Suntory Chief Says Over 20% of Restaurants and Bars Could Fail Due to Change in Dining Culture

Suntory Holdings Ltd. CEO Takeshi Niinami believes that as bars and restaurants reopen, 20 percent will fail due to a change in dining culture.

Restaurants are reopening with limited seating and opening hours, and Niinami felt that the culture of eating out could have been permanently altered.

Consequently, he sees only 80 percent being back in business.

He added that he would like to see bars and restaurants make it through the next two to three years until noisy, intimate get-togethers are allowed.

Niinami, who says his Suntory’s global sales hit bottom last month, believes it would take over six months for businesses to normalize, provided there is no second wave of infections.

Japan’s vibrant dining scene mostly shut down in April due to the state of emergency.

The owner of well-known brands like Yamazaki and Hibiki, Suntory is dependent on the dining industry as an outlet for its drinks.

Suntory the world’s third-largest whiskey maker and one of Japan’s largest beer makers.

Niinami, an economic adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government, said that domestic beer sales were unlikely to return to the previous year’s levels soon.

Suntory is backing a dining app called Saki-meshi that allows consumers to support their favorite restaurants by purchasing for meals up to 180 days in advance, to allows restaurants to survive until business returns.

Niinami said they would unlock new demand and tap into new trends, such as cheaper products, value-added higher-priced goods, and cocktails at home.