Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Tsuruha and Welcia are on the road to a merger, where Tsuruha takes over Welcia but Aeon ends up owning "more than 50% but less than 51%" of Tsuruha.</li>
<li>The Price Ratio is now 4.24x. Trailing EPS ratios is &gt;5. Forward EPS ratios are further above 5. BVPS ratio? Near 5. Welcia grows storecount. Tsuruha makes more money/store.</li>
<li>Tsuruha changed its FY-end to match that of Welcia/Aeon so both will report earnings/guidance in just over 3 weeks. That will likely influence the ratio.</li>
</ul>


Tsuruha and Welcia are on the road to a merger, where Tsuruha takes over Welcia but Aeon ends up owning "more than 50% but less than 51%" of Tsuruha.
The Price Ratio is now 4.24x. Trailing EPS ratios is &gt;5. Forward EPS ratios are further above 5. BVPS ratio? Near 5. Welcia grows storecount. Tsuruha makes more money/store.
Tsuruha changed its FY-end to match that of Welcia/Aeon so both will report earnings/guidance in just over 3 weeks. That will likely influence the ratio.


Tsuruha (3391) - Welcia (3141) - Tsuruha Earnings In a Week - Still Good To Be Long The Ratio

<ul>
<li>The drugstore space in Japan is super-interesting. The stories, the mergers, the activists. And of course, the defence against activists.</li>
<li>In Feb-2024, Aeon did a deal with an activist to cause a future deal between Tsuruha and Welcia. Aeon also owns a stake in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kusuri-no-aoki-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27329:1" rel="noopener">Kusuri no Aoki Holdings (3549 JP)</a>. </li>
<li>The Aoki brothers (CEO and VP) exercised warrants in August and re-arranged their holdings. Now the family owns 34.7%. Today, after Q1 earnings, the company announced a 5+% buyback.</li>
</ul>


The drugstore space in Japan is super-interesting. The stories, the mergers, the activists. And of course, the defence against activists.
In Feb-2024, Aeon did a deal with an activist to cause a future deal between Tsuruha and Welcia. Aeon also owns a stake in Kusuri no Aoki Holdings (3549 JP). 
The Aoki brothers (CEO and VP) exercised warrants in August and re-arranged their holdings. Now the family owns 34.7%. Today, after Q1 earnings, the company announced a 5+% buyback.


Kusuri No Aoki (3549) Big Buyback - Accretive, And May Involve Musical Shares

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. 

<ul>
<li>Zozo-Owned Yutori has just acquired a womenswear brand and plans a series of acquisitions, with ambitions to become the Zozo of the younger generation.</li>
<li>So far, it has grown very fast on the back of strong support from Japan's youth looking for street fashion but this latest move will reach into new segments.</li>
<li>Unlike Zozo, Yutori is investing in a chain of stores which have helped push awareness and sales and is the right strategy for Japan's store-addicted consumers.</li>
</ul>


Zozo-Owned Yutori has just acquired a womenswear brand and plans a series of acquisitions, with ambitions to become the Zozo of the younger generation.
So far, it has grown very fast on the back of strong support from Japan's youth looking for street fashion but this latest move will reach into new segments.
Unlike Zozo, Yutori is investing in a chain of stores which have helped push awareness and sales and is the right strategy for Japan's store-addicted consumers.


Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Last week in Japan's retail sector: continued weakness in shopping mall development due to both falling demand from tenants and competition from online.</li>
<li>Don Quijote operator, Pan Pacific posted strong results, reflecting high demand from both locals looking for value and tourists browsing for fun.</li>
<li>The retail sector had a record year in FY23, but a big constraint is the labour shortage but, with many fit older Japanese, some employees are now over 80. </li>
</ul>


Last week in Japan's retail sector: continued weakness in shopping mall development due to both falling demand from tenants and competition from online.
Don Quijote operator, Pan Pacific posted strong results, reflecting high demand from both locals looking for value and tourists browsing for fun.
The retail sector had a record year in FY23, but a big constraint is the labour shortage but, with many fit older Japanese, some employees are now over 80. 


