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. 

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<p><strong>The following is an in-depth review of the retail sector by format with a brief overview of incomes and consumption trends and metrics before that. For any investor looking at the Japanese consumer/retail space, this insight will provide a rapid overview of all the major trends.</strong></p><p>2020 was a year to remember, although not for good reasons. While the news was overwhelmingly negative given the devastation that the pandemic caused to so many lives, for Japan as a country the experience could become a catalyst to spur positive change.</p><p>No matter how much we might never wish to repeat the last 12 months, those governments and companies that learn from the experience will be better positioned whenever a new pandemic emerges.</p><p>Department stores, convenience stores, and most fashion chains had a horrible year as so many people stayed away from major shopping areas, but many other retailers actually had stellar years, with further upside still to come. </p>

The following is an in-depth review of the retail sector by format with a brief overview of incomes and consumption trends and metrics before that. For any investor looking at the Japanese consumer/retail space, this insight will provide a rapid overview of all the major trends.2020 was a year to remember, although not for good reasons. While the news was overwhelmingly negative given the devastation that the pandemic caused to so many lives, for Japan as a country the experience could become a catalyst to spur positive change.No matter how much we might never wish to repeat the last 12 months, those governments and companies that learn from the experience will be better positioned whenever a new pandemic emerges.Department stores, convenience stores, and most fashion chains had a horrible year as so many people stayed away from major shopping areas, but many other retailers actually had stellar years, with further upside still to come. 

Japan Retail Full Review 2020-2021: Some Retail Sectors Outperform in a Pandemic

<p>At least until the Covid-19 crisis hit Japan in January, the majority of retailers were gearing up to announce yet another really good year of financial results for FY2019-20.</p>
<p>Even with the crisis, results were generally better than for FY2018 – although there are big variations by sector.</p>
<p>Those differences are more or less what we’ve come to expect, with traditional formats like department stores continuing to struggle, while those formats that have adopted modern management are doing well.</p>
<p>The following is an in-depth review of Japan's retail sector, providing:</p>
<ul>
<li>An overview of consumer demand and retail performance</li>
<li>Format by format reviews showing growth and profit performance across all the main formats: convenience stores, supermarkets, GMS, consumer electronics, drugstores, homecentres, department stores, apparel, home and other specialty  formats.</li>
<li>Rankings:
<ul>
<li>Market share and size by sector/format</li>
<li>By sales for all retailers with sales over ¥250 billion</li>
<li>By gross and operating margins, split by format and category.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>As this is an in-depth insight, the review is split into two parts to make it easier to read.  This is Part II which provides snapshot reviews of each format/sector. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/the-japan-retail-review-winners-and-losers-in-japanese-retailing-part-i" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Part I, which provides a quick overview of all retailing, can be read here</a>.</p>

At least until the Covid-19 crisis hit Japan in January, the majority of retailers were gearing up to announce yet another really good year of financial results for FY2019-20.
Even with the crisis, results were generally better than for FY2018 – although there are big variations by sector.
Those differences are more or less what we’ve come to expect, with traditional formats like department stores continuing to struggle, while those formats that have adopted modern management are doing well.
The following is an in-depth review of Japan's retail sector, providing:

An overview of consumer demand and retail performance
Format by format reviews showing growth and profit performance across all the main formats: convenience stores, supermarkets, GMS, consumer electronics, drugstores, homecentres, department stores, apparel, home and other specialty  formats.
Rankings:

Market share and size by sector/format
By sales for all retailers with sales over ¥250 billion
By gross and operating margins, split by format and category.



As this is an in-depth insight, the review is split into two parts to make it easier to read.  This is Part II which provides snapshot reviews of each format/sector. Part I, which provides a quick overview of all retailing, can be read here.

