Responding to Changes in Consumer Preferences and Demand
First written in FY2016. 15 of 34 entries say "Materialised", first in FY2017-Q1. Latest entry: 2026-08-07.
Lec moved to the "Worse" side of this theme in 2016, 7 years before the typical company in this theme (2023).
The whole theme swung hardest in 2026: 23 of 41 companies on the "Worse" side.
15 other companies' latest entry also says "Worsened".
- 2026-08-07WorsenedEarnings
「Although the income environment is improving, consumer sentiment remained weak because prices of daily necessities, particularly food products, have continued to rise and uncertainty about the future persists. The business environment therefore remained challenging.」
The company states that consumer sentiment remained weak against a backdrop of rising prices for daily necessities and uncertainty about the future. - FY2026MitigatedAnnual report
「Inventory write-downs on merchandise and finished goods amounted to ¥199 million in the previous consolidated fiscal year and a reversal of ¥119 million in the current consolidated fiscal year.」
While the possibility of inventory write-downs due to changes in consumer preferences and demand continues to be disclosed, the ¥199 million inventory write-down on merchandise and finished goods in the previous fiscal year turned into a reversal of ¥119 million. - 2026-05-15RestatedEarnings
「Although the income environment is improving, consumers have remained strongly budget-conscious, as prices of daily necessities, particularly food products, have continued to rise and uncertainty about the future persists. The business environment therefore remained challenging.」
The company continues to recognize that consumers remain strongly budget-conscious against a backdrop of rising prices and uncertainty. - FY2025MaterialisedAnnual report
「Inventory write-downs on merchandise and finished goods amounted to a reversal of ¥58 million in the previous consolidated fiscal year and ¥199 million in the current consolidated fiscal year.」
Although the possibility of additional inventory write-downs due to changes in consumer preferences and demand had been disclosed previously, the company recognized ¥199 million in inventory write-downs on merchandise and finished goods during the fiscal year. - FY2025-H1RestatedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, the income environment was beginning to improve, but real wages remained sluggish as wage increases continued to lag behind price increases. Consumers therefore continued to focus on saving, and the business environment remained challenging.」
Although the income environment was improving, consumers continued to focus on saving against a backdrop of sluggish real wages. The assessment of the demand environment was effectively unchanged from the previous period. - FY2024The impact on inventory valuation is explicitly disclosed.Annual report
「Because consumer preferences and demand are constantly changing, demand is difficult to forecast. If the Group fails to respond to market trends, expected future sales and usage may change, potentially resulting in additional inventory write-downs.」
The risk arising from changes in consumer preferences and demand, including the possibility that changes in expected future sales could result in additional inventory write-downs, is explicitly disclosed. Merchandise and finished goods inventory totaled ¥9,457 million. - FY2024-Q3RestatedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, employment conditions were beginning to improve, but consumers' focus on saving strengthened because real wages remained negative as a result of rising prices and other factors. The business environment remained challenging.」
The company continues to recognize that consumers' focus on saving has strengthened against a backdrop of negative real wages and rising prices, despite improving employment conditions. - FY2024-Q2WorsenedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, employment conditions were beginning to improve, but consumers' focus on saving increased because real wages remained negative as a result of rising prices and other factors. The business environment remained challenging.」
Although employment conditions were improving, consumers' focus on saving increased against a backdrop of negative real wages and rising prices. The challenging demand environment is shown as continuing to deteriorate. - FY2024-Q1WorsenedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, employment conditions were beginning to improve, but consumers remained strongly focused on saving because real wages were negative as a result of rising prices and other factors. The business environment remained challenging.」
Although employment conditions were improving, consumers remained strongly focused on saving against a backdrop of negative real wages and rising prices. The challenging demand environment continued. - FY2023WorsenedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, consumers' focus on saving increased because real wages were negative as a result of rising prices and other factors, and the business environment remained challenging.」
The company states that consumers' focus on saving increased against a backdrop of negative real wages and rising prices, indicating a concrete deterioration in the challenging demand environment. - FY2023-Q3WorsenedAnnual report
「Consumer prices continued to rise as the yen depreciated rapidly and energy and raw material prices surged, increasing consumers' focus on saving. The business environment remained challenging.」
The company states that consumers' focus on saving increased against a backdrop of rising prices, indicating a concrete deterioration in the challenging consumer demand environment. - FY2023-Q2RestatedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, employment and income conditions showed signs of recovery. On the other hand, prices were rising because of the rapid depreciation of the yen in the foreign exchange market and increases in various costs, including raw materials and ocean freight, and the business environment remained challenging.」
The company states that employment and income conditions showed signs of recovery, indicating a partial improvement in the consumption environment for the second consecutive quarter. Meanwhile, the challenging business environment caused by rising prices and other factors continued. - FY2023-Q1MitigatedAnnual report
