3 Japanese Convenience Store Giants Report Strong Profit Growth for March-November

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)--Three major Japanese convenience store operators posted growth in their group operating profits for March-November 2025, according to their earnings reports. Seven & i Holdings Co., the operator of industry leader Seven-Eleven Japan Co., saw its operating profit in the nine-month period rise 3.1 pct from a year before to 325 billion yen, 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 pct to 8,050.9 billion yen, mainly due to the deconsolidation of Seven Bank and its supermarket units such as Ito-Yokado Co., its net profit jumped 3.1-fold to 198.4 billion yen thanks to gains from the sale of Ito-Yokado store assets. Lawson Inc.'s operating profit grew 9.1 pc to 90.4 billion yen, a record high for March-November, 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 pct to 927.8 billion yen and its net profit grew 6.3 pct to 55.8 billion yen, both hitting record highs. FamilyMart Co. also reported a record-high operating profit for the first three quarters of fiscal 2025, at 87.6 billion yen, up 19.4 pct, as it successfully attracted customers with an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. Its operating revenue edged up 0.9 pct to 385.5 billion yen, while its net profit decreased 23.3 pct to 61.4 billion yen. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]