Japan Retail Review 2019-20 Part II: A Sector by Sector Review of Winners and Losers

'Quantamental' Japan Specialist, LightStream Research

Campbell Gunn

'Quantamental' Japan Specialist

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

<div>
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/144/786/original/2020-07-08_06-33-57.png?1594157660" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="144786"></figure><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/144/788/original/2020-07-08_06-35-53.png?1594157763" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="144788"></figure><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/144/790/original/2020-07-08_06-48-56.png?1594158549" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="144790"></figure><div class="content-caption">Source • Japan Analytics</div>
<p><strong>DESTINATION BLUES</strong> - Destination malls are proving to be this century's department stores, for which COVID-19 has proved to be an unwelcome 'kicker', while turnover leases add volatility to the mix. The foreign shareholder ratio and the Relative Price Score both peaked in 2014, despite the 455 increase in operating profits in the last five years. The revised profit target of ¥30 billion is less than that achieved in FY2008 when revenues were one-third current levels.  Residual returns have been negative since FY2019-Q2; our model suggests the shares are still overvalued at 0.82x book.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>DAILY STATS</strong></p>
</div><hr><div><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>14 Quarterly Results</strong></p></div><div><ul>
<li>
<strong>Results Score</strong>: 6 Positive / 1 Neutral / 7 Negative</li>
<li>
<strong>Average Results Score Change:</strong>-0.6</li>
<li>
<strong>Average % Change in Revenue:</strong> -3.7% Quarter YoY* / +1.4% Rolling TTM YoY</li>
<li>
<strong>Average Operating Profit Margin Change:</strong> -2.4ppt</li>
</ul></div><hr><div><p style="text-align: center;"><br><strong>8 Annual • 7 Interim Forecasts/Revisions</strong></p></div><div><ul>
<li>
<strong>Annual Forecast/Revision Score:</strong> 4 Positive / 1 Neutral / 3 Negative</li>
<li>
<strong>Interim Forecast/Revision Score Change:</strong> 2 Positive / 1 Neutral / 3 Negative</li>
<li>
<strong>Average Forecast/Revision Score Change:</strong> -5.9</li>
</ul></div>


Source • Japan Analytics
DESTINATION BLUES - Destination malls are proving to be this century's department stores, for which COVID-19 has proved to be an unwelcome 'kicker', while turnover leases add volatility to the mix. The foreign shareholder ratio and the Relative Price Score both peaked in 2014, despite the 455 increase in operating profits in the last five years. The revised profit target of ¥30 billion is less than that achieved in FY2008 when revenues were one-third current levels.  Residual returns have been negative since FY2019-Q2; our model suggests the shares are still overvalued at 0.82x book.
DAILY STATS
14 Quarterly Results

Results Score: 6 Positive / 1 Neutral / 7 Negative

Average Results Score Change:-0.6

Average % Change in Revenue: -3.7% Quarter YoY* / +1.4% Rolling TTM YoY

Average Operating Profit Margin Change: -2.4ppt
 8 Annual • 7 Interim Forecasts/Revisions

Annual Forecast/Revision Score: 4 Positive / 1 Neutral / 3 Negative

Interim Forecast/Revision Score Change: 2 Positive / 1 Neutral / 3 Negative

Average Forecast/Revision Score Change: -5.9


🇯🇵 JAPAN • Results & Revisions 7th July - Aeon Mauled

Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

<p style="text-align: justify;">The global rally appears to be losing steam as the bearish rising wedge patterns we highlighted last week in the MSCI ACWI, ACWI ex-US, EM, and EAFE indexes ended up breaking down. Additionally, the aforementioned indexes and major indexes in Europe, Japan, and Hong Kong have been unable to break above longer-term resistance. While we believe global equities remain vulnerable to a pullback, some near-term consolidation is another possibility. For now we believe some consolidation makes sense as we remain in a sort of wait-and-see period as it relates to what will happen as countries and states aim to re-open.</p>

The global rally appears to be losing steam as the bearish rising wedge patterns we highlighted last week in the MSCI ACWI, ACWI ex-US, EM, and EAFE indexes ended up breaking down. Additionally, the aforementioned indexes and major indexes in Europe, Japan, and Hong Kong have been unable to break above longer-term resistance. While we believe global equities remain vulnerable to a pullback, some near-term consolidation is another possibility. For now we believe some consolidation makes sense as we remain in a sort of wait-and-see period as it relates to what will happen as countries and states aim to re-open.

Global Equity Rally Losing Upside Momentum

ja research

ja research is an independent research platform focused exclusively on Japanese equities. Leveraging data and graphic analysis provided by Japan Analytics, we provide insights on small and medium-sized companies that have been ignored by the sell-side as well as challenging conventional wisdom on larger companies. We also offer analyst and corporate access, the latter with translation if required. 

