Benihana of Tokyo Case - Grade: 86 PDF

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Benihana of Tokyo

If we look behind the concept of Benihana, we clearly see that they sell a core product (High quality food) and an extended product (atmosphere and the cooking process). The core product is the sale of food (steak, chicken, shrimps) and beverages, but with the difference that the food is cooked in front of the people. The extended product is the atmosphere and the hospitality. My next point would show why Benihana has such successes. If we look at the data Benihana has collected in the past, it is clear that people love Japanese food and more importantly, how and under what circumstances it is cooked. According to the survey, 46.7% visit the restaurant because they expect good food (The training of the chefs is crucial) 13.1% visit the restaurant because of the preparation (The way of cooking is important) and 13.3% come to the restaurant because they like the atmosphere of the restaurant. These are in my opinion the keys to Benihana’s success. But how do they archive it? Of the three success factors mentioned above, the preparation of the food by the chef is the most important success factor. It is Benihana's aim to offer its clients something so special that they visit the restaurant again and above all recommend it to friends and colleagues. Since Benihana is not a fast food restaurant, it is a costly visit for the customers (more than 50% of the customers are between 31 - 50 years old and have a good income). Looking at the data, it can also be seen that Benihana manages to get customers to recommend the restaurant (67% of customers heard about Benihana from friends and colleagues for the first time). In order to maintain this service and this unique concept, Benihana approaches certain issues differently. To guarantee a high-quality food, which was presented to the customers as a show act, extensive training courses are held with the chef. Because the cooking was done directly at the customer's table, a large kitchen is overdue. In this way costs could be saved and the additional space could be used to serve more customers. Due to its specialization in three main products, Benihana has virtually no waste. Therefore:  Benihana cuts his food costs between 30% - 35%. Other comparable restaurants have food costs between 38 % - 48%.  The cost of beverages is 20% for Benihana and between 25% and 30% for comparable restaurants. It is important that Benihana reduces costs where they can, because they invest a lot of money in their advertising (10%). Comparable restaurants have only 0.75% - 2% advertising costs. If we look at the other two success factors, we see that one of them is the atmosphere. This is an important part of success. To create this special atmosphere, they only use pieces such as walls, ceilings, beams, artifacts and decorative lighting from Japan. These pieces are shipped to the United States where they are assembled. One question that Bill Susha, Vice President, Operations and Business Development, asks is this: Is it worth importing everything from Japan? In my opinion it is very important for Benihana to remain as authentic as possible. 13,3 % of the customers came mainly because of the atmosphere and for 13 % was the atmosphere the highlight of the dinner. These effects cannot simply be achieved with similar products from America.

What happens now is important in terms of the queue. When the restaurant is full, customers are taken to the lounge and at least physically there is no queue....