Media Release

For Immediate Release

March 25, 2008

No chop sticks required

Students from the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary's University just got a good taste of the business world.

You see, a number of students from one of Canada’s leading business schools took part in the 1st Annual Hamachi Restaurants Business Case Competition.

“Growing the Sushi Business” was created by The Hamachi Group of Restaurants to give SMU students the chance to win total prizes of $3000.00 toward their education.  The Sobey School of Business Commerce Society also benefited by having yet another quality offering for members and students at large.

Kelsie Anderson and Logan Mercer won the first place prize of $2,000.00, and runner-ups Stephan Smith and Stephanie Pronk received $1,000.00.

All participants in the competition were presented with a case and given two weeks to provide a solution. The case required teams to give examples of advertisements and marketing plans and asked for them to suggest new ways and new markets which The Hamachi Group could target. Employee retention strategies and operational structure components challenged participants to use their education and experience to suggest ways for the restaurants to be more efficient and motivational ideas for staff. 

The final component of the case asked participants to suggest where they see the Hamachi name going in the future. Teams competing in the case were also surprised with a $75.00 gift certificate to use at one of four locations (Hamachi House Fine Japanese Cuisine; Hamachi Steakhouse; Hamachi Grill & Sushi House; and Hamachi Kita Sushi & Asian Flare). They were asked to analyze the location and provide recommendations and feedback about their experience.

"The results were impressive,” says Boris Mirtchev (BSc ‘96 and MBA ‘99), Owner/Operator of The Hamachi Group. Mirtchev is also the CEO of MIC Consulting INC.

“There were many innovative and interesting responses and the final decision was a very difficult one. Many teams exceeded expectations and overall the competition was a success,” adds the young entrepreneur.

Ivan Nickerson, Operations Manager for The Hamachi Group who will graduate next year from the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University, states, “The Hamachi Group Believes in support of the Saint Mary's University community and upcoming leaders within that community. In the past, The Hamachi Group has given away scholarships to deserving SMU students at the annual Commerce Society dinner. This year The Hamachi group has doubled in size in the Halifax market and so the commitment to Saint Mary's and the commerce society grew equally with the company.”

Involvement in the student run Commerce Society is an excellent way for students to gain valuable leadership, time management, and event planning experience outside of the classroom at Saint Mary's University, according to Nickerson.

“The Hamachi group believes in support of student run organizations and the competition was a way to increase the value to students by involving them in a hands on case study. They were able to use their skills and in some cases experience to solve a case that involved real situations faced by a successful business in Halifax,” he says.

The case competition will be held again next year and The Hamachi group anticipates an even larger turnout.

Mirtchev and Nickerson presented this year’s awards at the Commerce Society’s Annual Dinner that was held at the Westin Nova Scotian Hotel on March 20.

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For More Information:

Paul Fitzgerald
Public Affairs Officer
Saint Mary's University, Public Affairs
(902) 420.5514
E-mail: paul.fitzgerald@smu.ca
www.smu.ca