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2008 Tokyo Michelin Guide sold out already

November 28, 2007
By Ken Worsley


Tokyo Michelin GuideThis year’s easy Christmas gift is gone from the shelves, at least for now.

It seems that Michelin understands the pattern well: get ready to roll your product out in Japan, have the PR people place (or provoke) a few quotes in the media about how foreigners ‘don’t understand’ or ‘can’t understand’ some aspect of Japan to pique interest, and then hit the shelves with an under supply of product.

The 2008 Michelin Tokyo Guide has already sold out. It only took two days. The Krispy Kreme model, which still has people standing in line outside of a doughnut shop (now 2), seems to have been adjusted and put into play well here. The second printing should sell out like hotcakes as well.

The Nikkei also tells us that Hiramatsu, a restaurant group that had five of its restaurants awarded one star by the guide, is rushing to open more locations. Company President Hirotoshi Hiramatsu told the Nikkei, “Like Moody’s ratings for industry, these stars are a sign of excellence and directly influence the restaurant business.” No mention of quality management strategies during expansion is made in the article, probably for a good reason.

A quick look at Michelin’s Japanese website shows a nice first page, followed by some fairly rough looking design. I also couldn’t get the ‘concept movie’ to load.

If you’re interested in seeing which restaurants in Tokyo were ranked, there’s a list online at the Michelin site. That one shouldn’t sell out.

Filed Under Business, Japan, Marketing, Media, Services 

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Comments

9 Responses to “2008 Tokyo Michelin Guide sold out already”

  1. SRR on November 29th, 2007 4:07 am

    Any word on when they’ll be back on the shelves?

  2. Billyclyde on November 29th, 2007 3:08 pm

    If donuts had stars, Krispy Kreme would have five. Mr. Donut is good, but KK is something else.

  3. Garrett on December 2nd, 2007 10:20 pm

    Billyclyde, you do mean KK glazed doughnuts exclusively, right? The chocolate ones are OK, too, but the others are all beaten by every other doughnut chain.

  4. Kraig on December 3rd, 2007 1:07 am

    Jeez, I thought I might have been to once place on that list. None that I can remember.

    I saw a list that had links to websites about the restaurants, some were homepages and some Yahoo travel. I was surprised that some of them were not so expensive. More than usual, but not scary.

    Nice new layout, by the way.

  5. BPJ on December 3rd, 2007 2:53 am

    Dig the new layout as well…

    Tokyo is a marvelous food city, so this was good to see. I wonder if the Michelin people intend to push into other Asian markets - Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai are pretty much begging to have them done.

    A ‘business lunchers’ guide in English might be good as well.

  6. W. Anthony Malcolm on December 3rd, 2007 9:19 am

    First, doesn’t Michelin sell tires? I see the logo and I think tires, cars, axel rods. I don’t think food. Is that what they are pitching. I’m not knocking the guide or anything just a bit out of the loop with this. I love the baby in the tire commercials. That’s Michelin to me. Anyway, goodluck to them.

    Second, Krispy Kreme original glaze is the creme of the crop (pun intended). I used to live very close to the original factory in Arlington, Virginia, the United States (Actually I lived across the river in Washington, DC but the same neck of the woods). The thing is that because of the hype sometimes the donuts aren’t as fresh as they could be. It’s basically first come first serve for the hotties. Still Krispy Kreme is a great donut.

    Lastly, Tokyo is definitely a great food city. The place has like 20 million people I hope it would be a great food city.

    Nice site design Ken. Keep up the good work.

    Peace

  7. WG on December 3rd, 2007 4:06 pm

    One of the three star restaurants is named “Quintessence” - they should have been disqualified on name alone. Sounds like a restaurant for Pomeranians.

    Personally, I don’t get the Krispy Kreme thing. They’re really sweet…it seems like a cheap pastry. Might be ok sometimes, but nothing to get excited about and definitely not good for you!

  8. Ken Worsley on December 5th, 2007 1:34 am

    I wonder if the Michelin people intend to push into other Asian markets - Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai are pretty much begging to have them done.

    BPJ - I agree. Especially since so many international conferences are held there. It could be quite an item for professional travelers.

  9. Middle Empire on December 17th, 2007 11:24 am

    Not surprise but the result! Japanese people love so much the good food. I hope they will print a new edition soon!!!!

    Middle Empire
    http://www.middle-empire.com

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