Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets, JapanConsuming

Michael Causton

Michael is co-founder and partner at 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 and seminars on retail sectors and consumer trends, as well as telephone consulting/meetings with investors. 

All of JapanConsuming's team are bilingual and bi-cultural, and the company's research sources are:

Direct meetings with retailers, wholesalers, distributors, trade body staff, govt., marketing firms, academics etc.
Govt. data
Trade association data
Trade Press across all consumer sectors
Unique Network of buyers/managers/marketing staff at retail, as well as wholesalers and trading firms.
Editors/Journalists at publishing houses and PR/Ad firms.


JapanConsuming was founded by Michael Causton and Roy Larke. 

Michael Causton set up and ran a consumer distribution business in Tokyo for 10 years and developed this into a business responsible for annual imports to Japan of several billion Yen, at the same time building up an inside knowledge of how Japanese distribution works and developing a network of contacts across the industry. Seeing the lack of quality market intelligence on Japanese markets, he co-founded JapanConsuming in 2000. He divides his time between Japan and Europe/US consulting for companies, governments and investors, including providing talks, seminars, and webinars as well as writing reports and books.

Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets

The Online Fashion Wars: Rakuten Takes on Z&Zozo

Rakuten: Positive Update on Mobile Overshadowed by E-Commerce Merchant Woes

Japanese E-Commerce Review 2020: Softbank/Z, Rakuten and Amazon to Dominate Further

Online Food Boom: Rakuten Walmart Alliance Goes Live

Rakuten: Update on the Mobile Business Generally Positive

Rakuten Pay Tops the Japanese Cashless War

Cashless Payments to Reach 60% of Japanese by 2027, Already Popular Among Young

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

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/rakuten-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31:1" rel="noopener">Rakuten's (4755 JP)</a> CEO, Hiroshi Mikitani, took his eye off the original online mall business in the last five years as he focused on trying to build a global business – and then retreating – as well as moving into promising new growth markets at home like mobile networks and finance.Since January he has given a lot more love to Rakuten Ichiba and is investing heavily. Rakuten has also just signed as sponsor of Tokyo Fashion Week in a bid to wrest more share of the key online fashion market.The reasons are clear: Rakuten Ichiba is an essential element in Rakuten's plans to build an integrated consumer services business that covers mobile networks, e-commerce, consumer credit, loyalty points and the booming cashless payments business.

Rakuten's (4755 JP) CEO, Hiroshi Mikitani, took his eye off the original online mall business in the last five years as he focused on trying to build a global business – and then retreating – as well as moving into promising new growth markets at home like mobile networks and finance.Since January he has given a lot more love to Rakuten Ichiba and is investing heavily. Rakuten has also just signed as sponsor of Tokyo Fashion Week in a bid to wrest more share of the key online fashion market.The reasons are clear: Rakuten Ichiba is an essential element in Rakuten's plans to build an integrated consumer services business that covers mobile networks, e-commerce, consumer credit, loyalty points and the booming cashless payments business.

Rakuten Focuses on Rakuten Ichiba as Sales Surge Again