No.se The Case Study oi' Retail Buyii}g
Orgaiiizatiei} in Japai}ese Centex￡
Hajime Itol}
Marcl} 2001
Department of Commerce Otaru URiversity of Commerce
Thc Case S重鷲dy of Reta三韮B鷲ying Orga痴za｛ioa i無5aPaucse Co瓢cx｛
一Cas￠S｛1葦dy o盤Locai Reねiler董a Hokkaido＿
1｛aji】ユ】c Itoh
地方の小売企業の組織についてヒアリングを主に実施した。意図は大手小売業では 本部（本社）購買が行われているがそこで行われた購買条件（数量、納期）が実際に地方・
地区本部でも契約が履行されていない。それは企業によって格差はあるが、中央集権的な 購買が実施されていない実例が存在する。そこで大手小売業の本部バイやへの調査だけでは 本来の購買活動、組織と機能を解明できない可能性がある。そこで地方の小売企業への購 買活動についての調査を実施した（対象企業：北雄ラッキー、ラルズ、マイカル北海道、
セイコーマート）。結果、商繍探索に専業化しているバイヤー業務、日常のルーティーンワー クをこなしているバイや業務、さらに店舗へのアドバイスを通じ店舗情報収集し店舗と購買 を結ぶ業務の3つにわかれる活動がある。このような購買組織と機能がでているかを確認
した。しかしながら分業化した購買は行われていないケースが主であった。ただし、ヒア リングの申でこれらの分業化が必要であるとの認識があることが解明された。メーカの営 業の対応や商吊の昂ぞろいの多さから大手小売業と地方小売業では対応が異なることも予 想される。
1 ‑‑ Raluse Corporation
Raluse Coscporat±on is the top local supermarket in Hokkaido. Recently, the rtym has expanded its operations by opening stores in the Obihixo and the Nakasorachl region$.
using thacee key slogans, Raluse dontinues to pxopose the idea of a relaxed, coratfortable lifestyle in the north of Japan.
<Note: Hokkaido ±s known for havlng a lower cost of living and more land aacea.) The two slogans are "New Hokkaido Price" and
"Evolution". [ehe iinpact oE these slogans ±s: to provide the treshest ￡ood in Hokkaido at the cheapest price, to throw off past pucactice$ and successest and to evolve into a totally new business entity to better survive in an extremely competitive business envtronment. Raluse believes that the stxongest store$ are those that receive more support trom its customeis.
1.2 General Overview
Raluse Corporation was found on 28 October 1963.
The cuMrent President/CEO is Mr. Kayoshi Yokoyama. As of 31$e August 1998, the Raluse rcetail chain had capital yesexves of 3,256,28O,OOO JPY (appMoximately 3.26 bUlion), and, including partneremployeesterapioyed3,652people. Raiuse'safrtUated companies are: Doutou Raluse (Eastescn Hokkaido> Corpovatlon,
Douhoku (Northeyn Hokka±do) Raluse Corporation, ELDY Corcporcation, Ltreport Corpoacationr and !wal Corporation.
Additionally, in Hokkaido, Raluse have 63 stores with names such as Raiuse Mart, Raluse Stoncer Raiuse Plazar Fletyt Bighouse, and Sun‑Value.
Table 1 Performance of Raluse
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
SALES(IMILLIONJPY) '61517' 67,367 72,805 81203' 84,559 PROFIT(IMILLIONJPY) 1,589 2,198 2,767 2,949 3,410
EMPLOYEES 1,963 2,032 2p133 2,483 2,867
Souacce: Company Accounts
1.2 Buying System
Raluse's tfood pModuct department is divided into a fxesh food group and a dry food gucoup. In the tresh food group there are four buyers foy vegetables and tfxuit, thyee buyers for seafood (￡re$h ￡±sh), one buyer ￡or delicatessen, two buyers
tfoy meat, and one buyer each for non‑food and snacks and confectionery. Assistant buyers are under the buyers. Frora a work standpoint everyone is equal and each buyer (including assistant buyers> has indepeRdent authority and ±s yesponsible for their own pscoduct category. Currentlyt most buyers have 5‑8 years of expenience; the most senior buyeac has 13 yeaxs experience. The nuinber o￡ SKU (stock keeping units) a buyer is responsible varies by product area. Buyers ±n the ￡resh tish dalvision aye yespon$ible ￡or 1500‑1800 SKU per yearc or 120 SKU
pey week. Buye]rs in the vegetable a"d Erutt division aye responsible ioac 2000 SKIJ pe]r year, or 40 Eruit SKU and 120 vegetables SKU per week.
