Watami seeks to grow collaboration with Genesis BBQ

Miki Watanabe, the chairman of Japanese pub chain Watami, visited Korea to gain insights from Watami's first branch in the country, operated by Genesis BBQ, after it achieved a 22.1 percent increase in sales within one month of its opening.

Miki Watanabe, left, chairman of Watami, and Yoon Hong-geun, chairman of Genesis BBQ, met at Watami Moonjeong branch in southern Seoul. [GENESIS BBQ]

Miki Watanabe, the chairman of Japanese pub chain Watami, visited Korea to gain insights from Watami's first branch in the country, operated by Genesis BBQ, after it achieved a 22.1 percent increase in sales within one month of its opening. According to Genesis BBQ on Wednesday, Watanabe, accompanied by representatives from Watami's international business division, arrived in Korea on Tuesday and met with Genesis BBQ Chairman Yoon Hong-geun.

Genesis BBQ, a Korean fried chicken franchise, and Watami signed a master franchise agreement in 2012.

During their visit, Watanabe and Yoon had lunch together at the BBQ Village branch in Songpa District, southern Seoul, where they discussed the restaurant's format and operational methods.

Subsequently, Watanabe visited the first Watami branch in Korea, situated in Moonjeong-dong in Songpa District, southern Seoul, which was founded as a collaborative effort between Genesis BBQ and Watami.

Situated in a vibrant commercial area with high foot traffic, the branch experienced a 22.1 percent increase in sales in June, compared to the previous month when it opened. The company, however, declined to reveal exact sales figures.

Watanabe personally saw how items on the small dishes menu are cooked and compared the operational systems with Watami's establishments in Japan, Genesis BBQ said.

"We plan to open 1,000 Watami branches in the shortest time possible by strategically leveraging BBQ's accumulated global success expertise over the past 12 years," Yoon said. "Through this collaboration between Genesis BBQ and Watami, we can create another success story following our achievements on a global scale."

A Genesis BBQ spokesperson told the Korea JoongAng Daily that it is planning to open new stores in popular commercial areas including Gangnam, Garosu-gil, and Hongdae, well known for their large number of young customers, sometime this year.

Watami operates over 400 restaurant franchise stores, including Watami, Sandaime Torimero, Miraizaka, and Karaage Genius, across Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and other various locations in Asia.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]