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

Workman to Open in Ginza, Launches Workman Shoes and More Suits

Workman Plans 400 Workman Joshi Stores as It Expands Share of Consumer Market

Japan's Retail Star: Workman Thrives in Crisis

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

We have been bullish about <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/workman-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8467:1" rel="noopener">Workman Co Ltd (7564 JP)</a> since 2017 and since then the share price has surged from ¥1,600 to more than ¥10,000 before declining from late last year.Workman continues its relentless expansion and plans to reduce the number of its original Workman stores to just 200 while investing heavily in its consumer-oriented chain, including its new Joshi format targeting women.Thanks to the new product lines and focus on consumers, same-store sales rose 14.2% last year, a remarkable achievement at any time let alone in a pandemic – per customer sales only rose 0.3% but footfall jumped 13.8%. This is not a fluke – in the last five years, the average daily number of customers to Workman stores has increased from 107 to 166.The outdoor and workwear retailer remains a solid long-term bet and with the share price well off its peak with a possible further fall in the short-term, long-term investors may find a good opportunity to buy in.

We have been bullish about Workman Co Ltd (7564 JP) since 2017 and since then the share price has surged from ¥1,600 to more than ¥10,000 before declining from late last year.Workman continues its relentless expansion and plans to reduce the number of its original Workman stores to just 200 while investing heavily in its consumer-oriented chain, including its new Joshi format targeting women.Thanks to the new product lines and focus on consumers, same-store sales rose 14.2% last year, a remarkable achievement at any time let alone in a pandemic – per customer sales only rose 0.3% but footfall jumped 13.8%. This is not a fluke – in the last five years, the average daily number of customers to Workman stores has increased from 107 to 166.The outdoor and workwear retailer remains a solid long-term bet and with the share price well off its peak with a possible further fall in the short-term, long-term investors may find a good opportunity to buy in.

Workman Co Ltd

Workman Targets 1,500 Stores