2.3 Buyer'$ Duties
At Raluser buyers are involved in product related activities, which include business negotiations, buying, seUing insturuction, sales pacomotion, and quality control.
For example, a buyer might ayrange four a cooking advisor to be at store once oy tw±ce a week. AU empleyees are tra±ned on the job and none have received edkication regarding supervising aRd buying. The buyer exara±nes both data and the store flooy.
wo gain infoscmation that is not avaUable ixom ePOS data, the buyeM often visits sinoyes. In this way, the buyer reduces the coggttunLcation gap between headquarters and storesr enabling
Raluse to quiekly grasp store ciaccumstances. The buyer has equal xesponsibUity fior pModuet buying and sales‑counter management because coRsumer intformation gleaned from sales counters ±s used as feedback to vaake more accurate buying decisxons.
My. Nakayaiaa explained, "Buyescs like to introduce (products) and do not l±ke to cutback. Seeing their preferred
productsbeingsoldistheaUuyeoiabuyer'swork. WhebuyeM's
objective is to thoucoughly inspect sales of purehased pscoducts.
Moreoveucr it is necessary to maintain a system of prcoduct introduction and cutback".
.1.4 Centrai buying
Although, in the buyex's decision making, suggestions trorn headquaMtey$ are given priortty and store managers also make suggestions to the product departmentt as a ruler buyeacs are totaUy responsible ￡osc purchasing. In the tresh food departwent, the actual probabUity that the storce manageuc's suggestions wUl be implemented is only 2g to 3rg. The buying procedure beg±ns each week with business negotiations with supplieys that decide price, product form, and volume.
Suppliers are chosen on both a weekly and monthiy basis. The supplier guarantees pacoduct quality and price at this stage.
Next, the order book is created. The order book is delivered to each storce managex. In accordance to the monthly product strategyr pacoducts that have been chosen ave noted. I￡ a store manager ordeacs a product and it is available in inventoacy,
shipment ean be raade at anytiiae. For ±nstancer as a summer product campaigA, the ordeac book might contain items used in Augustt such as BB9 yelated food, enabiing store managers to choose seasonal vaeychaAd±se. Buyeacs check order amovLnts vaade by store managers and can arb±trarUy uceduce or inerease amounts.
Foy instance, an oirder wa$ placed the (itay befo]re when the
￡oyecast was ierc sunny weathey; howevert the next day it acainsr and the buyerc is abMe to decncease the order to 80%. This sort ofi adjustment is rare, and ordering from each store is normally accepted as placed.
IR regarcd to rebuying, supplierc chaages asce not noymally made unless a pxocess±ng ndstake has occuxred. Affter doing bu$iness with a supplier for a time, it becomes appaacent ±ti they are a
reerit oy demerit to Raluse. When a supplieac that always deliveys high quality merchandise inakes a shipment of inferior goods, Raluse does not imaed±ately cut ties with them, but scathex takes raeasures to notify the supplier of the problem.
Raiuse asks that the suppl±er ntnd the cause of the problem and present product samples befoxe the next business Regotiation.
As Raluse is deal±ng with a lot oi potential supplieucs,
processing raistakes often rcesuit in the chaitging oti supplieecs.
1.5 Product Cutbacks
Sovae prcoducts arce reraoved at the end of a season but not in the wtddle oE a season. Products that xesult in sales of less than 300,OOe JPY are ettminated, but pxoducts that ￡air wel± with at least saies off 300,OOO JPY aace continued. Raiuse handles only nigher acanked sales items; therefore, it does not offerc items that result ±n neax zero saies. (In Ito Yokado's case, products that have zero sales for a period of 3‑4 weeks are eltwinated even in season>. In Raluse's general ￡ood department, one product is cut if another product is added.
This is due to a limitation in the numbenc of pucoducts allowed by the computenc system's master table.
1.6 Product Returns
Raluse does not return merchandise (unsoid product) because it feels that this practice encodes supplier confidence.
However, Raluse returns pxoducts that are a d±fferent size than ordered, oir if it recefuves inferiouc quality goods, such as fish that are split open. If a ndstake is made on Raluse's part and
an ovescage of product yesults, an ef8ort is made to sell the merchandise. Ifi the meychandise cannot be sold, Raluse takes responsibUity and ultimately this becomes the buye]r's error.
