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>Mercari shipments now account for between 5-10% of Japan’s 5 billion express deliveries so couriers are straining under the onslaught.</li>
<li>Mercari plans to invest in easy access for drop-off and pick up points as well as more efficient shipping and will then monetise this through add-on services.</li>
<li>Once in place, Mercari plans to allow other online merchants on to this network as well as merchants on its new B2C platform, Mercari Shops, creating another income stream.</li>
</ul>


Mercari shipments now account for between 5-10% of Japan’s 5 billion express deliveries so couriers are straining under the onslaught.
Mercari plans to invest in easy access for drop-off and pick up points as well as more efficient shipping and will then monetise this through add-on services.
Once in place, Mercari plans to allow other online merchants on to this network as well as merchants on its new B2C platform, Mercari Shops, creating another income stream.


Equity Analyst, LightStream Research

Oshadhi Kumarasiri

Equity Analyst

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/base-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28353:1" rel="noopener">BASE Inc (4477 JP)</a> is Japan’s equivalent of Shopify and helps individual sellers and small businesses to easily establish an e-commerce presence.</li>
<li>As of May 2021, BASE has helped over 1.6m individual sellers and small businesses to open e-commerce shops.</li>
<li>This small company from Japan took the attention of institutional investors during the March to October 2020 period as the COVID driven increase in e-Commerce penetration resulted in a 1700%+ increase in the company’s share price.</li>
<li>Slowing growth amidst increased marketing spending has resulted in a 72% decrease in the company’s share price from the October 2020 peak level. Nevertheless, we believe that there’s further downside to Base Inc as consensus remains too optimistic about Base Inc’s medium-term growth when there are obvious signs that say otherwise.</li>
</ul>



BASE Inc (4477 JP) is Japan’s equivalent of Shopify and helps individual sellers and small businesses to easily establish an e-commerce presence.
As of May 2021, BASE has helped over 1.6m individual sellers and small businesses to open e-commerce shops.
This small company from Japan took the attention of institutional investors during the March to October 2020 period as the COVID driven increase in e-Commerce penetration resulted in a 1700%+ increase in the company’s share price.
Slowing growth amidst increased marketing spending has resulted in a 72% decrease in the company’s share price from the October 2020 peak level. Nevertheless, we believe that there’s further downside to Base Inc as consensus remains too optimistic about Base Inc’s medium-term growth when there are obvious signs that say otherwise.


<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/base-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28353:1" rel="noopener">BASE Inc (4477 JP)</a>, Japan’s equivalent of Shopify has found revenue growth hard to come by, ever since recording 177% YoY and 127% QoQ growth in 2Q20 amidst an accelerated shift to e-commerce during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the company’s share price has plunged around 68% from the peak to currently trade at around ¥1,032.0 per share.</p><p>Driven by a 101% YoY and 43% QoQ increase in promotional spending, Base Inc’s revenue has shown some promise with 9.3% QoQ revenue growth in 2Q21 but the revenue remained 4.3% below the 2Q20 peak level.</p><p>Nevertheless, we think “BASE” is running out of room to grow in the domestic market, while “PAY” (the main growth driver of Base Inc over the last four quarters), whose revenue grew 70.4% YoY and 23.4% QoQ in 2Q21, is expected to decelerate rapidly following a period of GMV expansion through the recovery of business operations of its merchants after the gradual easing of COVID-19 restrictions.</p>

BASE Inc (4477 JP), Japan’s equivalent of Shopify has found revenue growth hard to come by, ever since recording 177% YoY and 127% QoQ growth in 2Q20 amidst an accelerated shift to e-commerce during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the company’s share price has plunged around 68% from the peak to currently trade at around ¥1,032.0 per share.Driven by a 101% YoY and 43% QoQ increase in promotional spending, Base Inc’s revenue has shown some promise with 9.3% QoQ revenue growth in 2Q21 but the revenue remained 4.3% below the 2Q20 peak level.Nevertheless, we think “BASE” is running out of room to grow in the domestic market, while “PAY” (the main growth driver of Base Inc over the last four quarters), whose revenue grew 70.4% YoY and 23.4% QoQ in 2Q21, is expected to decelerate rapidly following a period of GMV expansion through the recovery of business operations of its merchants after the gradual easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Base Inc: The Long Tail May Not Be That Long

