(Bloomberg) -- One of Japan’s cheapest fast food meals will get even cheaper -- thanks to a 10% discount from October when the nation’s new sales tax kicks in.
Yoshinoya Holdings Co., which sells beef rice bowls, said Tuesday that it will cut prices by 10% for two weeks from Oct. 1, when the sales tax increases to 10%. A bowl of gyudon now sells for 380 yen ($3.55) with the old 8% tax rate, and will cost 347 yen with the promotion and new tax rate.
“There’s some expectation that the campaign will be able to bring in customers despite the sales tax increasing,” said Masayuki Otani, the chief market strategist at Securities Japan Inc. “Yoshinoya’s campaign can only be proven successful if it manages to bring in customers even after the two-week sales period.”
Shares of Yoshinoya are set to close at their highest since 2001 on Wednesday. The stock is also beating the benchmark Topix index by 24 percentage points this year, while also trouncing the sector-based Topix Retail Trade Index.
The company is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, having opened its first store in 1899 in Tokyo. Its self-described “tasty, cheap and fast” meals are now sold across more than 2,100 stores in Japan and overseas, including the U.S.
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