Also nothing new here or not unexpected. The Japanese convenience store industry needs to be more flexible.
Excerpts from the article; Comments, ideas, and analysis:
The man, in his 40s, is supposed to have just two late-night shifts -- from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. -- per week, but gets called in when part-time workers suddenly cancel shifts. As a result, he says, last week he did the late-night shift four times. He also has early-morning shifts from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. twice a week, and because he places the shop's orders, he's there every day.
He said that when he became a store owner in the 1990s, "part-time jobs at convenience stores were popular." But in the past few years, there haven't been any applicants coming in from job-search websites. Plus, in the 20 years that he's been in the job, he's taken off less than 10 days total.
Comments:
What can be said that basically hasn't been said the past year about the Japanese convenience store challenges. Here is an example of the problems with no part-time workers. Maybe companies can help the franchise owners with finding part-time help. Obviously the problem is those who want or need part-time jobs don't see convenience stores as a good part-time job like 20 years ago. Companies need to step in and provide more benefits and or flexibility to relieve the burden and stress of franchise owners. If not the convenience store crisis is going to get worse. Companies just can't have it one way. The convenience store industry has changed in Japan and the companies need to change too.
Excerpt:
A man in his 50s who in the summer of 2019 closed down the Lawson convenience store he'd been operating in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, said, "For six years from the moment we started business, the only time I took a day off was for a relative's wedding. But even though I worked so hard, I couldn't make ends meet."
When he first opened, he was told by Lawson headquarters that he could expect sales of about 450,000 yen per month. But his store was not close to any train stations, and only raked in a little under 300,000 yen per month. To try to cut labor costs, he and his wife took turns working at the store, but things did not improve. Now he works as a security guard. "I make even less than before, but at least I have time off," he said. "I can live like a human being."
Comments:
What a sad situation! If this is true, what has become of Japan? Yes I'm sure its in many industries but why? Are convenience store companies so greedy, that they can't be flexible enough to offer better working plans and conditions for franchise owners. A very sad situation.
But this is also happening in South Korea too. I hate the word retirement, so lets use the word a second career instead. In South Korea, coffee shops, convenience stores, and fried chicken shops were the preferred second career jobs, but you see the same greedy attitudes among companies as maybe we see in Japan.
Does it have to be this way?
Excerpt:
According to a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) survey of convenience store owners nationwide in August 2019, 29% of respondents said they work in their stores for at least 12 hours per day, and 66% said they had less than one day off per week. The industry practice of operating 24-hour convenience stores which enable owners neither to make a comfortable living nor to take sufficient time off is beginning to meet its limitations.
The convenience store industry has developed with the times. Since the first 7-Eleven store opened in Tokyo in 1974, seven major convenience store companies now operate over 55,000 outlets domestically. Their combined annual sales come to over 11 trillion yen.
The convenience store business model of handling everyday needs such as the payment of public utility charges and shipping of packages has for a long time made them "winners" -- according to METI -- when compared to other retailers such as department stores and supermarkets.
Comments:
The convenience store model of course grew out of the needs of society, which is not a bad thing, as companies see an need and try to fill that need in the marketplace and in society. But markets changes and societies change.
Also the idea of working 12 hours a day, while common maybe 20 years and more ago, has grown out of favor, even among convenience store franchise owners.
Perhaps the public really doesn't need stores to be open 24 hours a day in most locations. And or be flexible with maybe just weekends only being open 24 hours a day, ２４時間、as some days close at midnight and a few days only, say Friday, Saturday only open 24 hours.
How long can the current convenience store model sustain itself before it begins to implode with needed changes?
Excerpt:
The environment, however, changed. The domestic population began to fall. In 2019, convenience store numbers declined for the first time since 2005, when records began. Sales per store have plateaued. At the same time, labor costs have cut into stores' earnings as hourly wages for part-time workers continue to rise.
The issues are caused by the chain stores' structures: individual shops must pay royalties to headquarters based on gross profit, which is the original cost of the products subtracted from the sales amounts. Stores must then allocate money for labor, utility, and product disposal costs from the remaining funds.
The more a store makes, the more money flows into headquarters. But consequently, operational expenses rise too. It is the individual shops' attempts to cut back on outlays as much as possible while headquarters single-mindedly pursue greater sales that creates the strained situation for store owners.
Comments:
Convenience store companies need to find a more flexible model to operate in the future. Yes convenience stores in Japan are a major success, for companies and very convenient for customers, but not so now for franchise owners. Companies need to find a more flexible working model that keeps customers happy, allows franchise owners to have a "real life" and not have to work 12 hour days just to survive. The 21st century here and a new 21st convenience store model in Japan is now needed.
© 2020, Tom Metts, all rights reserved
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