Equity Analyst, Event-driven, Quiddity Advisors

Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

Equity Analyst, Event-driven

Quiddity Advisors

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Event-Driven

<p>In this insight, we take a look at the monthly performance of the trading opportunities surrounding TOPIX Index Rebalance events. During the month, we witnessed the Inclusion Events of cloud-based business accounting software company <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/money-forward-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:25919:1" rel="noopener">Money Forward (3994 JP)</a>, water treatment technology company <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nomura-micro-science-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11317:1" rel="noopener">Nomura Micro Science (6254 JP)</a>, and printed circuit board manufacturer <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/meiko-electronics-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20004:1" rel="noopener">Meiko Electronics (6787 JP)</a>. </p><p>Furthermore, as discussed by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/travis-lundy" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:25" rel="noopener">Travis Lundy</a> in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/july-topix-ffw-rebalancing-trade" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:54275" rel="noopener">July TOPIX FFW Rebalancing Trade</a>, there were quarterly float adjustments for some constituents of the TOPIX Index which opened up a few trading opportunities. </p><p><em>Below is a closer look at each of these situations. </em></p>

In this insight, we take a look at the monthly performance of the trading opportunities surrounding TOPIX Index Rebalance events. During the month, we witnessed the Inclusion Events of cloud-based business accounting software company Money Forward (3994 JP), water treatment technology company Nomura Micro Science (6254 JP), and printed circuit board manufacturer Meiko Electronics (6787 JP). Furthermore, as discussed by Travis Lundy in July TOPIX FFW Rebalancing Trade, there were quarterly float adjustments for some constituents of the TOPIX Index which opened up a few trading opportunities. Below is a closer look at each of these situations. 

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One, Periscope Analytics

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Quantitative Analysis

<div><p>The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.</p></div><div><p>Hong Kong saw shorts rise on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tencent-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1" rel="noopener">Tencent (700 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-merchants-bank-co-ltd-3388a037-4214-4997-b45d-520518cfdb57" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10987:1" rel="noopener">China Merchants Bank H (3968 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-insurance-grp-co-of-china-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12880:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/meituan-dianping" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26970:1" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sunny-optical-tech" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13363:1" rel="noopener">Sunny Optical (2382 HK)</a> while there was short covering on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/weimob-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27394:1" rel="noopener">Weimob Inc. (2013 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/xiaomi-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24409:1" rel="noopener">Xiaomi Corp (1810 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jd-com-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29043:1" rel="noopener">JD.com Inc. (9618 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nongfu-spring" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28955:1" rel="noopener">Nongfu Spring (9633 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/wuxi-apptec-co-ltd-bf4a1265-beef-48b6-b82d-29308426030f" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27795:1" rel="noopener">WuXi AppTec Co. Ltd. (2359 HK)</a>. Shorts increased in the Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary, Financials and Health Care sectors.</p></div><div><p>In Japan, stocks increased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/shimano-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3777:1" rel="noopener">Shimano Inc (7309 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/harmonic-drive-systems-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10238:1" rel="noopener">Harmonic Drive Systems (6324 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cocokara-fine-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15447:1" rel="noopener">Cocokara Fine (3098 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nippon-steel-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:961:1" rel="noopener">Nippon Steel Corporation (5401 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/casio-computer-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18338:1" rel="noopener">Casio Computer (6952 JP)</a> while there was short covering on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/pharma-foods-international" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10530:1" rel="noopener">Pharma Foods International (2929 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sumco-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:379:1" rel="noopener">SUMCO Corp (3436 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/base-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28353:1" rel="noopener">BASE Inc (4477 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/showa-denko-k-k" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1496:1" rel="noopener">Showa Denko K.K. (4004 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kobe-steel-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:209:1" rel="noopener">Kobe Steel Ltd (5406 JP)</a>. Shorts increased in the Consumer Discretionary, Industrials and Consumer Staples sectors while decreasing in the Health Care and Information Technology sectors.</p></div><div><p>In Korea, shorts increased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hmm-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13494:1" rel="noopener">HMM Co., Ltd. (011200 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lg-display-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7145:1" rel="noopener">LG Display (034220 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sk-innovation-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1268:1" rel="noopener">SK Innovation (096770 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kakao-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15002:1" rel="noopener">Kakao Corp (035720 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/pan-ocean-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5279:1" rel="noopener">Pan Ocean (028670 KS)</a> while shorts were covered on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/doosan-heavy-industries-construction" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7389:1" rel="noopener">Doosan Heavy Industries &amp; Construction (034020 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/doosan-infracore-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3982:1" rel="noopener">Doosan Infracore (042670 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/gs-retail-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3867:1" rel="noopener">GS Retail (007070 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ncsoft-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5169:1" rel="noopener">NCSOFT Corp (036570 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/samsung-biologics-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22932:1" rel="noopener">Samsung Biologics Co., (207940 KS)</a>. </p></div><div><p>In Taiwan, shorts increased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/united-microelectronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6450:1" rel="noopener">United Microelectronics Corp (2303 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/novatek-microelectronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10904:1" rel="noopener">Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/quanta-computer-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2754:1" rel="noopener">Quanta Computer (2382 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/winbond-electronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9177:1" rel="noopener">Winbond Electronics (2344 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sitronix-technology-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5684:1" rel="noopener">Sitronix Technology (8016 TT)</a> while shorts covered on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yang-ming-marine-transport" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8502:1" rel="noopener">Yang Ming Marine Transport (2609 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiwan-semiconductor-manufacturing-company" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11230:1" rel="noopener">TSMC (2330 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/silergy-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13998:1" rel="noopener">Silergy Corp (6415 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yageo-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13212:1" rel="noopener">Yageo Corporation (2327 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/chunghwa-telecom-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9181:1" rel="noopener">Chunghwa Telecom (2412 TT)</a>.</p></div>

