Regionally Rooted Product Assortments and Introduction of Selected Products

「The 12th product in the series, Chilled Chinese Noodles, Already Made for You! (made with 100% Kyushu wheat flour and jelly containing fully ripe Oita-grown kabosu), launched in May, became a hit product, with more than 800,000 packs sold.」

「In food products, we continued and strengthened initiatives supporting customers' everyday lives. Same-store sales of products covered by Happiness Plus (Support Prices), which offers limited-time price promotions on national-brand products, increased to 120.1% of the previous fiscal year's level. Best Price products under Aeon's private-label Topvalu brand increased to 120.2% of the previous fiscal year's level, while sales for Topvalu as a whole increased to 111.2%.」

「若者主体の団体「ＮＥＯ福岡」のプロジェクトに参画、大学生と社会人混合チームが当社アパレル事業の課題に取り組む」

「We have been expanding our ranges of delicatessen and frozen foods, for which customer demand is growing. In May, as a way of supporting customers' mealtimes, we launched Frozen Day on the 20th of Every Month, offering a wide range of frozen rice dishes, frozen bento items and ice cream.」

「To reduce food waste, we worked to expand advance reservations for products such as ehomaki and hors d'oeuvre platters for the year-end and New Year period, introduce an AI-based markdown solution, and improve ordering and production-planning accuracy through demand-forecasting automated ordering services and the use of various data. As a result, the rate of markdown sales of products that would otherwise be discarded and inventory days improved from the previous fiscal year.」

「As an initiative to address extreme heat, we implemented Aeon COOL de ACTION and expanded the rollout of products that reduce the effects of heat and help customers enjoy summer comfortably.」

「In groceries, we strengthened efforts to promote value for money by expanding the number of items covered by initiatives supporting customers' everyday lives, including Happiness Plus (Support Prices), rolling out original products in cooperation with business partners and strengthening the rollout of Topvalu Best Price products. As a result, same-store grocery sales increased to 102.8% of the year-earlier level.」

「In terms of products, we expanded our ranges of travel-related products, cosmetics, wellness foods, prepared foods and frozen foods to meet growing demand for going out and travel.」

「In terms of products, we expanded our ranges of travel-related products, cosmetics, wellness foods, prepared foods and frozen foods to meet growing demand associated with going out and social events.」

「In food products, in addition to promoting local production for local consumption and local production for regional consumption in cooperation with producers and business partners in Kyushu, we focused on expanding our ranges of prepared and frozen foods to meet demand for convenience and ready-to-eat products. As a result, sales in the delicatessen and frozen food divisions increased substantially to 110.1% of the previous fiscal year's level.」

「Sales in the food division remained strong, supported by the expansion of our prepared-food and frozen-food ranges to meet demand for convenience and ready-to-eat products.」

「At discount-format stores, we newly launched 104 types of Big original-brand products, including Easy to Use and Wabisaizai, developed through various innovations in sourcing raw materials and manufacturing methods to eliminate waste thoroughly and deliver satisfactory quality at low prices.」

「Under the Distinctive Kyushu Products initiative, which has launched monthly products made with prized ingredients from each prefecture in Kyushu since June of last year, the Kyushu chicken yakitori and rolled omelet rice box sold in May received strong customer support, with more than 40,000 units sold.」

「In apparel and home and leisure products, as part of our specialty-store initiatives, we introduced the Inner & Casual model, located alongside supermarkets, at 2 stores. We also strengthened offerings of outdoor, walking and home fitness products and wellness foods in response to new lifestyles.」

「In food products, we worked to strengthen the rollout of the Serious Price 1,000 Items products, which support customers' everyday lives through pricing, and Topvalu products subject to the Price Freeze Declaration implemented in September.」

「In food, we promoted local production for local consumption and regional consumption in cooperation with producers and business partners in Kyushu. As exclusive products featuring carefully selected local ingredients, we launched the first item, Kagoshima Prefecture Black Pork Loin Tonkatsu; the second, Kumamoto Prefecture Red Eggplant Tempura, dengaku-style; and the third, Nagasaki Prefecture Horse Mackerel Fry, all of which were well received by customers.」

「The new Mochi Cake product jointly developed by YAMAZAKI BAKING CO.,LTD. and Fujiya Co.,Ltd., which we sold ahead of general release exclusively at our stores, became a hit product, with 330,000 units sold in the 3 months following its launch. In addition, following facilities in Fukuoka and Miyazaki prefectures, we opened a Shunsen Kobo seafood processing center in Kumamoto Prefecture in March. The center carries out centralized processing of fresh fish, fillets, sushi and prepared seafood products, supporting efforts to enrich store assortments and improve productivity.」

「At "MaxValu," we renovated 9 stores and expanded the assortment of local products, particularly fresh foods. We also introduced self-checkout and cashless checkout lanes, working to create an environment where customers can shop safely and quickly through the use of digital technology.」

