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. 

Private Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>Daiso is unlisted but dominates the listed competitors in the 100 Yen sector like <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/seria-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12989:1" rel="noopener">Seria Co Ltd (2782 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/can-do-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6879:1" rel="noopener">Can Do Co Ltd (2698 JP).</a>
</li>
<li>Daiso posted its 15th consecutive year of record sales in FY2025 and store count reaching 6,000, driven by rapid expansion of its multi-banner format.</li>
<li>This is alongside a growing proprietary IP business and fandom marketing that is beginning to feed directly into product development.</li>
</ul>


Daiso is unlisted but dominates the listed competitors in the 100 Yen sector like Seria Co Ltd (2782 JP) and Can Do Co Ltd (2698 JP).

Daiso posted its 15th consecutive year of record sales in FY2025 and store count reaching 6,000, driven by rapid expansion of its multi-banner format.
This is alongside a growing proprietary IP business and fandom marketing that is beginning to feed directly into product development.


Daiso's Record Sales, 6,000 Stores Dominates Seria and Can Do

Director, Head of Research, Smartkarma

Pranav Rao

Director, Head of Research

Smartkarma

Smartkarma unites the fragmented investment industry, connecting institutional investors, independent research providers, and corporates within a single network.

Research Reinvented

Index Rebalance

<ul>
<li>Welcome to Curator’s Cut - a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,600+ insights shared on Smartkarma.</li>
<li>In this cut, we go looking for value in Korea beyond memory, weigh SHEIN's long-awaited IPO, and trace how TOPIX's reshuffle could lift small-cap Japanese banks.</li>
<li>Want to dig deeper? Comment or message with the themes you'd like to see highlighted next.</li>
</ul>


Welcome to Curator’s Cut - a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,600+ insights shared on Smartkarma.
In this cut, we go looking for value in Korea beyond memory, weigh SHEIN's long-awaited IPO, and trace how TOPIX's reshuffle could lift small-cap Japanese banks.
Want to dig deeper? Comment or message with the themes you'd like to see highlighted next.


Curator's Cut: Korea Beyond Memory, SHEIN's Hong Kong Bow & TOPIX's Tailwind for Banks

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>100 Yen shop chains like Daiso and Seria are bellwethers for consumption trends, particularly reflecting demand for value in an age of skyrocketing prices on basics. </li>
<li>Everyone in Japan, even the most affluent households, shop at these stores, so they are worth keeping track of, especially <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/seria-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12989:1" rel="noopener">Seria Co Ltd (2782 JP)</a> and Daiso.</li>
<li>The sector remains alive and well, with the leaders thriving despite much greater pressures on profitability due to the fixed price model, higher sourcing costs and wages.</li>
</ul>


100 Yen shop chains like Daiso and Seria are bellwethers for consumption trends, particularly reflecting demand for value in an age of skyrocketing prices on basics. 
Everyone in Japan, even the most affluent households, shop at these stores, so they are worth keeping track of, especially Seria Co Ltd (2782 JP) and Daiso.
The sector remains alive and well, with the leaders thriving despite much greater pressures on profitability due to the fixed price model, higher sourcing costs and wages.


How Seria and the Other 100 Yen Stores Thrive Despite Higher Costs

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Japan’s top retailers had a strong FY2025, with the top 81 companies now controlling 48% of all retail sales, up 5.2 points in a single year.</li>
<li>It was a year defined as much by reconfiguration as growth, with drugstores, discounters and e-commerce taking share from supermarkets, department stores and home centres.</li>
<li>A wave of M&amp;A reshaped the competitive map faster than organic performance alone could explain. This focus examines what results reveal about where Japanese retail is heading next.</li>
</ul>


Japan’s top retailers had a strong FY2025, with the top 81 companies now controlling 48% of all retail sales, up 5.2 points in a single year.
It was a year defined as much by reconfiguration as growth, with drugstores, discounters and e-commerce taking share from supermarkets, department stores and home centres.
A wave of M&amp;A reshaped the competitive map faster than organic performance alone could explain. This focus examines what results reveal about where Japanese retail is heading next.


