TOKYO -- Tailoring its restaurants to local preferences is a key part of Yoshinoya Holdings' overseas expansion efforts. Preparing to enter India, the Japanese chain even plans to drop its signature menu item: gyudon, which consists of a bowl of rice topped with beef.
The strategy may be a given in the South Asian country, where beef consumption is taboo, but the company is also aggressively catering to customer preferences at its U.S. and Southeast Asian outlets, where it is increasingly promoting locals to managerial posts. Yoshinoya believes local managers have an advantage in developing the best menus and restaurant formats for respective regions.
