Japan's 24-hour convenience stores, already struggling with lagging sales and growth, may soon
face yet another threat - moves to limit business hours and close the stores late at night. The prefecture of
Saitama, which borders Tokyo, may follow in the footsteps of the western city of Kyoto and urge
convenience stores to close during late night hours in an effort to limit carbon dioxide emissions, Japanese
media reported.
Kyoto, a former capital, wants to persuade convenience and other 24-hour stores to close late at
night so as to improve evening views of the city and cut down on energy use. The Nikkei business daily
said closures could last from 11 p.m. to 7 1.m. The move is strongly opposed by the industry, which fears
a withering impact on an already troubled sector also grappling with the specter of a higher tobacco tax,
which could hit overall sales.
"Even if we only operate the stores for 16 hours, we can't stop the refrigerators," said Toshiro
Yamaguchi, the president of Seven-Eleven Japan Co, which is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd, at a
news conference in Saitama on Tuesday. He said such cuts in operating hours would reduce each store's
profit by 20 percent. "If this happens, our current business model will lose its foundation."
Analysts said that while it is difficult to estimate the potential impact of the move without a
concrete plan, their overall impression was that it was likely to be negative. "This could cut profits and
lead to less efficient operations and the increased loss of opportunities," said Masafumi Shoda, an analyst
at Nomura Securities. "But it depends on the store -- urban stores do better than others. There are some in
the countryside that are inefficient."
iTest
Some have suggested that if governments were sincere about reducing carbon emissions there
were much more efficient methods, such as cutting back on the huge number of automatic vending
machines.