In the case of fuesh food, payment is made at the market 3 days afterc procuveraent; it is assumed that all firesh iood is sold.
Fyesh food ±s never returned.
1.7 Product Assortment and Planograra
Average pxofitability on each pyoduct is: vegetable and truit 18g, seafood 25%, meat 25rg, deUcatessen 38rg (coinponent acat±o 56ig of ali products). Delicatessen has a high pncotit compauced to its component xatio. Purchase ecat±os are vegetable 4rgr fruit O.3&t seafood O.8rg, meat O.7Z, and spices O.02g.
DaUy pecoducts that have a h±gh purcha$e frequency aye the cove items. $ales ratios axe fxesh food 41.2%, geneucal food (rice, tobacco) 46.8&, and clothing 112. The assumption is that vegetable aitd fruit brings in customers and proEits are made frora seaafood and meat.
Raluse classifies its pyoduct assortment in terms of price using ABC analysts and detencmines its component ncatio weekly. RaiusegivesprecedencetoandpZacestrorarankeditemsr howeveac it may replace B gyaded items with C items, which have more ontginality. The buyers' ability to gather infoacmation also plays an irnportant role in product assortment. Fosc example, if a buyer gets wind oE in￡orruation about rising carrot prtces
in April, he/she may txy to puichase carrots cheapiy from Australia aAd o￡Eer them at regularc prices.
Raluse's headguarters issues a guide for stoace Pianogramsr but recently, it has Roticed that some stores have become less observant. Most foUow the PlaRogram for merchandise like prcoduce osc vaeatr the sale of which can be easUy pscedicted.
However, which seafood is selling can quickly chafige; and each stoye has dif￡erent cycles so standard layout needs to be reviewed.
1.8 Product Nurturing and Business Direction
Raluse is not strong in product nurturing due to the lack
ofi aR avaUable budget. Until 1989, Raluse only carried
products with ntgh‑predicted sales. Even though a pscoduct was considered to have merit, if it did not pacoduce vesults, it was not considered good busines$. This strategy was the key to Raluse's success. Howeverr Raluse now $ees the necessity for pxoduct nurtuning. Foac example, due to the boom in Italian cookingr it is apparent that the change in consumer needs wUl resu±t in o±ive oil having the greatest gyowth among general products. In respoR$e, Raluse is expeMimenting with switching to suppliexs that deliver directly troia piroductlon aveas and by paying attention to ingredients used by famUy restaurants, such as chicory and papntka. IR addition, a Raluse department head called on employees to adopt a slogan of "One Grade Up"
in an e￡foyt to move a hatt‑step closer towards product nurturing; howevenc, due to lack of a cleayer explanation, this has met with dttficulty.
Raluse's futuye business direction alms to solve the problem ofi how to skip ±nte]Ktediar±es and switch to dixect delivery o￡ gsceengrcoceiry from producers. Of Raluse's
suppllers, 55g auce located in the eity of Sappouco and the
ncemaindeac (42Z‑45?) arce located outside of Sappoaco in arGas like Asahikawa and Otaru; Raluse plans to ±Rerease its percentage oi suppliers outside ofi Sappouco. Fuucthexmore, Raluse is considering the possibility of collaborating w±th advanced farmer co‑ops. Other efforts inciude the thorough management of pModuct quality to shrink pncoduct losses to 3% of pModuce, 42 of meat, aBd 5g oE seaiood.
.1.9 !nfemeation
Even though Ralu$e ls rated as a top company in Hokkaldo, the corapany lacks infoermat±on regarding newt pacocessedr and beverage pncoduct$. Major scetaUers like Ito Yokado, Daiei, and Seiyu acquire pucoduct infiormation three raonths in advance. New products do not reach yegional retaUers like Raluse untU aEteuc being sold by vaajor retaUers; pucoduct amounts axe also limited.
Raluse belongs to the CGC gyoup (a coopeyative buying oyganization). crhrough this organization Raluse not only obtains products inexpensively, but also xeceives iRforcmation about current populaac sales items thxoughout JapaR (Hokkaido to Kyushu).
Every weekr Ralu$e sends to its geneacal raanagers internal management data of stores' salesr compoitent ratior last year's
sales xatio, and last yeay's component ratio. General managers
raonitor purchasing uresults and evaluate buyeys' job
pei!rfoMvaances 'taking into account details $vtch as events
<pacoduct campa±gBs) and SKU.