「Economic activity generally remained on a recovery trend as the government implemented measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and economic and social activity moved toward normalization. Although there were some signs of a modest recovery in employment and income conditions,」
The normalization of economic and social activity and a modest recovery in employment and income conditions are described, indicating a partial improvement from the consumption stagnation caused by the pandemic through the previous period. Meanwhile, the business environment remained challenging because of the weaker yen and rising costs. - FY2022-Q3RestatedAnnual report
「With the spread of COVID-19 depressing economic activity and the resulting deterioration in employment and income conditions, consumer spending remained unrecovered.」
The spread of the infection, sluggish employment and income conditions, and the lack of recovery in consumer spending continue to be described as market conditions. - FY2022-Q1WorsenedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, economic activity remained sluggish because of reduced store operating hours following declarations of a state of emergency and other measures, as well as calls to refrain from going out and travel restrictions. Consumer spending did not recover because of the resulting deterioration in employment and income conditions, and the business environment remained challenging.」
The company states that consumer spending had not recovered because of reduced store operating hours, calls to refrain from going out and travel restrictions, and deteriorating employment and income conditions. The wording has changed from the previous period's "beginning to recover" and "remaining stalled" to a continued lack of recovery and challenging conditions. - FY2021WorsenedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, personal consumption remained stalled because of deteriorating employment and income conditions resulting from subdued corporate activity, while the end of the COVID-19 pandemic remained uncertain. The business environment remained challenging.」
The company indicates that personal consumption remained stalled against a backdrop of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and deteriorating employment and income conditions. - FY2021-Q3WorsenedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, the worst had passed following the lifting of the state of emergency, but personal consumption remained stalled because of deteriorating employment and income conditions resulting from subdued corporate activity. The business environment remained challenging.」
The description has changed from personal consumption beginning to recover, as stated in the previous quarter, to personal consumption remaining stalled against a backdrop of deteriorating employment and income conditions. - FY2021-Q2MitigatedAnnual report
「Although the worst had passed following the lifting of calls to refrain from going out and travel restrictions and personal consumption was beginning to recover, the business environment remained challenging because of deteriorating employment and income conditions.」
Personal consumption was beginning to recover following the lifting of calls to refrain from going out and travel restrictions, representing a partial improvement from the sluggish consumer spending of the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the challenging business environment continued because of deteriorating employment and income conditions. - FY2021-Q1MaterialisedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, consumer spending remained sluggish because of store closures following the declaration of a state of emergency, stagnant economic activity resulting from calls to refrain from going out and travel restrictions, and deteriorating employment and income conditions. The business environment therefore remained challenging.」
Store closures, calls to refrain from going out and travel restrictions associated with COVID-19, together with deteriorating employment and income conditions, are described as having actually depressed consumer spending. - FY2020-Q3MaterialisedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, employment and income conditions were improving, but consumer sentiment remained stalled because of the effects of the consumption tax increase and concerns about the future, including social security. While consumers continued to focus on low prices and saving on daily necessities, various costs, including labor and logistics costs, were also rising because of labor shortages, and the business environment remained challenging.」
The effects of the consumption tax increase and concerns about the future continued to weigh on consumer sentiment, while consumers remained focused on low prices and saving on daily necessities. Changes in consumer demand are described as actual business conditions in the third quarter. - FY2020-Q2MaterialisedAnnual report
「Revenue increased to ¥23,330 million, up 15.2% year on year, due in part to what appeared to be front-loaded demand ahead of the consumption tax increase.」
The increase in revenue attributed to front-loaded demand ahead of the consumption tax increase is described as a performance factor in the second quarter. A demand fluctuation distinct from the previous focus on low prices and saving had become evident. - FY2020-Q1ReframedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, employment and income conditions were improving, but consumer sentiment remained stalled because of concerns about the future, including social security, and the impending consumption tax increase. While consumers continued to focus on low prices and saving on daily necessities, various costs, including labor and logistics costs, were also rising because of labor shortages, and the business environment remained challenging.」
The stalled recovery in consumer sentiment and the continued focus on low prices and saving on daily necessities are described as actual consumption conditions, with the impending consumption tax increase added as a contributing factor. - FY2019-Q3MaterialisedAnnual report
