I’m a male member who’s always appreciated your support. With sales falling sharply and bankruptcies occurring one after another due to the coronavirus, could Universe be affected as well? After the reduced operations through May 20, I can’t help worrying that the management might change and my points could go to waste, among other unpleasant possibilities. I realize this may be a rude question, but I wanted to ask.

I’m Meg, a female member. Sorry for speaking up as someone who’s just a free user m(_ _)m Go, go, CEO! Go, go, Mr. Maezawa! I’m rooting for all of you.

I’m Saito, the column writer ♪ As the questioner said—and as Mac and everyone else have pointed out—I read this and found myself agreeing. Originally, all you needed to run a dating club was one phone line and a room in a cheap, multi-tenant building (that may be an extreme way of putting it). Frankly, it’s not the kind of business that ever runs at a loss. Even at other dating clubs, although offers are gradually disappearing, things haven’t reached the point of bankruptcy. But hiring employees, renting commercial space, and expanding advertising all cost money. As a pioneer of papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan), President Kida has taken on risks that only he can understand in order to make papa-katsu more casual and accessible nationwide—not that profit was completely secondary, of course. I’ve never met him personally, though. Since he has taken on more risk than anyone else in this industry, I imagine this coronavirus crisis is placing a greater burden on him than on anyone else. That said, because he understands the fundamentals of the business, I find it hard to believe that President Kida would simply give up on it. I’m sure the same is true for everyone: each person has areas in which they excel. In my field, ○○○, I’m confident that I’m either the best in the world or at least among the top worldwide. In other areas, I’m nothing particularly special. (I’m only average when it comes to stocks, too. I invest because of the relationship between capital and the system.) It may be presumptuous of me to say this, but President Kida is more knowledgeable than anyone else when it comes to papa-katsu. Competing with “number-one experience and skills” in papa-katsu is fundamentally different from starting out as merely “somewhat good” in another field. So I imagine President Kida will continue to focus completely on this industry and its related businesses. As for the male members: ・The coronavirus situation is going to take a long time, but they’re stuck at home, restless. ・As Mac said, some men are making huge profits in finance. ・One of my companies is in the medical field and is extremely busy, but I can’t afford to get infected and cause trouble for others, so I’m in no state to pursue any relationships. ・Because papa-katsu has become more casual, the overwhelming majority of male members are being affected by the coronavirus. There are various situations like these, but I do think offers have definitely decreased. However, with America’s 200 trillion yen in stimulus money and everything else, the post-pandemic boom is going to be incredible. And the amount of energy people who have been waiting at home are building up is truly enormous. In short, I believe President Kida understands that even if he has to downsize the business, the greatest advantage lies in not giving up. P.S. Was it called the “Fest”? I contributed what little I could on my own. I still have plenty of points, and I don’t really need them anyway.

I’m Basil, a male member. I’d been feeling that the club was getting a little too carried away with its aggressive expansion—starting with opening the Shibuya branch—without first solidifying its financial foundation. But I’m just a customer, so as long as the service is good, what happens to someone else’s company is none of my concern unless it actually goes under. Cutting staff and scrambling to raise cash through discounting disguised as a “festival” after just one month of lower sales are classic signs of a risky financial situation, but I have to applaud their boldness. To kill time during Golden Week, I’m planning to buy some points with a cashback bonus, use them all up, and arrange online dates one after another. I’ve always been the type to spend my points right away rather than let them accumulate, regardless of the club. Even if the state of emergency is lifted, I don’t think the economy will recover immediately. That should bring in more quality women and lower the effective prices, so if the club manages to survive, I’m looking forward to what comes next.

I’m Paper Airplane, a male member. At a time like this, everyone, please support the festival as much as you can. Buy some points! There’s also the “March Unlimited” option.