2 Case Study 2 ‑ Lucky Corporation
An interview was conducted with both chief buyers and the managex of the meat a"d fish departuient at Lucky Corporation headquarters.
2.1 General Overview
Pucky Corporation was ffounded in 1982 when the Yamanote
Store (founded in 1962 as the Kiryu store in Yaiaanote, SappoMo‑city> merged w±th Marcusen (foymed ln 1958 in
B±ba±‑city). After the meacgey, the company name was changed toLuekyCorcporation. CenteringonSpecialitySupeucMatketsr
sitosces nurabers have been expanded aggscessively and affUiated coinpanies have been established. The Pncestdent / CEO is Mr.
Yasuo Kiryu. The company has capital of 520.3 million JPY. The total number oE full‑tivae employees ±s 528 (376 men and 152
women). Whe total number of paxt"ime employees is 206e.
Lucky's sales in 2000 weye 43,331 mUlion JPYr (55rg was genescated fyom Eresh food products) and these sales are inereasing every year. Lueky seUs mainly fresh food, general food,clothingtdailysundriesralcoholrandx±ce. Italsoowns a fast food chain; Lotteria. Lucky has 26 stouces in
Sappoxo‑city, oAe $tore each in OtaMur Chitose, Tomakomair Bohoror Engarur Kuriyagiar and 4 Lotteria ncestauMants making a total oi 36. Lucky's aftiliated companies ance Corporation Sapporo pre‑prepauced food CenteMr Lucky Food Coecponcation, and Corpoxation Appie.
Table 2 Perfo2rmance of Lucky
1998 1999 2000
Salcs(1millionJPY) 39245, 43,214 43,331
Profit(1millionjPY) 230 240 306
Employecs 522 525 528
Source: Company Accounts
2.2 Strategy forwayds buying
ln an e￡fort to provide guallty pncoducts to its customer's tables everyday, Lucky works directly with regional growers and procuMes its products with great care. To reduce distxibution costs aitd maintain product freshness and quality, Lucky has established a p=e‑pncepared ￡ood centre, a yefrigeration centre, and a del±veyy ceRtre. Lucky attaches great importance to MegSonal stores that have direct contact with customers and strives to of￡ey regioRally custoruized sales and services.
2.3 Buyers' Organizational Structure
Buyeys are assigned only to headguartencs and not to each stosce. In each departvaent, there is moye than one buyerc.
Buying job positions are (hrora the top) chief buyer, buyer, assistant buyer and buying trainee. The fresh food department has Eifteen buyers: four for vegetables and ffruit, two tfonc meat,
fouy for seafoodr two for delicatessen, one for snacks and bakeMyt and two for pye‑pucepared food. Whe number of SKU's each buyer is in chaucge of vaxies and is 320‑330 for exaraple foy seafood, and 380 fosc meat (120 o￡ which are processed products>.
The quantity purchased pex year is 4.5 bUlion JPY forc the seaEood department aRd 3.8 biUion JPY foac the iReat departraent.
Genexally speaking, buyers are not requiyed to have specialist expey±ence and iRany rotate betweeR departuients eveyy eighteen moAths. Coitsidering the ￡luctuations oti marcket prices and information, Lucky should assigR buyescs to departments for a longer period of t±me. However, the longer the experience ofi
a buyer, the move likeiy that his/herc thinking w±ll become in￡lexible and hislhey opiniQns biased.
At Lucky, a buyer's duties include not only the buying of goods, but also the roles oE supervisoac and distributor.
Buyers say their jobs aye difticult but worth doing because they receive d±rect feedback ffrova the $ales ofi pyoducts that they have chosen. Lucky's method of buytng differs fxom that of othesc companies. The f±xm creates "product specitications and
buylng staRdards" and headquarteucs only is buying and
inerchandising based on this standard. Some stores ±n remote areas 1±ke Bihoro have different pacoduct assortments that they buy themselves, but these products are choseR accoMdlng to standayds set by headquarters.
2.4 Product Policy
Lucky has iour ways oi looking at pxoducts in deteriRining their product strategies: "fast‑moving‑consumerc‑goods", "Want to seU goods", "product assortment goods", and "nurtured goods". "Fast‑moving‑consumer‑goods" have high sales; "STARS.
