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Published on March 5, 2008

General manager Panya Pawasena revealed that his brother Suriyan, after working as a chef at major Japanese restaurants like Fuji and Shin Daikoku for almost 20 years, started up his own sushi-restaurant business a decade ago.

"With long working experience in well-known Japanese restaurants in Thailand, my brother saw the good business potential of Japanese cuisine as it began to be more popular and preferred by Thai consumers," said Panya. "However, Japanese-food prices are quite expensive and not affordable for lower-income people. Suriyan wanted Thai consumers to have a chance to experience good-quality Japanese food but at reasonable prices."

Panya said that 10 years ago, the company started opening Japanese-food kiosks in shopping malls, particularly for sushi items. But he said the name Mr Sushi became did not become popular until only two years ago, when the chain underwent a rapid expansion.

 He said the company now operated 20 Mr Sushi outlets in places like Seri Centre, Seacon Square and Tesco Lotus. Each kiosk records sales of anywhere from Bt5,000 to Bt30,000, depending on location.

"Our prices are four or five times cheaper than well-known Japanese restaurants," said Panya. "We sell sushi at Bt10 per item, while prices at the better-known Japanese restaurants range from Bt30 to Bt80. Fresh and delicious ingredients are the key success factors of our Mr Sushi outlets."

Panya said his company recently launched its latest catering service - Mr Sushi Party - for business or individual clients throwing a party for staff, clients or friends. The minimum order is Bt5,000. The company sets up a kiosk with a chef at each party.

"We also plan to launch a new home-delivery service by the end of this year for a minimum order of Bt1,000," Panya said. "It is now undergoing trial testing."

Panya said the company opened its first full-fledged shop in SCB Park Plaza six months ago. It has 40 seats and covers 36 square metres.

"We plan to open another 10 Mr Sushi kiosks and three more shops around Bangkok, including in Thon Buri and Bang Na districts and on Sathorn Road, as well as in Ayutthaya," said Panya.

 Panya said the company planned to franchise its Mr Sushi kiosks in the next year or two.

"We want to grow our Mr Sushi business in the future, and franchising will be one of our key strategies for expanding our outlets - not by ourselves, but rather through business partners," said Panya.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation