Gurunavi, Inc.

Business Details

Based on the operation of restaurant information sites centered on "Rakuten Gurunavi", the company provides online reservation, advertising, and business support products to restaurants. Revenue consists of basic membership fees, online reservation commissions, and product usage fees, among others. The business comprises the core business (Restaurant Sales Promotion Service + Promotion Service) and Related Businesses (kitchen equipment sales, store development, etc.). Net sales for FY2026 (ending March 2026) were ¥14,132 million (up 5.0% year on year). Following the return to profitability in FY2025 (ended March 2025), the company is now transitioning into a profit expansion phase.

Recent Overview

Both sales and operating profit increased, but a significant swing to losses is forecast for the next fiscal year due to strategic investment

In FY2026 (ending March 2026), the company achieved higher sales and profit, with net sales of ¥14,132 million (up 5.0% year on year) and operating profit of ¥400 million (up 52.7% year on year). Stock-type services drove an 8.3% increase in sales, supported by ARPU growth and an increase in the number of member stores. However, an impairment loss of ¥234 million related to Related Businesses was recorded as an extraordinary loss, limiting net profit to ¥236 million. Starting in FY2027 (ending March 2027), the company will launch its "Medium-Term Management Plan 2028" and undertake approximately ¥1,000 million in strategic investment, including hiring around 70 staff and developing its partner structure. The forecast for the next fiscal year anticipates a significant swing to losses, with net sales of ¥15,100 million (up 6.8% year on year), an operating loss of ¥830 million, and a net loss of ¥1,000 million.

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Growth in ARPU for stock-type services and a shift to an increasing trend in the number of paid member stores (33,881 at period-end, up 1.2% from the prior year-end)
• Promotion of repeat reservations among Rakuten ID-linked members through the integration of the Rakuten Card Premium Program with the reservation host ranking system (launched October 2025)
• Increase in the number of stores using and the per-store fee for the Marketing Agent Service, centered on Google Business Profile management support
• Transformation into a restaurant management platform based on the "Medium-Term Management Plan 2028" (shifting from a customer acquisition media provider to a management supporter)
• Full-scale expansion of the number of paid member stores through the hiring of additional sales staff (approximately 70 planned for FY2027, ending March 2027) and the formation of an organization dedicated to new customer acquisition
• Enhancement of membership value and reduction of churn risk through collaboration with Rakuten Group on CRM and payment-related functions
• Improved operational efficiency and sophistication of the product development cycle through the generative AI-driven "Gurunavi NEXT Project"
• Capturing demand from inbound foreign visitors through multilingual support (English version) for the AI Agent App "UMAME!"

Risks

• Anticipated operating loss of ¥830 million and net loss of ¥1,000 million in the next fiscal year (FY2027, ending March 2027) due to the execution of approximately ¥1,000 million in strategic investment
• Risk of continued decline in Spot-type Service sales (down 8.5% year on year in FY2026, ended March 2026) and prolonged weakness in online reservation commission sales
• Profit pressure from increased costs associated with hiring and software investment (depreciation expense increased approximately 2.3x, from ¥255 million in the prior year to ¥587 million)
• Risk of recurring profitability decline and impairment losses (¥234 million in FY2026, ended March 2026) in the Related Businesses (store development business)
• Risk that deteriorating restaurant business conditions due to soaring raw material costs and labor shortages could affect the number of member stores and their willingness to invest in sales promotion
• Risk of relative decline in the standing of restaurant-specialized sites due to the spread of diverse customer acquisition channels such as Google and social media
• Risk of reduced liquidity from continued strategic investment, given the significant decline in cash and cash equivalents at period-end from ¥5,042 million to ¥3,300 million
• Uncertainty regarding the ability to execute the J-curve growth strategy (targeting net sales of ¥18,900 million and operating profit of ¥1,300 million in the final year of the Medium-Term Management Plan 2028, FY2029 ending March 2029)