"want to sell goods " are pucoducts that generate high pro￡its
when sold. "Produet assortment goods" are pscoducts that
±mproveastoire'simage. "Nurturedgoods"arenewproductsthat are not seUlng weU yet. Buyeacs tend to favour nurtured
pacoducts' because they hope to sell them orc because they axe
expectedtoseliwellshortly. ffhestockingratioofthesemain
thrcee pscoduct type ±s approximatelyfiast‑‑vaoving‑consumer‑goods": 70gr "Want to sell goods":25*r
"product assortvaent goods":5g with iturtured goods occupying little space.
bucky has "prcoduct
stockingstandards. Buyeys a$sortment standayds" wh±ch set decide what goods to buy and stock
by considering the ratios ofi differeRt pyoduct types. Otherc things that are considered are last year's or last vaonth's sales data, events in stoyesr and clearcaRce sales inforcmation.
2.5 Product Delisting
Product delist±ng usually take place when a new product is acguired rathe]r than when a slow‑moving is eliminated.
Attributes otf deUsted pacoducts can be broadly eategorised ±nto two. One is that pucoducts such as groceries and clothing ance elindnated because oi the supplieir's inabUity to supply.
Second ±s that pyoducts such as processed pscoducts, beveMages and snacks are cut according to "sales voiume". Mo$t major retaUers have criteria foac cuttiRg pscoClucts aftex seveyal weeks o￡ zero sales, but Lucky does Rot always have any such
specirtc criteria. bucky evaluates agd pucedicts a product's value befonce delisting. They evaluate reason tfor poosc sales pe]rformance and try to ±mprove the pxoduct accondingly. bucky classifies factors creat±ng poor sales into seven categoyies:
pyoduct guality, poor display, too few ￡acings, regional chaucacteristics, wnong content amount, competitoac actionr and lack of advertisement by the suppliex.
2.6 Own Brands
Lucky has only ntve majosc own bacaRd items, aU ofi which axe related to Mongolian vautton barbecue. Lucky'$ reason ￡or this ±s that own byand ±tems ave difficult to cyeate because the Pb(Product nabUity) law makes the retailer yespon$ible while the iaanufacturers are responsible forc any problems with their bMands. A pyoblerft with own bMand pyoducts are that
cog{parced to other brands they have a cheaper image so high prices
cannot be set and mark‑‑ups are diCticult. Moreover, during
$peciaX sa±es, national buands a=e fftarked down aRd seU better than own brand due to theiy highex credibiUty.
2.7 Contact with Suppliers
Lucky evaiuates its potential suppliers through a comprehensive evaiuation that consideacs "prceliminary resea]rch", "the management policy otf supplier"r "future
outlook", and "buye]r opinioR". I,ucky penalizes suppl±ers that are "aU talk" and do not honour pncom±ses or de±iver on time.
BuUding txust is important.
Currently, retaUers have begun dealing directiy with the manufactureac instead of going thyough wholesalers. Howeverr to procure rae]rchaRdiser Lucky consults with manufacturcers and deals prcedominating with wholesalers. Lucky requests trom wholesalers not only intexmedia=y servicesr but also delivery, uMgent responsiveRess and a backup systei{t.
Lucky sharce$ ePOS data with and discloses information to
its suppliers to facilitate supplier cooperation w±th
merchaBdising. Buyey$ negotlate for ￡]resh Eood iR the public market. At least oRce a week, they also contact off‑raarket distributoys. Recently, mamafaetuxeys have aUied thernselves with pyoducers (￡ari{iers) due to the s±gnificant fluctuation of market prices. DeaUng directly with suppliers allows them to acguire rtxed price cond±tions. In opposltion to th±s trend, wholesalers asce trying to promote their own brands. Co‑op of Hokkaido SPF pouck is a good examp2e of this. In future, trading
companies with sufflcient capital will gain entry and off‑maMket tyansactions will grow. The mentt ot not going through the iaayket will be the stabitlzatioit in quality of pyoducts supplied. CurMently, Lucky deals directly with the
'raanutfactuucer' fonc 50g oE fiesh fish aRd 35rg off its greengyocery.
3 Case Study 3 ‑ SEXKO‑MART Coxporation
SEIKO‑‑}GARW executes a strategy that diffexentiate$ it incom otheac convenience stores and it aecounts forc a Iarge
portion ofi the convenience store mayket iR Hokkaido.
Xntercviews were conducted with My. Matsumoto of the Planning and Publie RelatioRs Division and Mr. Iwai, the Vice‑Director of the Product Departwent.
