DONKI brought Japanese sushi to Hong Kong — five stores, three years, zero survivors

SEN SEN (鮮選壽司), the rotating-sushi sub-brand of Japanese discount retailer DONKI (惊安の殿堂), closed its last Hong Kong store at Tsuen Wan Ocean Paradise on June 30, 2025. At its peak the brand operated five locations across the city — The Peak, Whampoa, Causeway Bay, Siu Sai Wan and Tsuen Wan — but had been shrinking for months as competition and rising costs ate margins. The closure marked the complete withdrawal of the DONKI sushi concept from Hong Kong after roughly three years.

The brand's decline was accelerated by a failed rescue attempt. In March 2025, the Tsuen Wan store launched an all-you-can-eat promotion — HK$280 for two hours of premium sushi. Within a week the offer was changed to 'limited portions' and then paused entirely, citing capacity. The fiasco generated widespread negative social-media attention and was described by local food bloggers as 'the last sign before bankruptcy'. The final store posted a notice thanking customers and saying it would close 'to welcome new exciting activities'.

Economic analyst Ben Lee (李兆波) said DONKI had expanded too fast in Hong Kong without fully understanding the local sushi market. The brand faced established competitors like Genki Sushi (元氣壽司) and Sushiro (壽司郎) on the dine-in side, plus takeaway sushi options at lower prices. The closure was part of a broader DONKI Hong Kong pullback in food operations, following wider retail-sector pressure from the city's ongoing closure wave (結業潮).