Japan’s second largest karaoke chain sets up flagship store in Singapore

It becomes Singapore’s largest family entertainment karaoke outlet.

In a bid to expand its business in Asia, Japan-listed firm Koshidaka Holdings just opened its flagship karaoke outlet in Singapore on August 26.

Spanning 2,218 sqm space with 80 newly refurbished rooms, 5 VIP rooms and a 150-pax capacity function room, Ganso Manekineko Orchard Cineleisure bills itself as the largest family entertainment karaoke outlet in Singapore. It is also the biggest Manekineko outlet in Asia, where there are more than 400 stores in Japan and 13 in South Korea. There are currently 6 other Manekineko outlets in Singapore.

According to Koshidaka Singapore CEO Akira Zama, the domestic market in Japan is currently downsizing. In order to continue its growth, Koshidaka Holdings identified expansion into other Asian countries as a strategy.

“After studying the market, we decided on Singapore as a springboard to penetrate into the Southeast Asian region, owing to its geographical and human resource advantage,” he said.

Zama added that As K Box was the number one in terms of number of outlets in Singapore, it was logical to work with them, through an acquisition and merger, to introduce the Japanese karaoke system.

Zama shared that they put in S$2 million to renovate the outlet in Singapore which now features rooms that are bright and vibrant in four coloured theme zones, each adorned with illustrations of the mascot cat. Prices are also kept affordable, starting at S$15 nett for two hours which includes free-flow soft drinks, snacks and ice cream.

Koshidaka Holdings, which is headquartered in Tokyo, owns a chain of lifestyle and entertainment brands in Japan, amongst them Manekineko karaoke, Curves fitness club and Maneki no Yu hotspring facilities. It has more than 2,700 employees. It made in-roads into Singapore in September 2015 when it launched its Manekineko Karaoke Chain, after acquiring shares in K Box Entertainment. K Box is a subsidiary of Koshidaka Holdings

Koshidaka Holdings is currently number 2 in the karaoke market in Japan but it claims to be the first Japanese karaoke chain to expand overseas.

According to Zama, besides being the largest Manekineko outlet in Asia, it is the only one which offers a daily dinner buffet and weekend lunch buffet of Japanese and local dishes.

Moving forward, Zama said that they are currently planning to expand into Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Thereafter, they are looking at the European and USA markets.