3.1 Overview of SEIKO‑MART Corporation
SEIKO‑MART was EouAded in June of 1974 by the current President/CEO, "Gx. Nagandtsu Nishio. Currently, SEIKO‑MARW has capital o￡ 420 iaUlion JPY and has 480 employees: 70g oE eiRployee$ are raale and 30Z asce fernale. The average age of eraployees is remarkably low with a total average age ofi 31.3 years. Avercage male age is 33.6r and aveucage femaie age is 26.5.
Manageruent is correspondingly young with the average age o￡ a department head being 39.4 years. Whe company takes advantage of the energy and creative abUity afforded by its young staff.
By January of 1998, SEIKO‑maRT had expanded its number ofi stores to a total otf leee, o￡ which 696 are located in Hokkaido and 304 are on the main island of Honshu. Many are ￡ranch±sed.
In Honshu, inrcoads have been rnade pacimarily in the pacefectuuces of Ibarcakir Saitamar Kyoto, Shiga and Hyogo. Average yearly sales peuc stosce werce 17e raUlion JPY, and total sales for iueraber
stores in ffokkaido reached U7 bUlion JPY. Five othe]r afstliated coinpanies organlcally stimulate SEIKO‑bqxRT's
uniqueharmoniousstyleofmanagement. Thefivecompaniesare:
SEIKO‑MART Fxe$h Foods Corcporation, SEIKO‑maR[V System Engineering Corporatlon, SEIKO‑MAR[r Seafood Products Coypoxation, SEIKO‑MARW Retail Service Coxporation, and
SEXKO‑IYUXRg] Inteunational Trading Corapany, L[VD.
Tabie 3 Performance of Seiko‑‑mart
1998 1999 2000
Sales(1millionJPY) 5604 6001 6626
Profit(1mMionJPY) 860 984 1234
Employees(atFranchiser) 236 287 285
SEIKO‑IY[ARre's busiRess policy of striving to constyuct a
consolidated distribution group has acesulted in an
organizational structuye that is eapable oi integrating and
systemizing the ￡unctioits oE: product acguisition, manufacturing, pscocessing, physical distributing, and
gathering infoscmation and sales. rehis integncated system g±ves SEZKO‑MART the ablMty to prcov±de high guality products at low prices whUe responding guickly to economic changes, also leading to stabilized eauaing power. To fuXly exploit this advantage SEIKO‑maR[e is putting considercable efEoxt into independently pianned own‑brand (ncetaU brand) pncoducts. In thls rcespeet, SEIKO‑MARW is maykedly different trom other convenience store chains; its management system is la±d out from start to tinish enabling it to bntng products trom developiuent through to inspection. Unlike some private bxands (double naiaGd byands that pyinted the manuEacturey brand and the ucetaUer bxand) where the inaitu￡aeturer's pncoduct label ±s merely changed and the product is put out for sale, SEIKO‑MARM's organizational structure equips it to discover and create its own pyoducts. [rhe Rumberr oE owR‑brand products has reached
appyoxiinately 200 items comprising 5rg of sales proceeds aRd 10Z of sales volume.
SEIKO‑MARW's in‑house develogment does not end with merchandise; it also extends to the rteld of inforraation. By acqu±ring vast arEtounts of product inioy!vtatlon, SEXKO‑MART's affiliated company, SE!KO‑MART System Engineering Coacporation, takes a pivota± role in perceiving consumer needs guickly and accurately. The original network system developed for this purpose makes it poss±bie for SEIKO‑MIXRur to ncespond flexibly and at low cost. Whe in‑house development of a ePOS systeva is also a good example off this.
In addition, SEIKO‑MAR[V Fyesh Foods Corpouration effectively utUizes this information for physical
distntbution; tt serves as the Iogistic base and ±s furn±shed with pucoduct management and delivery management systems. rohe
computer system $tores all work on backup fUes. This effectuates the optimisatioit of procurement and the
streamlining of the delivery system leading to extensive cost reductions.
In this way, SEIKO‑MART tyanscends the typical concept of the convenience storce, by working diligently at product development and the collection of daily inforcmation in order to offei consumexs high guality products at low price$. With
±ts independent abil±ty of development and information network, SEIXO‑MART is less like a eonvGnience stoxe and more like a supexiaarket, ￡ultilling the needs of consumeMs who seek to buy high quality items at loweac prices.
3.2 Relationships between The headquarters has
Stores and Headquarters
the role of providing guidance to
franchisees through supervisors who suppoirt stoye managexs and he±p resolve stoMe pacoblem$. Normally, ordeMing ±s left up to a store manager's discMetion; however, SEIKO‑MART yequires that each store foUow the±nc stove pMototype, wh±ch is detercmined by headquarters and sets merchandise facing on shelf. In other woscdsr $tore managers do not need to choose aU the prcoducts.
