 August 2024). "Texchem spreading its wings to Indonesia". The Star . Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  4. ↑ "Company". Sushi King. Archived from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Choo, Ching Yee (16 March 2016). "Malaysia's Sushi King goes halal". Nikkei Asia . Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  6. 1 2 Sabrina, Sarah (5 May 2023). "Sushi King's founder had only 9 months to succeed, here's the restaurant's lesser-known tale". Vulcan Post. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  7. ↑ Lim, Jessie (19 March 2016). "Sushi chain grows in strength". The Star . Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  8. ↑ Tay, Chester (26 April 2017). "Texchem expands its Sushi King operations to Indonesia". The Edge . Archived from the original on 17 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  9. ↑ Yusof, Ayisy (8 July 2019). "Sushi King aims to open 65 new outlets in five years". New Straits Times . Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Sushi King: New outlets with different concepts on the way". The Sun . 20 April 2022. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  11. ↑ Kawaba, Risa (20 January 2022). "Yoshinoya to offload stake in Malaysia's Sushi King chain". Nikkei Asia . Archived from the original on 15 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  12. ↑ Seah, Eu Hen (17 February 2022). "Texchem shutters Sushi King operations in Vietnam". The Edge . Archived from the original on 17 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  13. ↑ Sekaran, Reenassri (28 December 2022). "Malaysian customer horrified to discover maggots in Sushi King's soy sauce bottle". Yahoo! Life . Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  14. ↑ Shirbeeni, A'bidah Zaid (8 April 2024). "Nando's ex-marketing head swims over to Sushi King". Marketing-Interactive. Lighthouse Independent Media. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.

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