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The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

japantimes.co.jp

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

#41

Post by ako »

blazespin wrote: post #35

The problem is capitalism and not really 7-11. If 7-11 didn't do this, family mart would and the guy would probably lose his store altogether. Capitalism doesn't care about people or the distress they feel during transitions. It's very effective at generally raising up the living standards of all people, but can be pretty inhumane at times when dealing with certain groups of people who's skills and services are becom…

Are you really sure that capitalism will reduce global poverty?

The core of capitalism is competition. This may result in higher quality and larger choice, but if these are sufficient enough it will in the end result in lower prices. This has to be done through efficiency but will also result in lower wages.

I think unconstrained, uncontrolled capitalism will result in 90% of the global population working very low income, replaceable jobs, or being completely replaced by automation.

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

#42

Post by ixtli »

The problem isn't convenience stores (I lived in japan for 1.5 years and lemme tell you, they're wonderful and everyone loves them.) It's capitalisms completely unregulated growth in situations where no one could possibly benefit. They call it competition, but that's not what this is in practice.

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

#43

Post by ixtli »

ako wrote: post #41
blazespin wrote: post #35

The problem is capitalism and not really 7-11. If 7-11 didn't do this, family mart would and the guy would probably lose his store altogether. Capitalism doesn't care about people or the distress they feel during transitions. It's very effective at generally raising up the living standards of all people, but can be pretty inhumane at times when dealing with certain groups of people who's skills and services are becom…

Are you really sure that capitalism will reduce global poverty? The core of capitalism is competition. This may result in higher quality and larger choice, but if these are sufficient enough it will in the end result in lower prices. This has to be done through efficiency but will also result in lower wages. I think unconstrained, uncontrolled capitalism will result in 90% of the global population working very low in…

Yeah. The social uplift only happens to people connected in some way to where the capital is accumulating. If you live where the capital is flowing from you're gonna have a bad time.

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

#44

Post by ericd »

CydeWeys wrote: post #19
patio11 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I wonder if this matters less in the age of smartphone apps. I tend to check opening hours on Google Maps first before heading to a place when it's outside of obvious business hours (like the middle of the night).

I don't think it does. Decreased friction provides a very real, very large boost to almost any business like this. Any uncertainty or mental effort makes me much less likely to go, especially if there's another option that I am certain will provide me what I want. Conversely, if they're reliable and require little effort, I am much more likely to grow to depend on them habitually.

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

#45

Post by [deleted] »

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?

[deleted]

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

#46

Post by jorblumesea »

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…

I understand what a franchise is. McDonald's regularly changes its menu, removing items that do not perform. McDonald's franchise owners can run menu items in areas that make sense for them. Hours for McDonald's are set based on demand and largely up to the franchise owner.

There are many examples of franchises allowing flexibility within the brand while still adhering to the brand ideals.

It sounds like 7-11 corporate for JP is uncompromising to a fault and unwilling to meet owners halfway.

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

#47

Post by seanmcdirmid »

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…

They probably have the density and business to support it. Like how the USA having so many gas stations everywhere might seem bizarre to someone from another country (e.g. gas stations in China are definitely nowhere near as numerous).

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

#48

Post by adventured »

rangersanger wrote: post #39
blazespin wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but the solution is probably automation and not overworked to death franchise owners.

Overwork is better than no work. Automation may be part of the solution, but on its own it fails.

> Overwork is better than no work.

No work is rarely the trade-off issue in Japan. They operate for quite different margins and labor practices than eg the US.

They haven't had an unemployment rate over 5.5% in 40 years. The typical rate has been 3% to 3.5% for the last 30 years - a time in which they've suffered from perpetual economic stagnation and zero net growth. It's around 2.5% right now.

Japan is losing population while simultaneously having an extraordinarily low unemployment rate. Automation is the only path forward, they should be pursuing it with as much vigor as possible. If you're Japan, as your population contracts, the ideal is to wipe out all convenience store jobs and push the labor force higher up the ladder whenever possible.

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

#49

Post by aidenn0 »

jorblumesea wrote: post #46
patio11 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I understand what a franchise is. McDonald's regularly changes its menu, removing items that do not perform. McDonald's franchise owners can run menu items in areas that make sense for them. Hours for McDonald's are set based on demand and largely up to the franchise owner. There are many examples of franchises allowing flexibility within the brand while still adhering to the brand ideals. It sounds like 7-11 corpora…

Talk to any McD's franchisee about all-day breakfast if you want a comparably "unpopular with franchisees" brand requirement.

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

#50

Post by seanmcdirmid »

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…

Public water fountains aren't really an Asian thing. I am hard pressed to think of an Asian country where I remember using one.
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