Last year, a dispute over the authenticity of the brand exploded on the social platform in the past two days.
From the evening of September 4 to September 5, the "Bass One" Japanese food store in Shanghai with a per capita consumption of 1685 yuan was revealed by different WeChat signals that it was a "disguised shop" of the Japanese Michelin star "Bass One", and posted a statement on the official website of The Japanese Bass One, saying that it had no branches in China.
On the evening of September 5, the relevant person in charge of Shanghai Bayi said in an interview with the surging news (www.thepaper.cn) reporter that at the beginning of the opening of the store in 2011, Shanghai Bayi did cooperate with Japan's Bass, and in 2014, the two sides completely ended cooperation. The official statement of Bashiichi circulating on the Internet was actually issued by him in 2016. At that time, it also posted a statement on its official website, saying that the two were not related. The person in charge stressed that after the end of the cooperation, there was no publicity with Japanese bass.
At present, the Shanghai Xuhui District Market Supervision Bureau has intervened in the investigation of the incident.
Accused of being a "camouflage shop"
Statement by Ginza Shunichi in the WeChat public account article. Picture from the WeChat public account "Shanghai all know"
"There are two counterfeit shops in China that use the name 'Bass Sushi'. The first is in Shanghai and the second is in Nanjing. The above two stores have nothing to do with 'Ginza Bashi'. At present, 'Ginza Bassichi' Sushi only has direct-operated stores in Singapore, Bangkok, and Jakarta (opened in May 2016). ”
This is a translation of the WeChat public account article circulating on the Internet. Located in the bustling area of Ginza in Tokyo, Ginza is a one-michelin-starred restaurant with word of mouth. According to the official website of Japan's Bashi, the brand has appeared in China as a "camouflage store".
The public account article said that the name logo of Shanghai Baan Yi store is very similar to Ginza Baan Yi. The logos of the two stores are compared together and can almost overlap. At the beginning of the opening of the shanghai bass, many food bloggers recommended that "the bass of Tokyo Ginza has opened a shop in Shanghai!" In Shanghai, you can also taste the supreme treasure that has been selected as a michelin-starred famous shop." Not only that, in terms of price, Shanghai Bass One is also directly close to Ginza Bass One. The price of a set of Ginza bass is about 1500 yuan, and the average reference for Shanghai bass is 1685 yuan per person.
According to a review site, many diners do go to Shanghai For a Michelin star.
According to industrial and commercial information, Shanghai Bayi Registered Company is "Yiyi Catering Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.", registered in April 2012, and the current operating status is "Survival".
Worked with Akiichi Ginza
On the evening of September 5, the surging news reporter contacted the person in charge of Shanghai Bashi, who said that in 2011, they did cooperate with Ginza Bayi, and the plan at that time was that the Japanese side also participated in the shares, Shanghai paid the management fee, and sent people to Japan to study, and the Japanese side sent chefs and managers to China to help open a store.
The person in charge said that at the beginning of the store, the Japanese side sent 6 chefs and asked all the menus to be exactly the same as ginza bass. At the beginning of the opening of Shanghai Baan, which suffered serious losses, the Chinese side proposed whether it could streamline the chefs and appropriately modify the recipes according to the tastes of Chinese consumers, which was opposed by the Japanese side. Three months later, except for the head chef, the remaining 5 chefs did not say goodbye and were in a state of disconnection. After that, Shanghai Baiyi re-recruited the team, and by 2013, the company began to make a profit. Although Ginza Shunichi ignored them during this period, until 2014, the management fee originally agreed with Ginza Bashiichi was paid by Shanghai Bashiichi.
The above-mentioned person in charge said that at the end of 2014, Ginza came to Shanghai to negotiate, still insisting that the menu must be completely consistent with the Japanese side, all of which were sent by the Japanese side to cook, and the chefs had to fly to and from the first class of the flight, live in a five-star hotel, and the management fee was greatly increased. According to this calculation, Shanghai Baiyi is completely unprofitable. The negotiations ended in a rupture.
In 2016, Shanghai Baichi became famous and opened a franchise store in Nanjing. Japan's Baan Yi issued a statement on its official website, pointing out that Shanghai Ba Yi and Nanjing Ba Yi were counterfeiting their brands.
A statement released on the official website of Shanghai Baiyi.
In the same year, Shanghai Bayi also issued a statement on its official website: "At present, the 'Bass One' Japanese restaurant in China has no relationship with the Japanese Ginza Bass One, and there is no suspicion of disguise." In 2012, the two stores were a cooperative relationship at the beginning of the establishment of Shanghai Bass, and then because the Japanese main store did not obtain a Michelin star and at the same time faded out of the management of Chinese restaurants, the two sides discussed the termination of the cooperative relationship in 2014. ”
"Originally, we thought it was all family affairs, and the past was over. I didn't expect it to be like this on the Internet now. The person in charge said that he had asked a lawyer to issue a statement hoping to clarify the matter.
As for why last year's events suddenly broke out this year, the person in charge said that he was completely unaware that they did not rely on Ginza Tonico to promote solicitation, and the menu was also improved according to the Chinese market. Public information shows that Shanghai Bayi's franchise store in Xiamen is about to open.
Statement letter from Shanghai Lawyer. Courtesy of the interviewee
Relevant departments intervene in the investigation
To the netizens pointed out that the Shanghai Ba yi LOGO is similar to the Ginza Baan Yi, the relevant person in charge of Shanghai Ba Yi said that this LOGO they have registered. The surging news reporter checked the information and found that the word "鮨一" had applied for trademark protection.
Is it legal for Shanghai Baiyi to do this?
Industry insiders said that if domestic companies are only registered with this name alone, there is no problem in law. Trade names and trademarks are protected by country, which is not the same as calling this name in Japan, and China cannot be registered by other countries.
In addition, the industrial and commercial registration data shows that the business scope of Yiyi Catering Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., the registered company of Shanghai Baiyi, is "catering management (not allowed to engage in food production and operation)". In this regard, the relevant person in charge of the company said that its Shanghai catering business is cooperating with a wedding catering company.
On the evening of September 5, the surging news reporter learned from the Shanghai Xuhui Market Supervision and Administration Bureau that the department was aware of the matter and intervened in the investigation.