NEWSWORTHY
Toyota might turn driverless vehicles into mobile convenience stores and cafes
Toyota Motor Corp. is considering a plan to turn self-driving vehicles into unmanned mobile convenience stores in cooperation with Seven-Eleven Japan Co., sources close to the matter said Friday. Under the plan, the autonomous electric vehicles would carry Seven-Eleven products to bring self-service convenience to ...
Japan promotes use of electronic tags over barcodes in bid to boost productivity
The industry ministry is stepping up efforts to introduce electronic tags, aiming to improve productivity in the retail sector in the face of an acute labor shortage. The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry has concluded an agreement with Seven-Eleven Japan Co., FamilyMart Co., Lawson Inc. ...
Let's discuss that Seven-Eleven that was forced to stay open in a blizzard
This week's featured article KYODO The owner of a Seven-Eleven convenience store in Fukui Prefecture was allegedly forced to work for about 50 hours without sleep in February after the chain rejected his requests to suspend business amid the heaviest snowfall in decades, a labor ...
Seven-Eleven to start automatic check-in service for P2P lodging rentals
Seven-Eleven Japan Co. will launch an automated check-in service for minpaku (private lodging businesses) that allows guests to collect and leave room keys 24 hours a day, the convenience store chain said. The service, Convenience Front Desk 24, will begin at some Seven-Eleven stores in ...
Convenience store operators are focusing more on selling healthy bento meals and prepared foods using plenty of vegetables or fewer food additives. With increases in double-income and elderly households that prefer prepared meals as opposed to home-cooked fare, companies hope to shed the unhealthy image ...
Lawson chief bets on health, tech as future of convenience
Back in 2014, Sadanobu Takemasu was asked by his boss to go to Lawson, the convenience store chain known for its white milk can logo on a blue signboard. Takemasu thought Ken Kobayashi, then president of Japan's largest trading house, Mitsubishi Corp., was suggesting he ...
Convenience-store squeeze shows deflationary dilemma facing Bank of Japan
Takanori Sakai works the graveyard shift four nights a week at the FamilyMart store he owns in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, because he can't afford the higher pay employees demand these days. "More and more stores can't secure a profit," the 57-year-old said. Problem is, with ...
Ministop ends sale of porn magazines at convenience stores nationwide
Unrestricted displays of pornographic magazines at retail stores are rare overseas. With the number of inbound tourists expected to increase sharply for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, calls for the removal of porn magazines from convenience store shelves in Japan have been ...
Convenience store chain Lawson Inc. might use artificial intelligence to help it make decisions about opening new stores, company officials said Sunday. Lawson aims to enhance the capability of stores to fulfill particular needs in each region by using AI to collect and analyze marketing ...
Convenience store sales nationwide fell 0.3 percent in 2017 on a same-store basis to ¥9.47 trillion, due partly to intensified competition with other retailers, according to an industry body. The overall sales of eight major store operators declined despite a 1.5 percent increase in average ...
Convenience stores address labor crunch with automation, shorter hours
The major convenience store chains are opening new stores even though the nation's growing manpower shortage is making it increasingly difficult to maintain 24-hour operations. Some of them are overcoming the shortages, which include part-time staff, by promoting automation. But one big chain has begun ...
