Seven & i Holdings, Aeon and Lawson have posted their annual results for year ended February 28, 2021. Summary and our view 2020 was a very difficult year for Japan’s convenience industry. All of the leading retailers faced lower sales and customer visits. This was despite average basket size being larger than ever before. Returning to a growth trajectory is a priority for all convenience c...

FamilyMart has opened several new convenience stores in Malaysia, the Philippines and Japan. We explain why each one is significant and what can be learned from FamilyMart. The first FamilyMart drive-through in Malaysia The pilot drive-through store is located at Berkeley Uptown, Klang, Selangor. Products such as oden (skewers of assorted items such as fish ball and tofu), bento, ice cream ...

Japanese supermarket chain Daiei will launch an unmanned store in Tokyo, in collaboration with Chinese startup Cloudpick.  In addition, Rakuten and Seiyu are now also using robots to deliver supermarket purchases in Yokosuka City, Japan. Cost to implement Daiei’s store is 50% cheaper than similarly sized unmanned stores Daiei, an affiliate of AEON, will open this unmanned supermarket in Tok...