On new pxoducts, recommendations pyov±ded by headquarters are ut±lized by store managers to choose products that rtt their
stoace.
.3.3 Organizational Structure
Seiko‑mayt's styucture coRsists oE the rnanagement &
opexations department; raerchandise depaytment, the planning
and public scelations division, and the genera1 atfairs department. The aforementioned supervisor is part oE the inanagement & operations depairtment, whSch plays an important role in communScating company policy to store ruanageirs aftd pncoviding advice related to management, sales campaigns and financing. Affiliate Seiko‑marct Fvesh Foods Corporation fulfils the task of distributoy on physical distribution and is in charge of three important bu$iness aaceas: (1) production o￡ pre‑prepared foods, (2) product warehousing and delivery, and (3) acting as a payment agent. In Hokkaido, SEIKO‑MARW EMesh Foods Coyporation curxently has locat±ons in Sappouco, Hakodate, Kushiro, K±tami, Obihiro, and Wakkanai. [rhese ofntces aye essential to the smooth operations of each region.
3.4 Buyers
The buyers is d±vided into
aMe part otf the menchandise department, which two: the product division and the pxoduct
planning divi$ion. Where are a total ofi nine buyers; ￡ive are located ±n the product d±vision, and fouac axe located in the
productplanningdivisiox. Theseninebuyershandleallbuying
w±thout the help of assistant buyexs. The pacoduct division is in charge ofi beveucages, alcoholic beverages, tobaccor and raiscellaneous goods fo]r daUy user gMoceirtes and processed fioods. [ffhe product plaRning div±s±on vaanages pncoduct development and is in chaMge oaf products such as packed lunches, pve‑prepared ￡oods, and SEIKO‑MART's vetail brands ofi mxxk, eggs and othex per±shable goods. Howevey, the l±ne between the two divisions is Aot clearly defined, and they are suitably ncectpxocal in function. In addition to buy±ng, the buyer Ss involved with new product development and the ckiltivation of supply routes.
3.5 Product Deiistings
Store raanagers do not handle product del±stings.
Headguarters dec±des which products to cut and relays this
±nEormation to each stoMe. SEXKO‑MART sends out a weekly video and an informational magazine to educate each stouce's part‑time
help about its products. Both contain lnformation about
pucoducts to be cut and introductioits to new pyoducts. In this wayr employees asce able to learn' befioacehand about products to be taken off the display shelves and Rew products that will be
introduced. Headquarters announces pxoduct delistings
approximately one month in advance to allow stoyes to seli their
remaining ±nventory. New products aure constantly being intyoduced yesult±ng in moxe pxoduct delistings, and in some
cases, vaoderately popular raenchandise is cut as weU.
Headquarteir$ orten yeceives complaints Erom stosce managers that too many new product introductions inake it diErtcult to seU o￡f del±sting inventoyy.
Delisting criteria vary foac each pxoduct, and generally, the bottova level ofi each product categoxy is cut. Consequently,
1￡ a product is at the bottom of ±ts category it can be cut even tf it outsells the top product in another category. SEIKO‑MART is guite aggressive in its delistings. Forc exavaple, if thyee prcoducts were candidates tfor delistings, instead of choosing
just one, it is moye like±y that all three products would be cut to allow the intyoduction of new products.
3.6 Product Strategy
SEIKO‑maRT's roots weace as a wholesaler o￡ liquouc. It diffeecentiates itseif trom other convenience stores in regards to alcoholic beverages by having significaRtly more voluvae and product types. Th±s product strategy is notewoecthy becau$e these products are so±d at ±nexpensive pntces. $ince beer and liquoir are sold at lowei p]rices, pMortts are generated trova pexishabie goods such as beveragesr eggsr tofur and m±lk;
howeveacr this does not inean that these products are sold at higher pntces. Thrcough their original manageiaent system, SEXKO‑MAR[l's own‑braRd (rcetaU brands) ofi beverages and coramon perishable goods are birought frova development to in$pectlon makingconsiderablecostreductionspossible. EachSEIKO‑MAR[
convenlence store has an average product assortment ofi 4,500
±temsr and sales of Seiko‑mart's own‑b]and ance emphasized.
This owit‑becand is an Iinportant part of SGiko‑mart's pucoduct strategy.
