Lotteria to Disappear in Japan After 54 Years, Rebranded Under 'Zetteria'

Tokyo, Financial News — The Japanese burger chain Lotteria will disappear, bringing its 54-year history to an end.
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (The Nikkei) on the 21st, Japanese food-service giant Zensho Holdings announced that it will gradually close all Lotteria outlets in Japan by March and convert them into Zetteria locations.
As a result, the Lotteria brand sign, first raised in 1972 at its inaugural store in Takashimaya Nihonbashi in Tokyo and maintained for 54 years, will disappear into history.
After acquiring Lotteria in 2023, Zensho Holdings opened the first Zetteria outlet in Tokyo in September of the same year and has since been gradually converting existing Lotteria stores into Zetteria locations.
As of the end of December last year, Zensho Holdings was operating a total of 278 outlets: 106 Lotteria and 172 Zetteria stores. By number of outlets in Japan, this ranks fourth after McDonald's (3,025), MOS BURGER (1,309), and Burger King (337).
Through this brand integration, Zensho Holdings plans to improve store operating efficiency by cutting costs via joint procurement of raw materials and shared logistics. Until now, the two brands have used the same product names, such as the "Value Cheeseburger," but their procurement, production, and logistics systems were different, so they used different ingredients for items like buns, patties, and sauces.
Lotteria opened its first store in Tokyo in 1972 under Lotte Holdings, and entered the Korean market in 1979. After Lotteria Korea later acquired management control from Lotteria Japan, the two companies were operated as separate entities.
Lotteria Japan has long struggled with poor performance amid intensifying price competition with rival chains. It received investment from corporate restructuring specialist ReVamp in 2005 to overhaul its business, and attempted a turnaround in 2007 by launching hit products such as the "Value Cheeseburger." However, growth remained sluggish, and the company was eventually acquired by Zensho Holdings in 2023.
Zensho Holdings is Japan's largest restaurant group, operating a wide range of food-service businesses including the beef bowl chain Sukiya, the sushi chain Hama-sushi, and the family restaurant Coco's. It also once operated the U.S. burger chain Wendy's in Japan.
sjmary@fnnews.com Seo Hye-jin Reporter