Lawson marks 50 years since 1st store opening
Lawson Inc. has evolved into a major convenience store chain over the past 50 years since opening its first store in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, in June 1975.
The Tokyo-based company had 14,658 stores in the country and 7,548 overseas as of the end of May, driven by the consistent pursuit of convenience.
"We would like to continue to take on various challenges, keeping in mind the spirit of challenge we had back then," Lawson President and CEO Sadanobu Takemasu said on Thursday at a celebration ceremony held at the first store in Sakurazuka.
Lawson, known for its distinctive store signboard featuring a white milk churn, was founded in 1975 as a subsidiary of the supermarket chain Daiei Inc. The parent company later changed to trading house Mitsubishi Corp. after Daiei plunged into a financial crisis.
The convenience store chain last year switched to a joint venture between Mitsubishi and KDDI Corp., a telecommunications company, and went private.
Lawson has created many hit products. "Kara-age-kun," or fried chicken nuggets, has been served more than 4.5 billion times since its release in 1986. Premium Roll Cake, launched in 2009, is known as a pioneer of convenience store sweets.
The company has improved its services, offering restrooms for customers and installing mailboxes at its stores.
In recent years, Lawson has focused more on addressing social problems to carve out new roles in a steadily ageing society. It has been opening new stores even in depopulated areas and promoting "Lawson Town," which features delivery by drone as well as medical and nursing services.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
