Total sales increased 3.3% year-on-year, to 117,934 million yen, while existing store sales slipped 1.5%. Average daily sales per store were 485,000 yen, and the average amount spent per customer was 577 yen, down 0.3%. The average number of customers per store per day edged down 1.1%, to 839. Flagging customer numbers underscored a need to improve the ability of stores to attract customers. In response, LAWSON will endeavor to enhance its lineup of products, introducing new selections that better meet customer needs. Although existing store markups decreased year-on-year, the percentage decline was less than that of existing store sales.

The discontinuation of Highway Card sales accounted for decrease of approximately 0.3% in monthly sales.

By area, stores in the Chubu region reported brisk sales, while stores in Hokkaido struggled considerably.

In the rice dishes category, the launch of Ichiju Sansai, a new Gohantei boxed-lunch series, and brisk sales of products developed for specific geographic areas contributed to a recovery in this category after poor results in August.

In the bakery category, a revamped version of Totte Oki Sengen Melon Pan performed well.

Fast food category sales were up year-on-year, bolstered by persistently strong sales of batter-fried items and contributions from Chinese steamed buns and oden (a Japanese hotpot dish), seasonal items that went on sale in August. This year, we introduced oden on sticks, an innovative approach to this timeless favorite. Affiliate Shanghai Hualian Lawson Co., Ltd., in the People's Republic of China, began selling oden on sticks in 1997 and has played a key role in establishing oden as a culinary genre in Shanghai.

Fewer new product launches hampered sales of soft drink sales. In contrast, sales of chilled beverages, including iced coffee, iced tea and fruit juices, were brisk.

As of September 30, in addition to our nationwide network of regular LAWSON stores, we had 32 NATURAL LAWSON stores and 12 LAWSON STORE100 stores. Data for September represents the results for 8,205 stores. This number does not include LAWSON STORE100-format stores.

LAWSON is scheduled to announce its interim results for the fiscal year ending February 28, 2006, on Wednesday, October 12, 2005. The earnings release and supplementary materials will be posted on this web site as soon as they become available.