Quantitative Analysis

<div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>• RELATIVE PRICE SCORE - COMPANIES •</strong></p>
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/110/839/original/2019-12-17_10-16-56.png?1576545466" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="110839"></figure><div class="content-caption">Source: Japan Analytics</div>
<p><strong>COMPANY RELATIVE PRICE SCORE OUTLIERS </strong>- The Relative Price Score (RPS) is a measure of price performance relative to TOPIX calculated by comparing the current deviation with the mean absolute deviation of monthly and daily relative share prices over the last 28 years and 24 months, respectively. As all companies are put on a comparable scale, 'Overbought' and 'Oversold' outliers and short-term changes in scoring can reveal attractive trading opportunities. Company outlier thresholds are set at +4 &amp; -2 and equate to the top and bottom first-to-second percentiles of historical observations from which mean reversion takes a matter of months. </p>
</div><div><div><p>Following on from our previous Insight <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/japan-december-sector-peer-group-relative-price-scores-from-defensives-to-cylicals" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:35266" rel="noopener">December Sector &amp; Peer Group Relative Price Scores - From Defensives to Cylicals</a> which covered <strong>Sectors</strong> and <strong>Peer Groups</strong>, in the <strong>DETAIL</strong> section below, we update our list of Overbought and Oversold large-cap companies (market capitalisation over ¥100b) with the current <strong>Very Overbought</strong> (RPS&gt;5), <strong>Too-Late-To-Buy</strong> (RPS &gt;4.5) and <strong>Oversold</strong> (RPS &lt;-2) companies, as well as the largest positive and negative <strong>3-month Changes</strong> in RPS adding some stock-specific comments in each category.</p></div></div>


• RELATIVE PRICE SCORE - COMPANIES •
Source: Japan Analytics
COMPANY RELATIVE PRICE SCORE OUTLIERS - The Relative Price Score (RPS) is a measure of price performance relative to TOPIX calculated by comparing the current deviation with the mean absolute deviation of monthly and daily relative share prices over the last 28 years and 24 months, respectively. As all companies are put on a comparable scale, 'Overbought' and 'Oversold' outliers and short-term changes in scoring can reveal attractive trading opportunities. Company outlier thresholds are set at +4 &amp; -2 and equate to the top and bottom first-to-second percentiles of historical observations from which mean reversion takes a matter of months. 
Following on from our previous Insight December Sector &amp; Peer Group Relative Price Scores - From Defensives to Cylicals which covered Sectors and Peer Groups, in the DETAIL section below, we update our list of Overbought and Oversold large-cap companies (market capitalisation over ¥100b) with the current Very Overbought (RPS&gt;5), Too-Late-To-Buy (RPS &gt;4.5) and Oversold (RPS &lt;-2) companies, as well as the largest positive and negative 3-month Changes in RPS adding some stock-specific comments in each category.

🇯🇵 JAPAN • December Company Relative Price Scores - Opportunities in the Outliers

Japan

United Super Markets Holdings Inc is a holding company which was established through the integration of Kasumi Co., Maruetsu Inc, and MaxValu Kanto Co. The Company operates supermarkets, a retailing business, and manufactures, processes and imports the products.

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United Super Markets (3222 JP)

Japan Retail Full Review 2020-2021: Some Retail Sectors Outperform in a Pandemic

An in-depth update for investors in Japan's retail and consumer space on Japan's retail sector by retail type as well as a review of the impact of...

Michael Causton

Japan Retail Review 2019-20 Part II: A Sector by Sector Review of Winners and Losers

At least until the Covid-19 crisis hit Japan in January, the majority of retailers were gearing up to announce yet another really good year of...

Michael Causton

🇯🇵 JAPAN • Results & Revisions 7th July - Aeon Mauled

DESTINATION BLUES - Destination malls are proving to be this century's department stores, for which COVID-19 has proved to be an unwelcome...

Campbell Gunn

Global Equity Rally Losing Upside Momentum

The global rally appears to be losing steam as the bearish rising wedge patterns we highlighted last week in the MSCI ACWI, ACWI ex-US, EM, and...

Vermilion Research

🇯🇵 JAPAN • December Company Relative Price Scores - Opportunities in the Outliers

• RELATIVE PRICE SCORE - COMPANIES • COMPANY RELATIVE PRICE SCORE OUTLIERS - The Relative Price Score (RPS) is a measure of price performance...

Campbell Gunn

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