Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/zozo-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18379:1" rel="noopener">ZOZO Inc (3092 JP)</a> is +10% since the close <em>after</em> the Nikkei 225 inclusion announcement vs Nikkei225 +2%. Fellow upweight Nitori is up too. Disco and Socionext are up less.</li>
<li>All three inclusions and one upweight see considerable inclusion demand when compared to active holdings. Some more than others. </li>
<li>Some trades here are more interesting than others, still. Cumulative excess volumes are one guide. Fundamentals, and flow dynamics are another.</li>
</ul>



ZOZO Inc (3092 JP) is +10% since the close after the Nikkei 225 inclusion announcement vs Nikkei225 +2%. Fellow upweight Nitori is up too. Disco and Socionext are up less.
All three inclusions and one upweight see considerable inclusion demand when compared to active holdings. Some more than others. 
Some trades here are more interesting than others, still. Cumulative excess volumes are one guide. Fundamentals, and flow dynamics are another.


Mar24 Nikkei 225 Rebal: Zozo (3092) And Other ADDs Update

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>Many are asking why KDDI would want to buy 50% of Lawson, Japan's third biggest convenience store chain.</li>
<li>Some more imaginative analysts suggest this could be just the first step towards KDDI merging with Rakuten in order to beat Amazon.</li>
<li>The more likely future is an ecosystem to challenge Rakuten and LY Corp (Yahoo etc), starting with points and payments and evolving to other Fintech, e-commerce and health.</li>
</ul>


Many are asking why KDDI would want to buy 50% of Lawson, Japan's third biggest convenience store chain.
Some more imaginative analysts suggest this could be just the first step towards KDDI merging with Rakuten in order to beat Amazon.
The more likely future is an ecosystem to challenge Rakuten and LY Corp (Yahoo etc), starting with points and payments and evolving to other Fintech, e-commerce and health.


KDDI and Lawson: Building an Ecosystem from a Base of Loyalty Points

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>E-Commerce growth slowed marginally as the sector consolidated post-Covid but remained higher than any other channel in 2022. </li>
<li>By 2025-26, it will be the largest channel, overtaking convenience stores – but Japan’s continuing support for retail stores means that omnichannel will be the main model.</li>
<li>As a result, the majority of transactions will be researched, initiated, and fulfilled through a combination of online and physical stores.</li>
</ul>


E-Commerce growth slowed marginally as the sector consolidated post-Covid but remained higher than any other channel in 2022. 
By 2025-26, it will be the largest channel, overtaking convenience stores – but Japan’s continuing support for retail stores means that omnichannel will be the main model.
As a result, the majority of transactions will be researched, initiated, and fulfilled through a combination of online and physical stores.


E-Commerce in Japan: Omnichannel Consolidation

Blue Lotus Non US Internet research, Blue Lotus Research Institute

Ying Pan

Blue Lotus Non US Internet research

China growth and global non-US Internet equities

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Blue Lotus Research is a Hong Kong Type 4 Licensed investment advisory firm focusing on Chinese growth equities and global non-US Internet equities

<ul>
<li>1810 HK/BIDU: Google's Gemma is an important move for client-side AI (+)</li>
<li>3690 HK: Local news said Douyin has deemphasized take out business (+)</li>
<li>PDD/4689 JP/AMZN/4385 JP/4755 JP: Data indicates that Temu is particularly popular in Japan (+/~/-/-/-)</li>
</ul>


1810 HK/BIDU: Google's Gemma is an important move for client-side AI (+)
3690 HK: Local news said Douyin has deemphasized take out business (+)
PDD/4689 JP/AMZN/4385 JP/4755 JP: Data indicates that Temu is particularly popular in Japan (+/~/-/-/-)


[Blue Lotus Daily - TMT Update]: 700 HK/1810 HK/BIDU/JD/BABA/PDD/1024 HK/3690 HK/WB/4689JP/4755JP

<ul>
<li>The Nikkei 225 data for the March 2024 rebalance is a wrap. The names are the same as before but there is likely less <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/disco-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15817:1" rel="noopener">DISCO Corp (6146 JP)</a> to buy.</li>
<li>It's still big, but smaller than before because of the difference between performance and the change in PAF required to be below 1%. A 4:1 share split would be optimal.</li>
<li>I recommend a few positioning changes from before, and the Fast Retailing trade loses one short-term option but the longer-term one stays in place.</li>
</ul>


The Nikkei 225 data for the March 2024 rebalance is a wrap. The names are the same as before but there is likely less DISCO Corp (6146 JP) to buy.
It's still big, but smaller than before because of the difference between performance and the change in PAF required to be below 1%. A 4:1 share split would be optimal.
I recommend a few positioning changes from before, and the Fast Retailing trade loses one short-term option but the longer-term one stays in place.


