TOKYO: Restaurants and retailers in Japan are gearing up for the Paris Olympic Games, set to start soon.

With most Olympic events scheduled between evening and early morning Japan time, companies are expecting high demand for food to eat at home while electronics retailers are hoping for higher sales of television sets.

Family restaurant operator Coco’s Japan Co. will begin selling Thursday a takeout- and delivery-only party set to meet anticipated demand for people to eat at home with relatives or friends while watching the Paris Games on TV. The 3,218-yen set includes six shareable dishes including pizza and fried foods.

At its basement food section, Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co.’s Daimaru outlet just near Tokyo Station will offer from Thursday 30 varieties of dishes that people can enjoy while watching the games, such as skewered fried food and sandwiches.

Food delivery service provider Demae-can Co. is teaming up with a restaurant chain to offer a special limited-time menu from Friday. “We hope people use it so that they do not miss out on breathtaking moments and miraculous performances (by Olympians),” a Demae-can official said.

Retail giant Aeon Co. is set to hold a “France Fair” at roughly 7,300 group stores from Friday to Tuesday. French wines, food and goods will be offered to give consumers a taste of traveling to the European country as many people have given up on going to watch the Olympics on site, due to the weak yen.

Among the dishes available for the fair is a Topvalu brand rice ball product featuring duck with demi-glace sauce, which is a recreation of a rice ball popular in Paris.

Electronics retailers are anticipating a surge in TV sales, after large-screen TVs sold well during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when people were advised to stay home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“More people will want to watch on better TVs if athletes perform well,” an official at Bic Camera Inc. said.

Sales are seen skyrocketing if Japanese athletes win many medals in Paris, industry officials said.

JIJI Press