Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets, JapanConsuming

Michael Causton

Michael is co-founder and partner at 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 and seminars on retail sectors and consumer trends, as well as telephone consulting/meetings with investors. 

All of JapanConsuming's team are bilingual and bi-cultural, and the company's research sources are:

Direct meetings with retailers, wholesalers, distributors, trade body staff, govt., marketing firms, academics etc.
Govt. data
Trade association data
Trade Press across all consumer sectors
Unique Network of buyers/managers/marketing staff at retail, as well as wholesalers and trading firms.
Editors/Journalists at publishing houses and PR/Ad firms.


JapanConsuming was founded by Michael Causton and Roy Larke. 

Michael Causton set up and ran a consumer distribution business in Tokyo for 10 years and developed this into a business responsible for annual imports to Japan of several billion Yen, at the same time building up an inside knowledge of how Japanese distribution works and developing a network of contacts across the industry. Seeing the lack of quality market intelligence on Japanese markets, he co-founded JapanConsuming in 2000. He divides his time between Japan and Europe/US consulting for companies, governments and investors, including providing talks, seminars, and webinars as well as writing reports and books.

Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets

Japanese Supermarket Consolidation Likely and Soon

Izumi and Seven & I Join Forces to Foil Aeon

Seven & I Domestic C-Stores Poised for Accelerated Growth

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

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/3" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3:1">Aeon (8267 JP)</a> will radically restructure its entire supermarket operation over the next 18 months, merging 14 chains into the same seven regional administrations set up to run its GMS (General Merchandise Store) chains.
The move has been a long time coming and will lead to further integration and rationalisation of Aeon’s many supermarket subsidiaries.
The group is expecting an immediate, positive impact on profits, and this is probable given similar improvements in profitability following rationalisation at its biggest supermarket operation, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/26107" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26107:1">United Super Markets (3222 JP)</a>.
At the same time, Aeon – which is essentially an agglomeration of acquisitions – continues to buy regional businesses in order to consolidate its already large share of food and drugstore retailing. It bought a stake in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/11419" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11419:1">Fuji Co Ltd (8278 JP)</a>, a major retailer in Shikoku, and indirectly, in Masaya, a drugstore chain in Okayama.

Aeon (8267 JP) will radically restructure its entire supermarket operation over the next 18 months, merging 14 chains into the same seven regional administrations set up to run its GMS (General Merchandise Store) chains.
The move has been a long time coming and will lead to further integration and rationalisation of Aeon’s many supermarket subsidiaries.
The group is expecting an immediate, positive impact on profits, and this is probable given similar improvements in profitability following rationalisation at its biggest supermarket operation, United Super Markets (3222 JP).
At the same time, Aeon – which is essentially an agglomeration of acquisitions – continues to buy regional businesses in order to consolidate its already large share of food and drugstore retailing. It bought a stake in Fuji Co Ltd (8278 JP), a major retailer in Shikoku, and indirectly, in Masaya, a drugstore chain in Okayama.

Aeon: Major Overhaul of Supermarkets, Ties with Fuji (8278)

Aeon Co Ltd

Aeon: Major Overhaul of Supermarkets, Ties with Fuji (8278)