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

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

Kobe Bussan: The Booming ‘Pro Supermarket’ Discounter Beloved by Japanese Consumers

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

<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kobe-bussan-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4701:1" rel="noopener">Kobe Bussan (3038 JP)</a>, one of the best performers among Japanese retail stocks in the last two years, owns and manages Gyomu Super, progenitor of the successful – and only – new supermarket chain of the past 20 years.</p>
<p>But Kobe Bussan makes most of its money from food wholesaling and sees only so much scope for discount supermarkets moving forward, so the Hyogo-based company is looking to diversify into restaurants to further expand its food supply business.</p>

Kobe Bussan (3038 JP), one of the best performers among Japanese retail stocks in the last two years, owns and manages Gyomu Super, progenitor of the successful – and only – new supermarket chain of the past 20 years.
But Kobe Bussan makes most of its money from food wholesaling and sees only so much scope for discount supermarkets moving forward, so the Hyogo-based company is looking to diversify into restaurants to further expand its food supply business.

Kobe Bussan Plans Diversification Beyond Supermarkets