「Although employment conditions were improving and income was also beginning to recover, consumer sentiment remained stalled because of concerns about the future, including social security. Consumers remained firmly focused on low prices and saving on daily necessities.」
Although income was beginning to improve, the stalled recovery in consumer sentiment due to concerns about the future and the focus on low prices and saving on daily necessities continued to be described as actual consumption conditions. - FY2019-Q2MaterialisedAnnual report
「Although employment conditions were improving and income was also beginning to recover, consumer sentiment remained stalled because of concerns about the future, including social security. Consumers remained firmly focused on low prices and saving on daily necessities.」
Although income was beginning to improve, the stalled recovery in consumer sentiment due to concerns about the future and the firmly entrenched focus on low prices and saving on daily necessities are described as actual consumption conditions in the second quarter. - FY2019-Q1MaterialisedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, employment conditions were improving and income was also beginning to recover, but consumer sentiment remained stalled because of concerns about the future, including social security. While consumers remained firmly focused on low prices and saving on daily necessities, various costs, including labor and logistics costs, were rising, and the business environment remained challenging.」
The stalled recovery in consumer sentiment and the firmly entrenched focus on low prices and saving on daily necessities are described as actual consumption conditions in the first quarter. - FY2018MaterialisedAnnual report
「In a consumption environment where consumers remained strongly focused on low prices and saving on daily necessities, various costs, including labor and logistics costs, were rising, and the business environment remained challenging.」
The stagnation in real income, concerns about the future, stalled consumer sentiment and focus on low prices and saving are described as actual consumption conditions during the fiscal year. - FY2018-Q3MaterialisedAnnual report
「In a consumption environment where real purchasing power remains stagnant because of sluggish income growth and increased social insurance burdens, and consumer sentiment has stalled amid concerns about rising prices and the future, consumers remain strongly focused on low prices and saving on daily necessities.」
The stagnation in real purchasing power, stalled consumer sentiment and focus on low prices and saving on daily necessities are described as actual consumption conditions in the third quarter. - FY2018-Q2MaterialisedAnnual report
「Consumers remained strongly focused on low prices and saving on daily necessities, and the business environment remained challenging.」
Against a backdrop of sluggish income growth, the burden of social insurance premiums and concerns about rising prices, real purchasing power remained stagnant and consumer sentiment continued to stall. The focus on low prices and saving is described as an actual market condition in the second quarter. - FY2018-Q1MaterialisedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, the employment environment improved, but income recovery was slow and households' real purchasing power remained stagnant. Consumer sentiment stalled amid concerns about rising prices and the future, while consumers remained strongly focused on low prices and saving on daily necessities. The business environment therefore remained challenging.」
The slow recovery in income, stagnant real purchasing power, stalled consumer sentiment and strong focus on low prices and saving are also described as actual market conditions in the first quarter. - FY2017MaterialisedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, the employment environment improved, but households' real purchasing power remained stagnant. Consumer sentiment stalled amid concerns about the future and other factors, while consumers remained strongly focused on low prices and saving on daily necessities. The business environment therefore remained challenging.」
The stagnation in real purchasing power, stalled consumer sentiment and continued focus on low prices and saving are described as actual market conditions during the consolidated fiscal year. - FY2017-Q3MaterialisedAnnual report
「In the daily necessities industry in which the Group operates, the employment environment improved, but real disposable income remained stagnant. Consumer sentiment stalled amid concerns about the economic outlook and other factors, while consumers remained strongly focused on low prices and saving on daily necessities. The business environment therefore remained challenging.」
The stagnation in real disposable income, stalled consumer sentiment and continued focus on low prices and saving are described as actual market conditions in the third quarter. - FY2017-Q2MaterialisedAnnual report
「Consumers remained strongly focused on low prices and saving on daily necessities, and the business environment remained challenging.」
The continued focus on low prices and saving in the second quarter, the stalled recovery in consumer sentiment and the challenging business environment are described as actual market conditions. - FY2017-Q1MaterialisedAnnual report
「Consumer spending remained sluggish as increasingly pessimistic views of the economic outlook and the negative wealth effect of falling share prices, among other factors, weighed on sentiment. Consumers became more focused on low prices and saving on daily necessities, and the business environment remained challenging.」
The sluggish trend in consumer spending and the growing focus on low prices and saving are described as actual market conditions during the quarter. - FY2016First statedAnnual report
「The Group handles a wide variety of products in its household goods business and focuses on planning and development to respond to consumer preferences and demand, bringing attractive new products to market. However, consumer preferences and demand are constantly changing, and failure to respond to market trends could affect the Group's financial position and operating results.」
The company identifies planning and development and the launch of new products as means of responding to market trends, while treating changes in consumer preferences and demand as a risk.