Total sales increased 1.7% year on year to 111,288 million. Excluding sales of Highway Card toll cards, existing store sales increased 0.4% (impact of these cards was 1.3%). Average daily sales per store were 488,000, while the average number of customers per store per day was 836, up 0.8% year on year. Average amount spent per customer was 589, a decrease of 0.4% year on year.

A very warm end to the summer in all areas except Tohoku and Hokkaido led to exceptionally strong sales of cold noodles, soft drinks and ice cream.

In main dishes, rice balls maintained double digit sales growth on the back of new product launches such as Buta Kaku-ni (160), made with Niigata Koshihikari rice. Despite the launch of new Area Ichioshi Bento-Boxes and products specifically designed for the fall, such as the Mushroom Maku-no-uchi Bento (490), the traditional seasonal share of these products was eaten away by continuing demand for cold noodles due to the warm weather.

During September, sales of seasonal foods such as oden (a kind of Japanese hotchpotch or stew) and Chinese dumplings got under way. Sales of a new dumpling product, Ginjyou Meat Dumplings (160) were particularly strong. This product, faithfully made to a homemade recipe created by a chef at a gourmet Chinese restaurant, takes the quality of Lawson dumplings to a new level. Catering to regional tastes for Chinese dumplings, we sell these products with vinegar/soy sauce seasoning in the Kyushu and Chugoku/Shikoku areas, and with mustard in the Kinki area.

With the arrival of fall each year, manufacturers roll out a raft of new chocolate products. Although sales of these products were initially weak due to the unseasonably high temperatures, sales recovered to average yearly levels as the weather became cooler towards the end of the month.

At Loppi multimedia terminals, there were strong advance sales of the third DVD in the popular Hokkaido Television Broadcasting (HTB) series, Suiyo Do Desho, and Hanshin Tigers Victory Memorial Stamps. As of September 22, Lawson had already received advance orders for 170,000 sets of these stamps.

From October 1, TSUTAYA cardholders could start accumulating points by showing their membership cards whenever they make a purchase at any store in the nationwide Lawson network. For more details, please go to news release.