Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets, JapanConsuming

Michael Causton

Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets

Real Insight on Japanese Consumer Markets

JapanConsuming

JapanConsuming is a specialist research firm producing intelligence on Japanese retail and consumer markets. Founded in 2000, JapanConsuming has become the leading provider of insights on Japanese retailers and consumer trends to retailers, brands, government agencies and investors. As well as a highly regarded monthly report on the market, JapanConsuming produces in-depth reports on retail sectors, seminars on key trends and telephone consulting to investors on trends and retailers.

JapanConsuming was founded by Michael Causton and Roy Larke. 

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Many are asking why KDDI would want to buy 50% of Lawson, Japan's third biggest convenience store chain.</li>
<li>Some more imaginative analysts suggest this could be just the first step towards KDDI merging with Rakuten in order to beat Amazon.</li>
<li>The more likely future is an ecosystem to challenge Rakuten and LY Corp (Yahoo etc), starting with points and payments and evolving to other Fintech, e-commerce and health.</li>
</ul>


Many are asking why KDDI would want to buy 50% of Lawson, Japan's third biggest convenience store chain.
Some more imaginative analysts suggest this could be just the first step towards KDDI merging with Rakuten in order to beat Amazon.
The more likely future is an ecosystem to challenge Rakuten and LY Corp (Yahoo etc), starting with points and payments and evolving to other Fintech, e-commerce and health.


KDDI and Lawson: Building an Ecosystem from a Base of Loyalty Points

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Equity Capital Markets

Rakuten Securities / Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/rakuten-securities-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:39933:1" rel="noopener">Rakuten Securities</a>, the online securities arm of Rakuten, aims to raise around US$500m (estimated) in its Japan listing.</li>
<li>It is the largest online securities firm in Japan with a 33.7% market share. In FY22, it had over 8.64m accounts, with around JPY18.2tn (US$131bn) of assets under custody.</li>
<li>In this note, we talk about the not-so-positive aspects of the deal.</li>
</ul>



Rakuten Securities, the online securities arm of Rakuten, aims to raise around US$500m (estimated) in its Japan listing.
It is the largest online securities firm in Japan with a 33.7% market share. In FY22, it had over 8.64m accounts, with around JPY18.2tn (US$131bn) of assets under custody.
In this note, we talk about the not-so-positive aspects of the deal.


Rakuten Securities IPO Early Look - The Negatives - Growth Has Slowed Down

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/rakuten-securities-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:39933:1" rel="noopener">Rakuten Securities (RAKUSEC JP)</a>, the online securities arm of Rakuten, aims to raise around US$500m (estimated) in its Japan listing.</li>
<li>It is the largest online securities firm in Japan with a 33.7% market share. In FY22, it had over 8.64m accounts, with around JPY18.2tn (US$131bn) of assets under custody.</li>
<li>In this note, we talk about the positive aspects of the deal.</li>
</ul>



Rakuten Securities (RAKUSEC JP), the online securities arm of Rakuten, aims to raise around US$500m (estimated) in its Japan listing.
It is the largest online securities firm in Japan with a 33.7% market share. In FY22, it had over 8.64m accounts, with around JPY18.2tn (US$131bn) of assets under custody.
In this note, we talk about the positive aspects of the deal.


Rakuten Securities IPO Early Look - The Positives - Has Been Gaining Market Share

Pan Pacific International Holdings / Equity Bottom-Up

Pan Pacific International Holdings (7532 JP)

<ul>
<li>Itochu, Familymart, PPI (Don Quijote) and their data analytics partners have come together in the first case of cross-retailer ad platform development.</li>
<li>Itochu provides the central relationship that ties these companies together, and other deals are likely given the significant potential for retail media.</li>
<li>The opportunity for brands to market to these retailers’ customers through highly targeted ads will become ever more compelling, delivering new revenue streams for Donki and Familymart.</li>
</ul>


Itochu, Familymart, PPI (Don Quijote) and their data analytics partners have come together in the first case of cross-retailer ad platform development.
Itochu provides the central relationship that ties these companies together, and other deals are likely given the significant potential for retail media.
The opportunity for brands to market to these retailers’ customers through highly targeted ads will become ever more compelling, delivering new revenue streams for Donki and Familymart.


