【英语财经】日本便利店市场仍有巨大潜力 Lawson still sees big growth potential in Japan

It can feel like there is a convenience store on every street corner in Japan, but according to the head of number two operator Lawson there is still massive potential for growth.

“The first question from foreign investors is always: ‘When is the saturation point? You guys are opening up like crazy’,” says Genichi Tamatsuka in an interview with the Financial Times. “‘Not yet,’ I tell them.”

Mr Tamatsuka’s comments are a reminder that despite Japan’s difficult demographics there are still opportunities in what remains an enormous retail market.

Lawson plans to open 1,200 stores in Japan this year on top of its existing 12,000, while closing 750, for a net increase of more than one shop a day. Mr Tamatsuka argues that it is the very ageing and depopulation of rural Japan that creates an opening.

“There are 55,000 convenience stores in Japan,” he says. “Thirty years ago there were 1.6m retail stores in total and now there are less than 1m. If you go to the countryside, there are places where the supermarket is gone, the bookshop is gone, and the number of places to shop has really fallen.”

Meanwhile, family units are shrinking, women are working, and they are busier, says Mr Tamatsuka. “Whereas people used to go to a big supermarket and prepare meals for a family of four or five, now they’re busier, they’re older, and they prefer to buy in a small neighbourhood store.”

In many countries convenience stores are shabby vendors of lottery tickets and cigarettes, but in Japan the “combini”, as they are known, are brightly lit, market-tested venues for a panoply of products and services. Customers can pay bills, pick up a video game, send a parcel or book concert tickets.

In areas where other stores are absent, Lawson can step in, says Mr Tamatsuka. “With our scale of 12,000 stores, our supply chain and platform, we can supply food and necessities to these neighbourhoods.” Convenience stores, he points out, are only 5 per cent of total retail outlets.

In taking over the top job last year, Mr Tamatsuka was following a charismatic chief executive for the second time in his career.

In 2002, he was promoted to run Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo clothing chain at the age of just 39, after successfully launching its UK operation. But in 2005, founder Tadashi Yanai pushed him aside and became chief executive again.

At Lawson he is following Takeshi Niinami, who left to run the drinks company Suntory Holdings after 12 hard-charging years in which the convenience store grew steadily but remained a perennial number two to market leader Seven & I Holdings.

Mr Tamatsuka says there are some signs of an improvement in domestic consumption, which has lagged behind a recovery in the corporate sector, with real wages hit by last year’s sales tax rise.

“It’s been a year since the consumption tax rise. From May and June it feels like there’s been a small pick-up,” he says. “It’s really important heading into the summer and autumn that we generate some momentum in consumption.”

International expansion is the other growth area for Lawson, which like many Japanese retailers is trying to export its level of customer service. It has 500 stores in China and nascent chains in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

在日本，好像每个街角都有一家便利店，但日本排名第二的便利店运营商罗森(Lawson)的社长玉塚元一(Genichi Tamatsuka)认为，日本便利店仍有巨大增长潜力。

“外国投资者的第一个问题永远是：‘什么时候饱和？你们开店的速度像是疯了一样’，”玉塚元一在接受英国《金融时报》采访时表示，“我告诉他们‘还没有饱和’。”

玉塚元一的言论提醒人们，尽管日本人口趋势不利，但这个巨大的零售市场仍存在机遇。

罗森计划今年在现有1.2万家日本门店基础上，再开设1200家门店，同时关闭750家门店，净增速为每日超过一家。玉塚元一指出，促使他们开店的原因正是日本农村居民的老龄化和人口减少。

“日本现在有5.5万家便利店，”他表示，“30年前，日本共有160万家零售商店，如今不到100万。如果你去到乡下，一些地方的超市消失了，书店不见了，购物场所的数量实际上下降了。”

与此同时，玉塚元一表示，家庭人口在减少，女人在工作，她们变得更忙碌。“过去，人们们会去大型超市，为4口人或5口人之家准备饭食，如今，他们更忙了，年纪也大了，喜欢去小型社区商店购物。”

在很多国家，便利店都是售卖彩票和香烟的简陋店面，但在日本，这些被称为“combini”的便利店却灯火通明，经受过市场考验，产品和服务种类繁多。顾客可以在这里缴费、购买视频游戏、寄送包裹或预定演唱会门票。

玉塚元一表示，在没有其他商店的地区，罗森可以进入。“我们的1.2万家门店、供应链以及平台可以为临近社区提供食品和必需品。”他指出，便利店仅占零售商店总量的5%。

玉塚元一去年上任，他的前任是一位具有非凡魅力的社长，这是他职业生涯中第二次遇到这种情况。

2002年，在成功推出英国业务后，年仅39岁的他被晋升为迅销(Fast Retailing)旗下服装连锁优衣库(Uniqlo)的社长。但2005年，优衣库创始人柳井正(Tadashi Yanai)把他挤到一边，再次担任社长。

在罗森，玉塚元一的前任是新浪刚史(Takeshi Niinami)，在以严厉手腕执掌罗森12年后，新浪刚史离开罗森，转而管理酒水饮料公司三得利控股(Suntory Holdings)。在他领导期间，罗森稳步增长，但长期位居第二，落后于市场领军企业Seven & I Holdings。

玉塚元一表示，一些迹象表明，国内消费转暖，日本国内消费一直落后于企业界的复苏，实际薪资受到去年消费税上调的影响。

“消费税上调已有一年。5月和6月之后，消费似乎略有升温，”他表示，“在进入夏秋季时给消费领域注入一些活力确实很重要。”

国际扩张是罗森的另一个增长领域，与很多日本零售商一样，罗森正努力输出其客户服务。该公司在中国拥有500家门店，在泰国、印尼和菲律宾都有新开连锁。

译者/梁艳裳