Retail in Asia

Headline

Japan’s Lawson aims to accelerate overseas presence, says CEO

Japanese convenience store firm Lawson Inc plans to speed up its overseas expansion and will consider acquisitions, President and CEO Genichi Tamatsuka said, predicting the number of its stores abroad will surpass those in Japan in 5-10 years.

Japanese convenience store chains are jostling for position in emerging economies as homebase operations face market saturation.

Lawson has more than 12,000 stores in Japan and 761 branches overseas, of which 655 are in China, and the rest in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and in Hawaii. “I think within five to 10 years, the number of stores we are operating overseas will clearly exceed the stores we are operating in Japan,” Tamatsuka told reporters on Tuesday.