Shares in Irvine, California, U.S.A.-based conveyer belt sushi chain Kura Sushi USA rose more than 6 percent on 18 May, after it was disclosed that U.S. President Donald Trump bought USD 1 million (EUR 861,000) to USD 5 million (EUR 4.3 million) of the company’s stock.
The Trump Organization’s latest quarterly financial disclosures included shares in Amazon, Chipotle, and a number of other companies, along with Kura Sushi, per Bloomberg.
“Trump’s assets are managed by third-party financial institutions, and he is not involved in their investment decisions, according to Bloomberg,” a release by Restaurant Business said.
According to a recent National Fisheries Institute (NFI) Sushi Council report, the sushi industry has seen USD 22 billion (EUR 19 billion) growth recently, and Japan-based Kura Sushi is a contributing factor to that growth. The company has established 88 U.S.-based restaurants and reported a surge in total second quarter U.S. sales, rising from USD 64.9 million (EUR 56 million) to USD 80 million (EUR 69 million) year over year. Comparable restaurant sales grew 8.6 percent in that same quarter.
Kura Sushi has expressed interest in expanding the use of next-generation robotics and the presence of Japanese small plates, called izakaya, to restaurants in the U.S. market. Kura is taking advantage of the growing sushi trend, particularly among Generation Z and millennial consumers. The U.S. is home to more than 16,000 dedicated sushi restaurants, the NFI report found, and sushi has infiltrated the menus of numerous non-sushi restaurants.
In addition to Kura, Zensho Holdings and Sojitz Corp. are major operators contributing to growth, FMI said.
