Pursuit of M&A (Domestic)
What Was the Aim in Acquiring Sukesan Co., Ltd.?
With sustainable growth and enhancement of corporate value as our aim, in October 2024 Skylark Group acquired all shares of Sukesan Co., Ltd. The company operates the Sukesan Udon chain, considered “soul food” in the city of Kitakyushu. Skylark positions this M&A case as an important pillar of our growth strategy. We are confident that crossing the strengths of the two companies will greatly contribute to the development of a new customer base, acceleration of business development that takes advantage of regional characteristics, and enhancement of profitability for the Group as a whole.
Introduction to Sukesan Udon
Founded in Kitakyushu in 1976, Sukesan Udon serves “soul food” long beloved by local customers. It features an extensive menu of over 100 items that including rice bowls, curry, set meals, botamochi, and the chain’s signature Niku Goboten Udon, typically available 24 hours a day. As a brand suited to affordable, everyday dining, the chain operates stores closely tied to the region, with 78 stores as of May 2025.
Strategic background and objectives ⇨ Why Sukesan now?
Strategy1 Responding to a blank area within a store portfolio that changes with the times
In response to a market that changes with the times, we are restructuring our portfolio of stores. While developing and enriching our casual dining brands aimed at visits for a particular purpose, in keeping with the times we are adopting a strategy of slightly increasing the average check to address the soaring prices of materials in the family dining business. Amid this, an untapped blank area has appeared among our everyday low-priced brands. Sukesan Udon has joined our ranks as a brand that will strongly complement this area. Through this, our company has successfully realized an appealing and robust store portfolio aligned with the times
Strategy2 Elimination of internal cannibalization and the risk of a decline in store numbers associated with non-urban population decline
Skylark Group currently operates 70% of its stores in non-urban and roadside areas. However, as the non-urban population continues to decline, we are entering a phase that demands a rethinking of our store placement. While targeting urban areas, station-front areas, and commercial areas for new store openings, we will perform brand conversions of existing stores into Sukosan Udon stores, which enjoy strong popularity in non-urban roadside areas. By doing so, we will enable store management that eliminates the risk of a future decline in store numbers and that maintains an optimal number of stores for fully leveraging the production and logistics network of our 10 central kitchens. We also believe that conversions to Sukesan Udon stores will have a strong impact on eliminating cannibalization of neighboring Group stores, contributing to maximization of area profits within the Group.
Synergies and growth strategy
In addition to solving the aforementioned management issues, synergies created by integrating the management resources of the two companies include the following.
Underlying approach
“We will continue to protect the goodness of Sukesan Udon, with its long-loved, habit-forming taste and service that brings customers back.” We believe that committing to a mission of delivering Sukesan Udon’s goodness nationwide and overseas while respecting its history is the most critical factor in building a win-win relationship through the acquisition.
Support for the nationwide and overseas expansion of Sukesan Udon
Sukesan Udon opened its first store in the Kansai region in 2023 and in the Kanto region in 2024. To achieve the goal of expanding stores nationwide and overseas, resources for opening stores are needed. We provide powerful support for store development through Skylark Group’s approximately 3,000 existing stores, site development capabilities, end-to-end supply chain, human resources, training manuals, and funds.
Strengthening the profitability of Sukesan Udon
By realizing more efficient store management through means including primary processing of some ingredients at Skylark’s central kitchens, reduction of costs through bulk purchasing of store equipment by the Group, and reduction of store opening costs through conversion from existing stores, we will maximize profitability
We are currently studying the feasibility of producing udon noodles, the cornerstone of Sukesan Udon, at Skylark’s central kitchens. Through trial and error we are working to reproduce a consistent taste that takes into account regional differences in water quality. This commitment to taste is strengthening the bonds of cooperation between Sukesan and Skylark.
Addressing risks
Can Kitakyushu udon find a home in the Kanto region?
M&A undeniably entails uncertainties. In our acquisition of all shares of Sukesan, our greatest concern was whether Kitakyushu udon would find acceptance in the Kanto region.
Through physical and chemical analysis, we confirmed that the udon’s amino acid composition would be acceptable nationwide and were able to proceed with confidence. We also conducted monitor testing with general consumers, receiving a positive response that led us to the acquisition. Our company, including our Board of Directors, analyzed all risks and futures from multiple angles in undertaking the acquisition.
In the future, too, working through close cooperation, we will set clear KPIs to confirm the achievement of expected synergies and will undertake measurements of efficacy and measures for improvement.
By leveraging the strengths of both companies to create new synergies, we will evolve into a more appealing corporate group.
Strong performance in the Kanto region and future development
Kanto No. 1 Store (Yachiyo Store, Chiba Prefecture)
Opened December 2024
Daily sales: Over 2 million yen
Guest count: Over 2,000/day
We plan to open 21 stores, laying a foundation for doing so in 2025. We will investigate all store siting patterns to consolidate the ideal format.
We plan to open 50 stores in 2026 and 100 stores in 2027.
Pursuit of M&A (Overseas)
Acquisition of Suki-Ya, a Muslim-oriented shabu-shabu brand in Malaysia
In January 2025, we acquired all shares of Createries Consultancy Sdn. Bhd. (CC Group), which operates the popular Suki-Ya shabu-shabu restaurant in Malaysia. CC Group’s Muslim-oriented stores, which do not serve pork or alcohol, are gaining popularity for high-quality meat served at affordable prices. In the Malaysian market, we aim to rapidly build up our store network through a brand strategy aimed at two target demographics, ethnic Malaysian and ethnic Chinese customers. Skylark is expanding its store network in Malaysia through the acquisition, with the aim of full-scale entry into the Southeast Asian market.
▶For details of our overseas expansion, see here
M&A Policy Utilizing our infrastructure to powerfully support business development
Support by our company
- Support for multi-store development leveraging our infrastructure of 3,000 stores nationwide
(including those leveraging existing stores)
- Provision of abundant human resources/human resource development programs
- Business funding support
- Daily delivery throughout Japan via our central kitchens and in-house logistic network
- Utilization of low-cost, high-quality ingredients through our purchasing power
- Marketing know-how leveraging big data
Examples of companies with which we have synergies
- Existing restaurant chains in need of resources for store expansion
- Restaurant startups that have superior concepts and are considering business expansion
- Food delivery businesses, home-meal replacement businesses, etc. for which business scale and efficiency can be enhanced through our infrastructure
Planned three to five cases over three years
Achievement of one case each in 2024 and 2025!
We plan to undertake three to five cases of M&A over the three years from 2025 to 2027, and have already achieved two. Targeting cases such as existing restaurant chains in need of resources to expand store openings and restaurant management startups that have superior concepts and are considering business expansion, we will actively study opportunities under a policy of leveraging our infrastructure and strengths to powerfully support business development while building a win-win relationship for both parties.