Japanese Convenience Stores See Profit Growth: March-November 2025 Performance

Three major Japanese convenience store operators posted growth in their group operating profits for the March-November 2025 period, according to their earnings reports. Seven & I Holdings, the operator of industry leader Seven-Eleven Japan, saw its operating profit in the nine-month period rise 3.1% from a year before to ¥325 billion, reflecting brisk performance in its supermarket business, which had been included in its consolidated results through the March-August fiscal first half, as well as recovery of its domestic convenience store business. While Seven & I's operating revenue dropped 11.2% to ¥8.05 trillion, mainly due to the deconsolidation of Seven Bank and its supermarket units such as Ito-Yokado, its net profit jumped more than threefold to ¥198.4 billion thanks to gains from the sale of Ito-Yokado store assets. Lawson's operating profit grew 9.1% to ¥90.4 billion, a record high for the March-November period, helped by cost reductions through an artificial intelligence-backed ordering system and increased customer traffic stemming from a campaign to boost the portion size of popular items without raising the prices. Its operating revenue went up 6.7% to ¥927.8 billion and its net profit grew 6.3% to ¥55.8 billion, both hitting record highs. FamilyMart also reported a record-high operating profit for the first three quarters of fiscal 2025, at ¥87.6 billion, up 19.4%, as it successfully attracted customers with an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. Its operating revenue edged up 0.9% to ¥385.5 billion, while its net profit decreased 23.3% to ¥61.4 billion.