Japan's Retail Week: New Malls Slow, Lawson/Muji Get Closer, Donki Booms and Jobs for the over 80s

<ul>
<li>Japan's drugstore sector is in the midst of consolidation through organic expansion and M&amp;A but who are the leaders and how do they compare?</li>
<li>We provide snapshot profiles on each of the key players, their current strategies and future outlook.</li>
<li>With the sector increasingly threatening the supermarket and convenience store sectors, many of these names will come to dominate Japanese retailing in the next decade.</li>
</ul>


Japan's drugstore sector is in the midst of consolidation through organic expansion and M&amp;A but who are the leaders and how do they compare?
We provide snapshot profiles on each of the key players, their current strategies and future outlook.
With the sector increasingly threatening the supermarket and convenience store sectors, many of these names will come to dominate Japanese retailing in the next decade.


Japan

MatsukiyoCocokara & Co. operates drug store chains. The Company retails medicines, cosmetics, health foods, beauty care products, and other products. MatsukiyoCocokara & also operates supermarkets and home centers.

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52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
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MatsukiyoCocokara (3088 JP)

Tsuruha (3391) - Welcia (3141) - Tsuruha Earnings In a Week - Still Good To Be Long The Ratio

The Tsuruha/Welcia trade is a good-looking "guess the ratio" trade because Tsuruha wins on PBR, PER, forward PER, etc. The price ratio should be...

Travis Lundy

Kusuri No Aoki (3549) Big Buyback - Accretive, And May Involve Musical Shares

Activist-pressured Kusuri no Aoki reports Q1 earnings and a 5+% buyback. The seller could be a cross-holder after the Aoki brothers upped their...

Travis Lundy

Yutori Expands Through M&A Too

Yutori, owned by Zozo, aims to become the Zozo of the younger generation by acquiring a womenswear brand and planning further M&A to reach new...

Michael Causton

Japan's Retail Week: New Malls Slow, Lawson/Muji Get Closer, Donki Booms and Jobs for the over 80s

Japan's retail sector in the last week: Shopping mall development slows, Don Quijote operator Pan Pacific sees strong demand from locals and...

Michael Causton

Leaders of Japan's Drugstore Sector

Japan's drugstore sector is consolidating through organic growth and M&A, with key players poised to dominate retailing in the next decade. But...

Michael Causton

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Tsuruha (3391) - Welcia (3141) - Tsuruha Earnings In a Week - Still Good To Be Long The Ratio

The Tsuruha/Welcia trade is a good-looking "guess the ratio" trade because Tsuruha wins on PBR, PER, forward PER, etc. The price ratio should be...

Travis Lundy

Kusuri No Aoki (3549) Big Buyback - Accretive, And May Involve Musical Shares

Activist-pressured Kusuri no Aoki reports Q1 earnings and a 5+% buyback. The seller could be a cross-holder after the Aoki brothers upped their...

Travis Lundy

Yutori Expands Through M&A Too

​Yutori, owned by Zozo, aims to become the Zozo of the younger generation by acquiring a womenswear brand and planning further M&A to reach new...

Michael Causton

Japan's Retail Week: New Malls Slow, Lawson/Muji Get Closer, Donki Booms and Jobs for the over 80s

Japan's retail sector in the last week: Shopping mall development slows, Don Quijote operator Pan Pacific sees strong demand from locals and...

Michael Causton

Leaders of Japan's Drugstore Sector

​Japan's drugstore sector is consolidating through organic growth and M&A, with key players poised to dominate retailing in the next decade. But...

Michael Causton

Yutori, owned by Zozo, aims to become the Zozo of the younger generation by acquiring a womenswear brand and planning further M&A to reach new...

Japan's drugstore sector is consolidating through organic growth and M&A, with key players poised to dominate retailing in the next decade. But...