Latest news with #LawsonInc.
08-07-2025
- Business
Lawson to Offer Overnight Car Stay Service
News from Japan Economy Jul 8, 2025 16:38 (JST) Tokyo, July 8 (Jiji Press)--Lawson Inc., a Japanese convenience store chain, said Monday that it will launch a new service to allow visitors to use its stores' parking lots for overnight car camping. The company plans to rent out parking lots to one vehicle at each store for between 2,500 and 3,000 yen per night. This will be the first such service by a major Japanese convenience store operator. Lawson aims to meet growing demand from travelers who want to save money by offering an inexpensive accommodation option, amid soaring costs due to the rising number of inbound tourists. The service will also reflect the increasing use of camper vans. Users will need to book and pay for spaces online in advance. On the day of their reservation, they can use two adjacent parking spaces after verifying their identity at the store. The parking spaces will be available from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. the next day. Guests can use the restrooms and power outlets at the store and dispose of waste from products purchased there. They can also throw away up to one bag of trash that they bring in, using a bag they will be given at check-in. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
24-06-2025
- Business
Lawson Opens Future Convenience Store in Tokyo
News from Japan Economy Technology Jun 24, 2025 16:24 (JST) Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Lawson Inc. has opened a "future" convenience store in Tokyo's Minato Ward with cutting-edge digital technology provided by telecommunications company KDDI Corp. The store, located in the Takanawa Gateway City complex, is the first of its kind to be run under the joint ownership of KDDI and general trader Mitsubishi Corp. They aim to offer a "new shopping experience" and reduce the workload of store staff by utilizing artificial intelligence and robots amid labor shortages. The store has digital signage on shelves, and AI cameras analyze products picked up by visitors and provide information about discounts and related items. If customers touch a price tag on a shelf, a video will explain background information on the product, including information about efforts to counter any social issues related to it. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Asahi Shimbun
18-06-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Lawson is considering using foreign rice in bento lunches
Sadanobu Takemasu, president of Lawson Inc., during an interview with The Asahi Shimbun in Tokyo on June 17 (Sho Ito) In response to rising rice prices, Lawson Inc. is considering using rice grown overseas in its bento box lunches, the company president said in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun on June 17. Sadanobu Takemasu explained that Lawson is currently working on developing product prototypes using rice from the United States and Southeast Asia. 'I hope we develop products that customers will be able to appreciate by using cooking methods suited to the rice,' such as using Thai rice in green curry, Takemasu said. The company will decide whether to procure foreign rice in earnest in the future by looking at overall rice price trends. The average price of 5 kilograms of rice sold at approximately 1,000 supermarkets nationwide has fallen for three consecutive weeks, but is still nearly double that of the previous year. 'Fundamentally, it is important that supply and demand stabilize. Until we see that, we need to study various options,' Takemasu said. With the rising cost of rice, restaurant chains and supermarkets have already begun to use and sell foreign rice products. However, major convenience store chains are notably cautious. Seven-Eleven Japan Co. has been using Australian rice in its fried rice onigiri and its chilled fried rice bento since February. However, a spokesperson said it is based on the characteristics of the products and is not a response to the rising rice prices. FamilyMart Co. also said that it is not considering using foreign rice.
05-06-2025
- Business
Lawson, FamilyMart Begin Selling Govt-Stockpiled Rice
Tokyo, June 5 (Jiji Press)--Major Japanese convenience store chain operators Lawson Inc. and FamilyMart Co. on Thursday began selling government-stockpiled rice released under no-bid contacts. Their sales are expected to make it easier for consumers to access stockpiled rice after it sold out quickly at major supermarkets and other places in many cases. On Thursday, Lawson started selling 1-kilogram and 2-kg bags of stockpiled rice at 360 yen and 700 yen before tax, respectively, at 10 outlets in Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture. A customer in his 50s who bought the rice at an outlet in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward said, "I'm glad because it's cheap." "I heard it doesn't smell that much, so I want to eat it right away," he added. Lawson will sell the rice nationwide except for Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, from June 14. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Asahi Shimbun
03-06-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Lawson to sell lower-priced onigiri made of ‘vintage rice'
A sample of Lawson Inc.'s 'Vintage Rice Onigiri' is shown in Tokyo on June 3. (Sho Ito) Lawson Inc. will begin selling 'Vintage Rice Onigiri' made from rice harvested in 2023 at lower prices than its usual onigiri, the company announced on June 3. The convenience store chain has procured about two tons of the older crop from the market. The rice is not from the recently released government reserves, Lawson said. At a news conference, Lawson President Sadanobu Takemasu said the company wanted to more effectively utilize the older rice, since it has been preserved in good condition. Lawson plans to begin selling Vintage Rice Onigiri at outlets in parts of the Kanto region in early July, at the earliest. Takemasu said the company plans to offer a few basic varieties, such as those seasoned with salt or containing 'umeboshi' pickled plum, for around 120 yen ($0.84) each before taxes. Lawson was inspired by the wine industry to label the onigiri with the harvest year—'Vintage 2023'—like bottles of fine wine. The company also said it will begin selling small bags of older rice from government stockpiles at stores in the Kanto region within three days of its delivery and at outlets nationwide in about a week. A 1-kilogram package of government rice will be sold for 360 yen before taxes, and a 2-kilogram package for 700 yen.