「To strengthen food offerings, one of the objectives of the business integration, we introduced the Serious Price initiative in September and promoted measures to meet customers' needs for infection control, including proposals for ingredients that support immune function. As a result, items purchased per transaction and average spend per customer increased, and food sales rose to 115.4% of the same period of the previous year (*). To strengthen non-food offerings, we also expanded our apparel and home and leisure product ranges. In particular, sales of masks were approximately 10 times higher than in the same period of the previous year (*) as newly introduced fashion-oriented products performed well.」

「To meet customers' desire to reduce the number of shopping trips as much as possible, we worked on merchandising suited to bulk purchases. As a result, the increase in items purchased per transaction led to a substantial rise in the average spend per customer, and grocery sales reached 102.0% of the year-earlier level.」

「In terms of products, after the declaration of a state of emergency, customers had more opportunities to cook at home. As a result, sales of fresh foods, confectionery ingredients, pasta and other easy-to-prepare foods increased, and same-store grocery sales remained firm at 100.8% of the year-earlier level.」

「In terms of products, we proceeded with the introduction of a new apparel sales area, Inner & Casual, centered on casual clothing and underwear. Following its introduction at Aeon Shoppers Fukuoka in Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City, and Aeon Minami-Miyazaki in Miyazaki City, we introduced it at Aeon Otogane in Onojo, Fukuoka Prefecture, and Aeon Okagaki in Okagaki, Onga, Fukuoka Prefecture, in September, and at Aeon Oki in Oki, Mizuma, Fukuoka Prefecture, in October.」

「Sales of school backpacks, for which we expanded the scale of our early-order events, and of home appliances and renovation-related products, for which we strengthened consultative selling ahead of the consumption tax increase in October, increased substantially from the same period of the previous year.」

「In the home center business, we promoted community-based store development by expanding our ranges of DIY, garden and pet products in line with regional and store characteristics, and reopened Homewide Haiki store in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, after renovation in March. At Homewide Haiki, we reviewed the conventional home center sales floor, expanded the garden and pet-related sales areas and worked to build highly specialized sales areas.」

「In terms of products, we expanded sales areas related to beauty and health, areas of strong customer interest, and broadened our range of natural and organic products. We also focused on employee training in customer service skills and product knowledge and worked to strengthen consultative selling by developing in-house-certified beauty advisors. As a result, same-store sales of health and beauty care products increased to 104.4% of the previous fiscal year's level.」

「In terms of products, we pursued joint product development with business partners to differentiate ourselves from competitors and reduce the cost ratio, and had introduced more than 1,000 products developed through these efforts as of the end of the current quarter.」

「In the gardening plant sales areas, we expanded the number of stores selling seedlings of rare varieties not traditionally handled by home centers, and worked to create sales areas that differentiate us from competitors.」

「In terms of profit, the company worked to reduce costs by reviewing product ranges according to store characteristics, expanding direct procurement from local producers in the home center business and developing products jointly with business partners. As a result, the company-wide gross profit margin improved by 0.2 percentage points from the same quarter of the previous year, although gross profit fell to 97.3% of the year-earlier level because of the decline in net sales.」

「In terms of products, we expanded our ranges of distinctive, single-serving, time-saving and convenient products, while working to increase customer traffic and items purchased per transaction by reviewing prices for groceries and daily consumables and promoting related-product sales in each department.」

「In apparel, we expanded the kids' and fashion accessories sales areas. In groceries, we developed sections for allergy-conscious products and expanded our ranges of boxed meals and frozen foods. In home and leisure products, we expanded sales areas for organic and beauty cosmetics and wellness foods to support customers' beauty and health needs」

「As part of our efforts to improve profitability, we developed products jointly with business partners and introduced 147 items during the cumulative period of the current quarter.」

「In spring gardening products and Mother's Day gifts, we began working with new growers and improved freshness, resulting in same-store sales in the gardening department increasing to 103.6% of the year-earlier level」

「In terms of products, we worked to revise our product mix to suit regional and store characteristics and proceeded with the introduction of highly specialized unit sales areas. To meet changing customer needs, sales of prepared foods, frozen foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, for which we have been strengthening our product ranges, increased from the previous fiscal year.」

「In fresh foods, we expanded our product range by offering large, medium and small pack sizes to meet the needs of not only traditional family households but also the growing number of single-person households. In response to growing health awareness, we also developed sales areas themed around wellness and natural and organic products in the health and beauty care and grocery departments.」

「To further tailor our product range to regional and store characteristics, we established the Kyushu Product Development Department jointly with MaxValu Kyushu Co., Ltd. and Red Cabbage Co., Ltd. in January. In addition to developing products unique to Kyushu, we expanded our range of distinctive products to meet customers' diversifying needs. We also developed a product range that drew on the respective strengths of the companies while operating the stores jointly with Aeon Store Kyushu Co., Ltd.」

「In groceries, we worked to revise our product mix to reflect local characteristics and introduced products selected for their distinctive qualities in each department to meet customers' broad needs. As a result, the company-wide gross profit margin was 1.1 percentage points higher than in the same quarter of the previous year, while gross profit increased to 102.6% of the year-earlier level.」