FINAL PREDICTIONS: March 2024 Nikkei 225 Rebal (Socionext, Disco, and 1 Consumer Goods Stock to ADD)

Japan

LY Corporation operates as an internet search engine "Yahoo! JAPAN". The Company provides electronic commerce and settlement finance services for small medium enterprises and individuals. LY also operates media business including search linked advertising and display advertising services.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
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LY (4689 JP)

Mar24 Nikkei 225 Rebal: Zozo (3092) And Other ADDs Update

The Mar24 N225 rebal has 5 days to run. So far, 3 of 4 stocks ADDed or UPweighted are up vs N225. DELETEs are down. There is a big funding sell....

Travis Lundy

KDDI and Lawson: Building an Ecosystem from a Base of Loyalty Points

KDDI's acquisition of 50% of Lawson is probably a strategic move towards building an ecosystem to compete with Rakuten and LY, using loyalty...

Michael Causton

E-Commerce in Japan: Omnichannel Consolidation

E-commerce growth in Japan remains strong post-Covid, set to overtake convenience stores by 2025-26, with omnichannel model becoming dominant for...

Michael Causton

[Blue Lotus Daily - TMT Update]: 700 HK/1810 HK/BIDU/JD/BABA/PDD/1024 HK/3690 HK/WB/4689JP/4755JP

Google's Gemma is an important move for client-side AI; Douyin shifts focus away from takeout; and Temu gains popularity in Japan.

Blue Lotus Research Institute

FINAL PREDICTIONS: March 2024 Nikkei 225 Rebal (Socionext, Disco, and 1 Consumer Goods Stock to ADD)

The announcement will come out in <3 weeks. Since I published, we have an update that Yanai-san sold Fast Retailing shares, Nitori jumped 8% on...

Travis Lundy

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Mar24 Nikkei 225 Rebal: Zozo (3092) And Other ADDs Update

The Mar24 N225 rebal has 5 days to run. So far, 3 of 4 stocks ADDed or UPweighted are up vs N225. DELETEs are down. There is a big funding sell....

Travis Lundy

KDDI and Lawson: Building an Ecosystem from a Base of Loyalty Points

​KDDI's acquisition of 50% of Lawson is probably a strategic move towards building an ecosystem to compete with Rakuten and LY, using loyalty...

Michael Causton

E-Commerce in Japan: Omnichannel Consolidation

​E-commerce growth in Japan remains strong post-Covid, set to overtake convenience stores by 2025-26, with omnichannel model becoming dominant for...

Michael Causton

[Blue Lotus Daily - TMT Update]: 700 HK/1810 HK/BIDU/JD/BABA/PDD/1024 HK/3690 HK/WB/4689JP/4755JP

​Google's Gemma is an important move for client-side AI; Douyin shifts focus away from takeout; and Temu gains popularity in Japan.

Blue Lotus Research Institute

FINAL PREDICTIONS: March 2024 Nikkei 225 Rebal (Socionext, Disco, and 1 Consumer Goods Stock to ADD)

The announcement will come out in <3 weeks. Since I published, we have an update that Yanai-san sold Fast Retailing shares, Nitori jumped 8% on...

Travis Lundy

KDDI's acquisition of 50% of Lawson is probably a strategic move towards building an ecosystem to compete with Rakuten and LY, using loyalty...

E-commerce growth in Japan remains strong post-Covid, set to overtake convenience stores by 2025-26, with omnichannel model becoming dominant for...

Google's Gemma is an important move for client-side AI; Douyin shifts focus away from takeout; and Temu gains popularity in Japan.