Total sales for January 2007 were 112,392 million yen, up 2.9% year on year. Existing store sales inched up 0.1%, and average daily sales per store were 437,000 yen. The average amount spent per customer was 597 yen, up 0.6%, and the average number of customers per store per day was 729, down 0.6%.

By area, sales were strong in the Kanto and Kinki regions, but continued to struggle in the Tohoku and Shikoku regions.

January 22 marked the end of our Miffy-themed campaign, although customers could still exchange points for free gifts until January 29. The campaign helped drive an improvement in sales, especially of ready-made meals, which were eligible for shopping points.

In the rice dishes category, while sales dropped year on year, sales of products such as Okan Rice Balls (360 yen), a product linked to a TV drama, were strong.

In the fast food category, sales of fried foods were strong, while sales of oden (a Japanese hotpot dish) and Chinese steamed buns languished, hurt by the warm winter weather. As a result, sales fell overall in the fast food category.

On the other hand, ice cream category sales were strong, buoyed by a number of warm winter days.

Dessert category sales remained healthy, spurred by strawberry-based desserts and other offerings.

In February, LAWSON will offer a merchandise assortment linked to various events during the month such as the coming-of-spring celebrations and Valentine's Day. In addition, LAWSON will run the LAWSON Happy Fair from February 6 through 19.

Regarding store openings for the fiscal year, LAWSON does not foresee any major variation from its plan revised in the third quarter i.e. 710 openings and 510 closures. As of January 31, 2007, we had 84 NATURAL LAWSON and 76 LAWSON STORE100 stores, in addition to our nationwide network of regular LAWSON stores.