Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

japantimes.co.jp

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 233 posts

Re: The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

#21

Post by CydeWeys »

rangibaby wrote: post #20
CydeWeys wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Japan (really Tokyo, I guess) stopped being truly 24-hours post 2011 earthquake." Really? This surprises me, given that the population of Tokyo has only continued to rise since then, and Tokyo wasn't nearly as badly affected as many other parts of Japan. How long did the power issues last following the earthquake, and why would they still continue to have effects so many years later?

The effects of the Lehman shock and 3/11 disaster hit the middle class hard, the blame is pointed at millennials for being thrifty (Why aren't young people buying luxury cars? Why do young people buy everything second hand?), but the reality is that middle class Japanese have less disposable income than 10,20, and especially 30 years ago

Changing economic conditions definitely makes a lot more sense to me. And activities in the middle of the night tend to be more expensive anyway (just think about bars and clubs), so you can save plenty of money by just going to bed and walking around for free the next day in the sunlight to hang out with your friends.

Re: The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

#22

Post by [deleted] »

patio11 wrote: post #14
jorblumesea wrote: post #7

I don't understand the demand from the parent company to stay open late, given the lack of customers they clearly have and the oversupply of combini. I was at a 7-11 in Osaka by the dotonbori and it was basically vacant. Like many things in Japanese society it seems to be because "this is the way it's done".

You live in a country with franchises, right? What would you articulate as the brand promise of a McDonalds? McDonalds has a very clear internal understanding of that brand promise: it includes clean bathrooms, a smile, extremely low prices available, and very consistent food. 7/11 also has a brand promise. It includes, prominently, “If you need it, 7/11 is open.” The LTV of a conbini regular is very, very, very high…

[deleted]

Re: The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

#23

Post by Klonoar »

CydeWeys wrote: post #18
Klonoar wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand if those places seem amenable to you, but I (and pretty much everyone I know who lived there long term) wouldn't set foot in one of those past their college years. They're horrible for your body. I'd sooner eat conbini food and pass out. The late night pubs do exist, sure, but a lot of them stay open to capture any foot traffic from people missing their last train around midnight. Most don't serve full m…

"Japan (really Tokyo, I guess) stopped being truly 24-hours post 2011 earthquake." Really? This surprises me, given that the population of Tokyo has only continued to rise since then, and Tokyo wasn't nearly as badly affected as many other parts of Japan. How long did the power issues last following the earthquake, and why would they still continue to have effects so many years later?

The other commenter in this thread did a good job explaining what happened re: economics, but a nitpick: just because I noted the power issues as a timeline reference doesn't mean I said it was why things went away.

Re: The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

#24

Post by RyJones »

I also just came back from Tokyo and Osaka; I was blown away by how many 7/11s there were and how close they were.

The vending machines are amazing. One other thing I would like to import: the widely available, clean bathrooms all over the place. That was super nice.

Re: The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

#25

Post by CydeWeys »

Klonoar wrote: post #23
CydeWeys wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Japan (really Tokyo, I guess) stopped being truly 24-hours post 2011 earthquake." Really? This surprises me, given that the population of Tokyo has only continued to rise since then, and Tokyo wasn't nearly as badly affected as many other parts of Japan. How long did the power issues last following the earthquake, and why would they still continue to have effects so many years later?

The other commenter in this thread did a good job explaining what happened re: economics, but a nitpick: just because I noted the power issues as a timeline reference doesn't mean I said it was why things went away.

This sentence to me implies causality: "After the power issues around the country, I noticed a lot of places never returned to their same livelihood."

If that's not what you meant, I would recommend wording it differently in the future.

Re: The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

#26

Post by CydeWeys »

RyJones wrote: post #24

I also just came back from Tokyo and Osaka; I was blown away by how many 7/11s there were and how close they were. The vending machines are amazing. One other thing I would like to import: the widely available, clean bathrooms all over the place. That was super nice.

Free public bathrooms everywhere was nice, but there was still a dearth of free public water fountains -- which, admittedly, most cities don't have enough of. Rome is kind of the gold standard in this regard.

I loved how some of the vending machines and convenience stores sold hot canned drinks. I've never seen that anywhere in the US. Now the hot canned coffee wasn't actually good (I had to try it), but it was interesting to have that as an option. There were also plenty of vending machines that would make coffee for you (which I didn't use because I opted for free coffee in the hotel in the morning and cold green tea thereafter, which I must say was delicious).

Re: The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

#27

Post by [deleted] »

bane wrote: post #3

Just came back from Japan and man are there too many convenience stores. Within any given area there is probably 6 to 7 stores within eyeshot and an easy walk. It's weird thinking that they are too convenient, but honestly they start to become pointless. More than once we simply walked by a few knowing that there would be another one just a minute or two more down the street. It's great that we could find something t…

[deleted]

Re: The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

#28

Post by yskchu »

vkou wrote: post #2

The irony is, of course, that the chain is named "Seven-Eleven" because it was originally open from 7 am to 11 pm. > One Monday night in late March, only 10 customers came to the man’s store in the three hours before dawn, and the sales during that time were a little more than ¥6,000. The store will be in the red if he hired someone for night shifts. Smart management would close the store during those hours. Of cours…

> Smart management would close the store during those hours.

It's mentioned in the article actually, in the later section on Mitoshi Matsumoto; he closed early and made more $$$.

Re: The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

#29

Post by RyJones »

CydeWeys wrote: post #26
RyJones wrote: post #24

I also just came back from Tokyo and Osaka; I was blown away by how many 7/11s there were and how close they were. The vending machines are amazing. One other thing I would like to import: the widely available, clean bathrooms all over the place. That was super nice.

Free public bathrooms everywhere was nice, but there was still a dearth of free public water fountains -- which, admittedly, most cities don't have enough of. Rome is kind of the gold standard in this regard. I loved how some of the vending machines and convenience stores sold hot canned drinks. I've never seen that anywhere in the US. Now the hot canned coffee wasn't actually good (I had to try it), but it was inter…

I had the same experience. I had to try the hot canned coffee; I didn't try it again.

Also: canned mixed drinks! Japan is truly living in the future.

Re: The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

#30

Post by delhanty »

Even for HN, these are some of the most empathy-deficient comments that I've ever read.

Yes, it's true that there is a huge problem with overwork for the franchisees.

But those stores aren't there (just) for you.

Imagine this scenario: you're over 80, living on your own and not very mobile.

The fact that there's a 7-eleven within 100 metres that sells a large variety of foodstuffs and essential items in single portion sizes allows one to maintain one's independence, which is a godsend. Try that in LA!

Japan values social-cohesion. Many of us who live here long term do too.

Edit: admit there's a problem for the franchisees.

Post reply on HN