Total sales decreased 1.1% year on year to 121,103 million. Excluding sales of Highway Card toll cards, existing store sales fell 2.2% (impact of these cards was 1.5%). Average daily sales per store were 514,000, while the average number of customers per store per day was 850, down 2.3% year on year. Amount spent per customer was 611 on average, an increase of 0.1% year on year.

The cool summer and long rainy season continued to have a negative impact on sales of summer products during August. In Hokkaido and Kyushu, where the effects of the unseasonable weather were not felt as much, sales of summer products were strong.

Although the weather improved in the second half of August, sales of seasonal products such as soft drinks and ice cream returned to the seasonal average. Meanwhile, higher temperatures at the end of the month led to strong sales of newly launched beer and happo-shu products

Continuing from July, there were further signs of a recovery in sales of main dishes, with existing stores in the Kanto and Chubu regions posting improved year-on-year figures. Stand out performers were rice balls and Area Ichioshi Bento-Boxes, while new curry products launched on a monthly basis continued to win popularity among customers.

Sales of Fast Food products, a high-margin product category, continued to sell well following their strong performance in July.

Sales of traditional midsummer gifts were strong thanks to a deal with Takashimaya, a leading department store chain, to handle their range of midsummer gifts. This deal, not in place in the previous year, helped to lift midsummer gift sales higher year on year. Sales of merchandise related to the movie Bayside Shakedown 2 and exclusive sales of a new Gundam video, both through Loppi terminals, were also healthy.

In the past month, Lawson opened a number of new format stores. August 5: The first Postal Lawson Store. These stores are expected to become a new flagship of the Lawson store network. August 8: The first Autobacs Express + Lawson Store August 20: The first Convenience Bank Store

September will see ongoing steps to strengthen our lineup of core products. These include the launch of a range of new pasta dishes on September 2, and a sales campaign encouraging customers to try these new products lasting until September 22.

On September 2, Lawson began holding internal seminars for fall and winter products. These seminars will be used to communicate Lawson's fall and winter product strategy to franchise stores, through seminar sessions at eight locations nationwide.

Lawson plans to announce its interim results for fiscal 2003 on October 14. The interim earnings release and related documents will be posted on our website.