Itochu and Donki Tie on Retail Media to Create Major New Revenue Stream

Telco/Internet specialist

Kirk Boodry

Redex Research

NTT (Nippon Telegraph & Telephone) / Equity Bottom-Up

NTT (Nippon Telegraph & Telephone) (9432 JP)

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jtower-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31042:1" rel="noopener">JTower (4485 JP)</a> has signed a deal to buy 6,002 DoCoMo towers for ¥106bn validating its long term growth potential and its central position as Japan's infrastructure-sharing company</li>
<li>The headline numbers are maximums and could take years to realize as JTower grows to the scale required</li>
<li>Conversely it is not a large deal for DoCoMo but the first mobile tower sale/leaseback transaction in Japan highlights an industry shift towards more efficient capital deployment</li>
</ul>



JTower (4485 JP) has signed a deal to buy 6,002 DoCoMo towers for ¥106bn validating its long term growth potential and its central position as Japan's infrastructure-sharing company
The headline numbers are maximums and could take years to realize as JTower grows to the scale required
Conversely it is not a large deal for DoCoMo but the first mobile tower sale/leaseback transaction in Japan highlights an industry shift towards more efficient capital deployment


JTower Inc - DoCoMo Tower Agreement Is a Milestone

Japan

NTT DOCOMO, INC. provides various types of telecommunication services including cellular phones, satellite mobile communication, and wireless LAN Network. The Company also sells cellular phones, and other equipment.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
Dividend (Yield)	0.00

NTT Docomo Inc (9437 JP)

KDDI and Lawson: Building an Ecosystem from a Base of Loyalty Points

KDDI's acquisition of 50% of Lawson is probably a strategic move towards building an ecosystem to compete with Rakuten and LY, using loyalty...

Michael Causton

Rakuten Securities IPO Early Look - The Negatives - Growth Has Slowed Down

Rakuten Securities, the online securities arm of Rakuten, aims to raise around US$500m (estimated) in its Japan listing. In this note, we talk...

Sumeet Singh

Itochu and Donki Tie on Retail Media to Create Major New Revenue Stream

Retail media is just emerging but will become a major source of new revenues for retailers in Japan thanks to their high footfall and customer...

Michael Causton

JTower Inc - DoCoMo Tower Agreement Is a Milestone

Japan is a latecomer to infrastructure sharing but DoCoMo's tower sale to JTower changes that. Considering the latter's scale, this could take a...

Kirk Boodry

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

KDDI and Lawson: Building an Ecosystem from a Base of Loyalty Points

​KDDI's acquisition of 50% of Lawson is probably a strategic move towards building an ecosystem to compete with Rakuten and LY, using loyalty...

Michael Causton

Rakuten Securities IPO Early Look - The Negatives - Growth Has Slowed Down

Rakuten Securities, the online securities arm of Rakuten, aims to raise around US$500m (estimated) in its Japan listing. In this note, we talk...

Sumeet Singh

Rakuten Securities IPO Early Look - The Positives - Has Been Gaining Market Share

Rakuten Securities, the online securities arm of Rakuten, aims to raise around US$500m (estimated) in its Japan listing.

Sumeet Singh

Itochu and Donki Tie on Retail Media to Create Major New Revenue Stream

Retail media is just emerging but will become a major source of new revenues for retailers in Japan thanks to their high footfall and customer...

Michael Causton

JTower Inc - DoCoMo Tower Agreement Is a Milestone

Japan is a latecomer to infrastructure sharing but DoCoMo's tower sale to JTower changes that. Considering the latter's scale, this could take a...

Kirk Boodry

KDDI's acquisition of 50% of Lawson is probably a strategic move towards building an ecosystem to compete with Rakuten and LY, using loyalty...