The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.Hong Kong saw shorts rise on Tencent (700 HK), China Merchants Bank H (3968 HK), Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK), Meituan (3690 HK) and Sunny Optical (2382 HK) while there was short covering on Weimob Inc. (2013 HK), Xiaomi Corp (1810 HK), JD.com Inc. (9618 HK), Nongfu Spring (9633 HK) and WuXi AppTec Co. Ltd. (2359 HK). Shorts increased in the Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary, Financials and Health Care sectors.In Japan, stocks increased on Shimano Inc (7309 JP), Harmonic Drive Systems (6324 JP), Cocokara Fine (3098 JP), Nippon Steel Corporation (5401 JP) and Casio Computer (6952 JP) while there was short covering on Pharma Foods International (2929 JP), SUMCO Corp (3436 JP), BASE Inc (4477 JP), Showa Denko K.K. (4004 JP) and Kobe Steel Ltd (5406 JP). Shorts increased in the Consumer Discretionary, Industrials and Consumer Staples sectors while decreasing in the Health Care and Information Technology sectors.In Korea, shorts increased on HMM Co., Ltd. (011200 KS), LG Display (034220 KS), SK Innovation (096770 KS), Kakao Corp (035720 KS) and Pan Ocean (028670 KS) while shorts were covered on Doosan Heavy Industries &amp; Construction (034020 KS), Doosan Infracore (042670 KS), GS Retail (007070 KS), NCSOFT Corp (036570 KS) and Samsung Biologics Co., (207940 KS). In Taiwan, shorts increased on United Microelectronics Corp (2303 TT), Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT), Quanta Computer (2382 TT), Winbond Electronics (2344 TT) and Sitronix Technology (8016 TT) while shorts covered on Yang Ming Marine Transport (2609 TT), TSMC (2330 TT), Silergy Corp (6415 TT), Yageo Corporation (2327 TT) and Chunghwa Telecom (2412 TT).

Asia Shorts: Tencent, CMB, Ping An, Weimob, WuXi, Shimano, Cocokara, HMM, Kakao, Doosan, Yang Ming

Japan

BASE, Inc. offers internet based services. The Company provides net shop creation, shopping application development, online payment development, and other services. BASE provides its services throughout Japan.

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BASE Inc (4477 JP)

Mercari to Offer Logistics to All

Mercari now has 3 business segments: CtoC, Payments and Online Storefronts. It will now add a 4th: logistics and a host of services surrounding...

Michael Causton

Base Inc: Losing Its Base

Slowing growth amidst increased marketing spending has resulted in a 72% decrease in the company’s share price from the October 2020 peak level....

Oshadhi Kumarasiri

Base Inc: The Long Tail May Not Be That Long

BASE Inc, Japan’s equivalent of Shopify has found revenue growth hard to come by, ever since recording 177% YoY and 127% QoQ growth in 2Q20 amidst...

Oshadhi Kumarasiri

TOPIX Inclusion Trade Summary: July 2021

In this insight, we discuss the performance of trading opportunities surrounding TOPIX Index Rebalance events. In July, Money Forward, Nomura...

Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

Asia Shorts: Tencent, CMB, Ping An, Weimob, WuXi, Shimano, Cocokara, HMM, Kakao, Doosan, Yang Ming

The Insight looks at large short interest movements across HK, Japan, Korea and Taiwan stocks and highlights large increases/decreases in shorts to...

Brian Freitas

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