Monthly Operational Summary FY2004 (July 2004)

Business Report

more


Total sales rose 8.5% year on year to 126,298 million yen, while existing store sales increased 4.3%. Average daily sales per store were 526,000 yen, and the average amount spent per customer decreased 1.6% to 587 yen. The average number of customers per store per day was 894, up 5.9% year on year. Last year, customers rushed to buy tobacco products ahead of a tax increase, which pushed up sales. While this mostly affected sales in June 2003, sales on the first of the following month also benefited, pushing up sales for July 2003. On a comparative basis, this held down the year-on-year increase in sales in July 2004. Excluding this effect, existing store sales rose 6.3% year on year.

Sales were strong in July thanks to generally good weather. There were, however, some negative factors. The large typhoon that struck western Japan, particularly the Shikoku region, at the end of July forced the cancellation of many summer festivals and fireworks displays, severely denting sales in some areas. A second negative factor was lower sales of concert tickets than the previous year, when sales were high due to strong demand for tickets to GLAY and other concerts. This had a negative impact on sales of approximately 1 percentage point.

On a more positive note, products that traditionally perform strongly in summer, such as cold noodles and health drinks, recorded double-digit growth in sales. This was due to several factors, including ongoing measures to strengthen product lineups selling well, successful efforts to improve the accuracy with which stock is ordered to match demand, and record high temperatures in Japan, which stood in stark contrast to last year's cool summer. Standout performers were ice cream, which posted growth of around 50%, and soft drinks, sales of which rose roughly 20%.

In the rice dish category, existing store sales exceeded the previous year, partly due to the beneficial effect of introducing new rice ball products. Furthermore, sales of boxed lunches are gradually improving, paced by a 30% year-on-year rise in sales of Unagi Kabayakiju, an eel dish sold to coincide with mid-summer. As was reported in the media, some Lawson stores began selling Tawara Musubi Makunouchi boxed lunches (530 yen) on August 3, offering customers an enhanced taste experience. These boxed lunches are made using the latest food processing equipment and are sold at around 5,000 Lawson stores in the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka regions. LAWSON plans to gradually increase the number of such products and expand sales nationwide based on how well they are received by the market.

The fast food category continued where it left off in June with the introduction of another new product in July, 210-yen Karaagekun Garlic Pepper. Sales in this category grew strongly.

Monthly Data

For Print

Consolidated

Number of Stores

  MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB TOTAL
Opening 32 54 50 50 74 98 28 56 72 81 23 93 711
  Closure 33 44 17 19 23 18 29 29 21 24 6 13 276
Re-location 17 23 17 21 16 22 12 12 10 4 16 9 179
Subtotal 50 67 34 40 39 40 41 41 31 28 22 22 455
Total 7,803 7,790 7,806 7,816 7,851 7,909 7,896 7,911 7,952 8,005 8,006 8,077 8,077
Net Increase -18 -13 16 10 35 58 -13 15 41 53 1 71 256

Sales

  MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB
Total Sales
(¥millions)
112,171 111,695 113,267 112,411 126,298 125,392 114,143 117,137 112,261 121,509 109,655 102,646
All Stores yoy 101.1% 104.8% 103.0% 102.1% 108.5% 103.5% 102.6% 104.2% 103.0% 104.3% 103.7% 100.9%
Existing Store yoy * 98.1% 100.8% 99.1% 97.9% 104.3% 99.5% 98.5% 100.1% 98.7% 99.8% 98.9% 99.6%
Ave.Daily Sales per store
(¥thousands)
471 484 474 486 526 519 488 484 479 499 447 464
Number of Customers (Number) 777 808 799 833 894 862 838 815 809 795 737 763
comparison w/
previous yr
98.8% 100.5% 97.8% 100.6% 105.9% 99.4% 98.4% 98.5% 100.1% 100.1% 99.7% 99.5%
Spending per Customer (¥) * 608 598 592 581 587 602 580 592 589 622 604 603
comparison w/
previous yr
* 99.2% 100.4% 101.3% 97.4% 98.4% 100.1% 100.0% 101.7% 98.6% 99.7% 99.2% 100.1%

Number of Stores by Region and Prefecture

  MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB
Hokkaido 482 484 484 484 491 494 494 492 493 495 495 494
Tohoku 644 646 647 645 652 661 658 663 684 704 702 721
Kanto 2,031 2,025 2,034 2,044 2,049 2,060 2,061 2,068 2,078 2,092 2,095 2,114
Koshinetsu 307 305 305 306 307 306 305 305 304 306 305 308
Hokuriku 225 226 229 230 232 233 232 233 234 234 234 236
Tokai 641 636 637 636 643 646 645 645 645 644 643 647
Kinki 1,747 1,741 1,738 1,739 1,738 1,753 1,755 1,758 1,764 1,764 1,763 1,774
Chugoku 449 450 454 454 458 463 459 459 458 461 462 463
Shikoku 375 370 372 373 374 382 377 377 378 384 384 387
Kyushu 902 907 906 905 907 911 910 911 914 921 923 933
Total 7,803 7,790 7,806 7,816 7,851 7,909 7,896 7,911 7,952 8,005 8,006 8,077
Shanghai 160 165 168 172 177 184 186 197 204 210 212 215

* Note) excluding highway card

Back Numbers

PAGE TOP