Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.

Major convenience store chains are stepping up their apparel offerings, including clothing and fashion accessories. Seven-Eleven Japan has teamed up with major apparel company Adastria to launch 28 Seven-exclusive items nationwide on September 25, including T-shirts, scrunchies, and seasonal scarves from Nico and and Lowrys Farm, both popular among young women. According to Seven-Eleven, about 40 percent of last fiscal year's customers were aged 50 or older, while those in their 20s or younger accounted for only about 17 percent. Junko Watanabe of the merchandise division stressed that acquiring younger customers is essential for continued long-term growth, and indicated a plan to double apparel sales by fiscal 2025. FamilyMart, which moved early to strengthen its clothing lineup, began nationwide sales in 2021 of its own brand Convenience Wear, developed with a famous designer. Its flagship store, which opened in Tokyo in July this year, carries about 300 items and includes fitting rooms, with a target of 30 billion yen in sales for fiscal 2026, 1.5 times the previous fiscal year. Lawson also expanded the range and floor space for Muji clothing from April, and on September 29 launched items including gloves in collaboration with the lifestyle brand Bruno. According to the Japan Franchise Association, customer traffic at existing convenience stores has fallen below the same month a year earlier for 14 consecutive months, and attention is focused on whether apparel can create destination-purchase demand and lift sales per store.

Ryohin Keikaku's segment results show that the highest operating margin is not in its domestic business but in East Asia, at 19.3%. In the fiscal year ended August 2025, the domestic business posted operating revenue of 470.1 billion yen and operating profit of 52.1 billion yen, for an operating margin of 11.1%, while the East Asia business recorded operating revenue of 222.2 billion yen and operating profit of 42.7 billion yen, for an operating margin of 19.3%, a gap of 8 percentage points. In the cumulative first three quarters of the fiscal year ending August 2026, the gap has not narrowed, with domestic at 13.1% and East Asia at 21.3%, as East Asia's growth continues to outpace domestic. The company says that in its mainland China business, sales grew across all divisions, led by household goods and food, and operating profit increased thanks to an improved selling, general and administrative expense ratio.

The Nikkei Stock Average fell in the morning session on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, ending the session at 67,786.86, down 770.87 points from the previous trading day. Escalating tensions in the Middle East and higher crude oil prices weighed on the market. Although the index briefly moved into positive territory, buying failed to sustain, and at one point the decline exceeded 1,300 points. With major semiconductor companies such as ASML of the Netherlands and TSMC of Taiwan set to report earnings this week, position-adjustment selling emerged in some related stocks. Among individual issues, Yaskawa Electric hit its daily limit down, while Ryohin Keikaku reached a new post-listing high after adjusting for a stock split. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose over 2 percent to become the top company by market capitalization. Trading value on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market amounted to 4.987968 trillion yen.

Ryohin Keikaku on the 10th revised upward its consolidated net profit forecast for the fiscal year ending August 2026, from 62 billion yen to 67 billion yen. This marks the second upward revision this fiscal year, lifting the year-on-year profit growth rate from 21.9 percent to 31.8 percent and setting the stage for a record profit. Sales have been strong, led by overseas operations, and profitability has improved alongside currency effects. The new forecast exceeded the average analyst estimate of 63.8 billion yen from 17 analysts.