M&A a Key Tool to Gain Market Share in Japanese Retailing

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

<ul>
<li>The TOPIX Index - Japan's premier domestic equity index - will undergo a sea change in methodology at the end of this month, with ~760 names affected. </li>
<li>There will be roughly 35 or so ADDs, about 700 DELETEs (phased out over 8 quarters), and 40+ Liquidity Factor Removals. There will also be hundreds of FFW changes. </li>
<li>The likely ADDs have handily outperformed their peers over the past year, but some of that has been tech and idiosyncratic circumstances. There may still be trades to do.</li>
</ul>


The TOPIX Index - Japan's premier domestic equity index - will undergo a sea change in methodology at the end of this month, with ~760 names affected. 
There will be roughly 35 or so ADDs, about 700 DELETEs (phased out over 8 quarters), and 40+ Liquidity Factor Removals. There will also be hundreds of FFW changes. 
The likely ADDs have handily outperformed their peers over the past year, but some of that has been tech and idiosyncratic circumstances. There may still be trades to do.


[Quiddity Index] The TOPIX Change in Oct26 - Part V (Final Prep)

Japan

Seria Co., Ltd. operates 100 yen chain stores nationwide.   The Company also operates franchise business.  Seria's main product line includes household goods and snacks.

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Seria Co Ltd (2782 JP)

Daiso's Record Sales, 6,000 Stores Dominates Seria and Can Do

Daiso continues to dominate the 100 Yen sector in Japan thanks to massive economies of scale and rapid expansion of multi-price formats to beat...

Michael Causton

Curator's Cut: Korea Beyond Memory, SHEIN's Hong Kong Bow & TOPIX's Tailwind for Banks

Discover names outside memory in Korea, review SHEIN's IPO, and understand TOPIX's impact on small-cap Japanese banks in this fortnightly...

Pranav Rao

How Seria and the Other 100 Yen Stores Thrive Despite Higher Costs

Japanese 100 Yen shops like Daiso and Seria are indicators of consumer trends, showing demand for value in a time of rising prices. They are still...

Michael Causton

[Quiddity Index] The TOPIX Change in Oct26 - Part V (Final Prep)

The TSE announcement for wholesale changes in the TOPIX Index is scheduled for Wednesday after the close. I expect 34-35 ADDs, ~700 DELETEs, and...

Travis Lundy

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Daiso's Record Sales, 6,000 Stores Dominates Seria and Can Do

Daiso continues to dominate the 100 Yen sector in Japan thanks to massive economies of scale and rapid expansion of multi-price formats to beat...

Michael Causton

Curator's Cut: Korea Beyond Memory, SHEIN's Hong Kong Bow & TOPIX's Tailwind for Banks

​Discover names outside memory in Korea, review SHEIN's IPO, and understand TOPIX's impact on small-cap Japanese banks in this fortnightly...

Pranav Rao

How Seria and the Other 100 Yen Stores Thrive Despite Higher Costs

​Japanese 100 Yen shops like Daiso and Seria are indicators of consumer trends, showing demand for value in a time of rising prices. They are still...

Michael Causton

M&A a Key Tool to Gain Market Share in Japanese Retailing

Japan’s top 81 companies control 48% of all retail sales as of FY2025, up 5.2 points in a single year. M&A was the main reason and the pace of...

Michael Causton

[Quiddity Index] The TOPIX Change in Oct26 - Part V (Final Prep)

The TSE announcement for wholesale changes in the TOPIX Index is scheduled for Wednesday after the close. I expect 34-35 ADDs, ~700 DELETEs, and...

Travis Lundy

Discover names outside memory in Korea, review SHEIN's IPO, and understand TOPIX's impact on small-cap Japanese banks in this fortnightly...

Japanese 100 Yen shops like Daiso and Seria are indicators of consumer trends, showing demand for value in a time of rising prices. They are still...