Japan news

Japan's four largest retailers, Seven & i Holdings, Aeon, FamilyMart and Lawson, have posted their results for the first quarter. Seven & i Holdings: total sales up 1.5% Seven & i recorded a 1.5% increase in total group sales to JPY2,894.8bn (US$26.6bn), with operating profit rising 4.6% to JPY90.3bn (US$832.6m) year-on-year (yoy) for the three months ending 31 May.  Domestic convenience...

Japan’s second largest convenience chain, FamilyMart, has launched its own smartphone payment system today (July 1). Convenience for shoppers The app, FamiPay, allows customers to conveniently pay for goods via their smartphones. It will eventually integrate FamiPort services, e.g. pay parking fees, bills and tickets via the app. To encourage usage, the retailer will rebate (for the firs...

Seven-Eleven Japan has launched its own smartphone payment service today (July 1). Convenience for shoppers The new 7pay service allows users to make payments by presenting barcodes displayed on their smartphones at cashier counters. It will offer shoppers greater convenience, while allow 7-Eleven to collect data for product development. Strengthening its digital proposition For its d...

7-Eleven in Japan has outlined plans to wrap the nearly 2.3bn rice balls it sells a year in packaging partially composed of plant-based plastics Reducing carbon footprint The initiative will decrease 7-Eleven plastic usage by 260 tons and its carbon footprint by 403 tons per year. This is part of a broader environmental plan Seven & i Holdings has announced, which also includes a goal to el...

Walmart is planning to relist its Seiyu business in Japan on the stock market. Reshaping its international business The plan will free up capital helping Walmart focus on its China and India business operations. Walmart delisted Seiyu from the Tokyo Stock Exchange back in 2008. Maintain majority stake in Seiyu Walmart aims to retain a majority stake in Seiyu, but the move will allow t...

Rakuten and Seiyu will deliver products from the Seiyu LIVIN Yokosuka Store in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, to visitors in Sarushima via drones. Drone service to launch on 4 July 2019 Starting on 4 July 2019, the new initiative will service Sarushima, a popular sightseeing destination and the only uninhabited island in Tokyo Bay. It will run for around three months, and Rakuten Drone...

Costco saw its third quarter net sales increase 7.4% to $34.0bn, with comparable club sales up 5.6%. We look at the drivers behind its continued strong performance and the outlook at it gets set to open its first club in China. Ecommerce sales up 20.0% The momentum in Costco’s sales performance was supported by its fast-growing ecommerce business, with comp sales up 19.5%. This excludes its...

Amazon and Life supermarket are partnering to sell fresh foods online in parts of Tokyo starting later this year. Access to a greater range of products Under the new partnership, Life will supply a range of products to members of Amazon Japan’s Prime Now service. While Amazon Japan will process payments and handle delivery. The tie-up means that Amazon will be able to quickly offer a gre...

FamilyMart is reportedly suing to end its partnership with Taiwanese conglomerate Ting Hsin Group in China. Dispute over royalties and visibility FamilyMart has accused Ting Hsin of failing to arrange a fair share for profits it earned from its business in China, and not providing adequate information on the venture’s profitability. More about the partnership FamilyMart first establis...

Rakuten has published its results for the first quarter, with Group revenue up 15.9% to JPY280,294m (US$2.5bn) compared with the same period last year. Internet Services revenue up 13.8% Year-on-year revenue from Internet Services, Rakuten’s core business including ecommerce and travel booking services, increased 13.8% to JPY169,975m (US$1,5bn). Profit jumped 620.8% to JPY111,645m (US$1bn) ...