FamilyMart and Lawson post record first-half operating profits
Rival Seven & I Holdings also secured a profit increase in the first half of the business year through next February.
Japanese convenience store chains FamilyMart and Lawson reported record first-half operating profits in their latest earnings reports, released on Thursday. Lawson's operating profit increased by 7.6% from a year ago to ¥66 billion, largely due to lower costs after deploying an artificial intelligence-based ordering system. The company's sales and net profit also hit record highs.
FamilyMart's operating profit rose 5.6% to ¥65.1 billion, driven by robust sales of popular food products with higher portions and new bread items. However, per-store sales fell as customer traffic declined and ticket sales remained sluggish. Meanwhile, Seven & I Holdings, the parent company of Seven-Eleven Japan, reported an operating profit of ¥232.2 billion, marking an 11.5% increase.
Nonetheless, its domestic convenience store segment experienced a sales drop of around 10% due to a 10% decrease in beverage and ice cream sales, attributed to unfavorable weather. Additionally, the company faced a setback from investments in in-store cooking equipment.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
