{
  "id": 2478863,
  "title": "Could high overhead costs kill Japan Home, Daiso amid rise of e-commerce? Analysts weigh in",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/could-high-overhead-costs-kill-japan-home-daiso-amid-rise-of-e",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-22T02:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Business Times - Singapore",
    "slug": "the-business-times-singapore",
    "url": "https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/singapore/could-high-overhead-costs-kill-japan-home-daiso-amid-rise-e-commerce-analysts-weigh"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Singapore dollar stores like Japan Home may face challenges surviving the rise of e-commerce, according to analysts. The chain's losses increased significantly in 2025, and some branches were closed in June and July. The main culprit is rising labor and rental costs, which put pressure on their thin margins. Additionally, e-commerce platforms like Taobao and TikTok Shop offer the same convenience as physical stores, with significantly lower overhead costs. While some are skeptical about the future of in-person dollar stores, others believe data analytics and better manpower management could help these businesses remain competitive.",
  "summary": "The outlook seems dim, but better manpower management and data analytics may sharpen their edge, they say",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Business Times - Companies & Markets",
        "title": "Could high overhead costs kill Japan Home, Daiso amid rise of e-commerce? Analysts weigh in",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/could-high-overhead-costs-kill-japan-home-daiso-amid-rise-of-e-2478929",
        "published": "2026-08-22T02:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}