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. 

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Muji has been trying to both reduce prices and consumer perception of its price positioning in the past few years, both at home and abroad. </li>
<li>This has been hard but a new ¥500 chain will make it clear that Muji is shifting positioning.</li>
<li>Muji will now even compete with discount and fixed price chains across food, home and clothing and the new price format will be much better suited to markets like China.</li>
</ul>


Muji has been trying to both reduce prices and consumer perception of its price positioning in the past few years, both at home and abroad. 
This has been hard but a new ¥500 chain will make it clear that Muji is shifting positioning.
Muji will now even compete with discount and fixed price chains across food, home and clothing and the new price format will be much better suited to markets like China.


Muji 500: The Missing Key to Plans for 2,000 Stores

<ul>
<li>Adastria's growth has been sporadic in recent years as it adjusts to maturity and saturation in core apparel markets.It has diversification projects but these will take time to develop.</li>
<li>It thinks it can find faster growth by franchising and licensing with already well-known brands, starting with Forever 21.</li>
<li>It also has a new business providing apparel collections to General Merchandise Retailers, starting with Izumi.</li>
</ul>


Adastria's growth has been sporadic in recent years as it adjusts to maturity and saturation in core apparel markets.It has diversification projects but these will take time to develop.
It thinks it can find faster growth by franchising and licensing with already well-known brands, starting with Forever 21.
It also has a new business providing apparel collections to General Merchandise Retailers, starting with Izumi.


Adastria Signs Forever 21, New Growth Through Licensing?

Pan-Asia Index Flows & Special Situations, Quiddity Advisors

Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

Pan-Asia Index Flows & Special Situations

Quiddity Advisors

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Event-Driven

Advance Logistics Investment / Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Today after the close, small-cap logistics JREIT <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/itochu-advance-logistics-investment" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28286:1" rel="noopener">Itochu Advance Logistics Investment (3493 JP)</a> ("IAL") announced a follow-on equity offering to fund part of their recently-announced property acquisition. </li>
<li>The primary offer quantity is 70,773 units. In addition, there will also be an over-allotment quantity of 3,500 units. The total size of this offering could be roughly ¥10bn (~US$76mn). </li>
<li>Below is a closer look at the details of this offering and the potential of this offering to trigger strong secondary market performance in the following weeks.</li>
</ul>


Today after the close, small-cap logistics JREIT Itochu Advance Logistics Investment (3493 JP) ("IAL") announced a follow-on equity offering to fund part of their recently-announced property acquisition. 
The primary offer quantity is 70,773 units. In addition, there will also be an over-allotment quantity of 3,500 units. The total size of this offering could be roughly ¥10bn (~US$76mn). 
Below is a closer look at the details of this offering and the potential of this offering to trigger strong secondary market performance in the following weeks.


Itochu Advance Logistics (3493 JP): Offering Could Trigger Outperformance Vs Peers

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Major wholesalers in food, pharmaceuticals and books continue to prosper due to their role in both serving and protecting fragmented distribution channels.</li>
<li>Profits returned last year as clients picked themselves up after Covid, but as inflation sets in, these middlemen are being squeezed by both manufacturers and retailers and profits may slump.</li>
<li>They now need to offer an ever increasing array of value-added services to continue to grow and not all have the capability. More M&amp;A may be on the cards.</li>
</ul>


Major wholesalers in food, pharmaceuticals and books continue to prosper due to their role in both serving and protecting fragmented distribution channels.
Profits returned last year as clients picked themselves up after Covid, but as inflation sets in, these middlemen are being squeezed by both manufacturers and retailers and profits may slump.
They now need to offer an ever increasing array of value-added services to continue to grow and not all have the capability. More M&amp;A may be on the cards.


Major Japan Wholesalers up 2.8% in 2021, but Problems Looming

<ul>
<li>A few years back, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/itochu-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18448:1" rel="noopener">Itochu Corp (8001 JP)</a> announced its intention to aggressively grow its consumer brand business. </li>
<li>It has just confirmed deals with Eddie Bauer and Barbour after a year in which it also signed Reebok and Under Armour.</li>
<li>Although a small part of the Itochu empire, the consumer brand business, alongside retail interests such as Familymart, are key to the trading firm's longer term profits.</li>
</ul>


A few years back, Itochu Corp (8001 JP) announced its intention to aggressively grow its consumer brand business. 
It has just confirmed deals with Eddie Bauer and Barbour after a year in which it also signed Reebok and Under Armour.
Although a small part of the Itochu empire, the consumer brand business, alongside retail interests such as Familymart, are key to the trading firm's longer term profits.


Japan

ITOCHU Corporation is a general trading firm handling textiles, wood, machinery, metals, food, chemicals, construction materials, commodities, and energy related products such as oil and gas. The Company operates around the world. Itochu diversifies by operating in satellite communication and data communication businesses.

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Itochu Corp (8001 JP)

Muji 500: The Missing Key to Plans for 2,000 Stores

Muji has been suffering of late but a new format focusing on prices below ¥500 could solve multiple problems both at home and overseas.

Michael Causton

Adastria Signs Forever 21, New Growth Through Licensing?

Adastria has suffered from inconsistent growth recently as it adjusted to maturity and the pandemic but has come up with two new growth ideas:...

Michael Causton

Itochu Advance Logistics (3493 JP): Offering Could Trigger Outperformance Vs Peers

IAL's latest equity offering is significantly less dilutive in comparison to their previous offerings. There could be some DPU accretion and the...

Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

Major Japan Wholesalers up 2.8% in 2021, but Problems Looming

Wholesalers in Japan had a good year last year. The biggest firms like Medipal may prosper but there are challenges for the sector which could...

Michael Causton

Itochu Grabs Eddie Bauer and Barbour

Itochu Corp has become a major player in brand distribution in the last decade but is now aggressively acquiring brand rights to cement its...

Michael Causton

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