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As has already been reported in the media, a foreign object was found in a rice ball product (Gikimaki Onigiri Ishiyakifu Bibinba), which is sold at Lawson stores in Miyagi, Yamagata and some parts of Fukushima, on May 31.
I sincerely regret any concern this incident may have caused shareholders and investors.
Products manufactured by Nihon Fresh Delica Co., Ltd., the company that made the affected rice ball, were immediately recalled from all Lawson stores. We are now taking delivery from other vendors.
Recognizing the gravity of this incident, we are redoubling efforts to manage product quality to prevent such an incident from reoccurring.
The following is a detailed report for shareholders and other investors on what we currently know regarding the incident, including the cause, the effect on sales, and the countermeasures we have launched. We will report promptly on any new information, developments and responses.
Address: | 5-27-5, Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo |
Capital: | ¥16 million |
Established: | March 1991 |
No. of Lawson stores supplied by the Sendai Factory: | 225 (As of May 31, 2002) (Sendai: 166 stores; Yamagata: 56 stores; Fukushima: 3 stores) |
Transactions with Lawson (Fiscal 2001): | ¥2,788 million (About 2.3% of total transactions with main dish vendors) |
May 31 (Friday), 02:00 approx.
May 31 (Friday), 22:00
May 31 (Friday), 22:30 approx.
May 31 (Friday), 23:00 approx.
June 1 (Saturday), early morning
June 1 (Saturday), afternoon
Nihon Fresh Delica should have immediately reported the incident to Lawson. Discussions should then have been held to formulate a response. This did not happen. As outlined in 1) to 3) above, Lawson did not learn of the accident at the factory until nearly one day later, and after the customer had reported the discovery. Lawson believes that the factory's failure to recognize the seriousness of the situation and initiate an appropriate response were the main reasons for the incident.
Out of privacy considerations, Lawson wishes to withhold further comment on the condition of the customer concerned. That said, Lawson and Nihon Fresh Delica are responding appropriately.
As a retailer of the product concerned, Lawson is not without responsibility and recognizes the gravity of the situation. Lawson is thus moving quickly to enhance quality assurance and manufacturing processes at factories nationwide that make boxed lunches, rice balls, processed noodles, processed breads, delicatessen and other items, to prevent a repeat of this incident.
At 18:00 on Sunday, June 2, operations managers in all regions throughout Japan were contacted. Sales on June 2 in the Tohoku region, including Sendai where the accident occurred, were affected slightly due to insufficient deliveries of main dishes. In other regions, at the present time, we believe the incident has not affected sales. We are keeping a watchful eye on the situation to determine whether the accident has had medium-term consequences, and will report in more detail at a future time.
(Reference) Rice Ball Sales in Fiscal 2001
Nationwide (47 prefectures): Approx. ¥60 billion (Approx. 4.7% of fiscal 2001 total net sales of Lawson stores)
Tohoku region (Total of 627 stores in Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Miyagi, Yamagata, Fukushima as of May 31, 2002): Approx. ¥4.4 billion
Again, I wish to express my regret for any concern this incident may have caused shareholders and investors. We are fully aware of the gravity of the situation and will take steps to improve quality assurance to prevent a reoccurrence. I sincerely ask for your continued support and guidance.
June 2, 2002
Takeshi Niinami
President and CEO
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