3.7 Own Brand Merchandise
Whe coneeption and oyigin o￡ Se±ko‑i{tart' own‑brand comes fMom alcohoZic beverages. The idea of selling pre‑prepared Eood as snacks to go along with alcoholic beverages was the beginning of own‑brand. SEIKO‑MAR[e Fvesh Foods CoMporation was created to pyocess these products. Next, packaged lunches and breakfast sandwiches were introduced. Wo bettex tayget women's tastes, eggs, tofu and othey pentshable goods were addedr
resulting in the current variety ofi Seiko‑raart's own‑brand.
SEXKO‑MART's main conceva ￡oec its own‑hrand is guality; and it
±s able to provide this to consumexs by being paMticularc about
product ingredients. Moreover, through or±ginal product development, Seiko‑mart wayMants merit by being able to
considerably reduce cost$ whne still pncoviding high quaiity mexchandise.
To contidently oifer merchandise to consumers,
SEIKO‑MART seanches worldwide tfor its pueoducts. In the case of wine, SEIKO‑MART sends people to Fxancer GermaRyt and Italy, to inspect the fieldsr cMops and piroduction processes.
SEIKO‑MAR[r's yetaU byands acceunt ￡or 7& o￡ stoMe sales.
In the beverage categoncyr they serve as a plUar of suppoyt account±ng four 30rg of sales. Although Seiko‑raart does not havG any pncomot±onal pacoducts pxoduced thncough joint prcojects with
manufacturers, SEIKO‑maRep's puts significant effoxt into proiuoting its own‑bxand. In ordex to produces superior guality products, own brands aace assessed by vantous departments such as, guality coRtrolr customer servieer and des±gn. SEXKO‑bCART plans to inerease the numbeM ofi own‑brand products offered. It deals less with domestic manufacturers prtigarily working with
fosceign raanuiactuaceacs.
SEIKO‑MAR[e cites three cnttetia in making its own‑byand products: (1) whether the pscoduct wUi be possible to pacoduce on Une <feasibSlity), (2) whether the pxoduct has growth
potential, (3) whethey the product's quality and price will rtse
by being produced in‑‑house. By enskixing the desi=ed guality ofi ingredients, only pxoducts that exceed these three criteria becorae Seiko‑raart's own‑brand vaeacchandise. SEIKO‑MART ±s able to contimue to adheye to its pntnciple of putting guality rtrst
because of its original management system oE supporting
products ￡yom development to inspection.
3.8 Mencchandise
Almost all otf SEZKO‑MART's buying contracts a]re fionc non‑nceturcnable menchandise; however, the return ofi menchandise ixoig its distribution ceBtre (befoire it reaches the stoace) is
accGpted. Asacu$tomer,SEIKO‑MARTisabletoretumproducts,
but it does itot operate on the basis of being abie to returcn
unsoid goods. When new pxoduct$ ance lntroduced, old
mexchandlse is exchanged foM the new product.
On the whole product pyices in Japan have decrceased since March oE 1998. Kowever, some bu$±ne$ses have chosen to keep prices steady ncesulting in price differences. In addition to pxice, differences ±n sales gMowth penccentage aye evident;
businesses that have chosen to reduce pyices show h±gher percentages of sales gucowth.
Compared to forelgn productsr Japanese prcoducts aye mouce
expensive due to the h±ghey profit margins of domest±c
manufactuxeys. Manufacturers utiUze this protit to
continually create new pyoducts resulting in the more tfxequenic replacevaent of Bew products ±n stosces.
3.9 Product Development Strength and !nfoimation
As previously described, SEIKO‑MART Coucpoyation's buying
activities and oxganizational structure focus on the
developmeRt of own‑bscand (MetaU byands) by relying on its principle of putting guaiity rtrst. Through its developrnent capabi±ity and ±nfommat±on netwosck, SEIKO‑‑MART tyanscends the convenience stoace image of stwply seUing various pacoducts by constantly stniving to provide products that customex's truly want. Through ±ts buying act±vities, SEIKO‑MARva has developed the process of searching for satisiactory prcoducts or creatlng them in‑house. Th]rough the pursuLt o[ pucoduct qualLty, SEIKO‑MART's oxganizational structure has result±ng iR the establishment of its afrtliated corapanies. In sho]rt, SEIKO‑MART's organizatlonal styucture aUows it to quickly grasp consumer needs aitd to rcespond fiexibly through the utilization of its infoucmation network and distxibutSon systems.
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