Japan’s convenience store sector takes the meaning of “convenience” literally by offering its goods and services around the clock. The so-called
stock fresh and processed foods as well as daily necessities, which comprise the
. Their goods sales are supplemented by a wide range of services like settlement of utility bills, ticketing machines, and postal services. The sector used to be rigid with few changes in its structure, accounting for a stable
. However, the main operators experienced significant changes in just five years, with the potentially
by Canadian operator Alimentation Couche Tard in the current media focus.
The three big names of Japanese konbini
Japan’s convenience stores operate in a saturated market, with
store numbers floating around 56 thousand. Seven-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart are the three industry leaders that control 90 percent of the domestic store network. Domestically, Seven-Eleven overtook its competitors in the number of stores, but
Lawson pulled ahead in sales revenue. Smaller chains like Ministop and Poplar focus more on unique services or regional operations to survive in the market.
Japan’s convenience store sector going private?
The convenience store sector started over 50 years ago and grew through publicly traded companies, with its main brands having been listed on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange for over 20 years. In 2020, the first of the three leaders, FamilyMart, was delisted following a tender offer by the trading company Itochu. In July 2024, Lawson followed suit as KDDI Corporation offered the retail chain’s parent,
Mitsubishi Corporation, to cooperate as the two only major shareholders. Seven-Eleven drew media attention after an unsolicited 38 billion dollar takeover offer by Couche Tard in August 2024. Seven & i Holdings announced plans to split off convenience store operations from
its less profitable business segments and take the newly formed 7-Eleven Corp private until 2025 to fend off further takeover attempts.
Internal challenges of the 24-hour model
Apart from the structural changes of the chain operators, stores are struggling to keep their trademark around-the-clock operations going amid labor shortage. While
foreign workers in retail are a temporary solution to uphold late-night operations, individual stores have started to reduce business hours and introduce self-checkout registers to reduce the pressure. Furthermore, as the market has reached saturation, leaders must focus on increasing the value of their services to stay ahead of their competition by incorporating technological features like smartphone orders and discount information.
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