Omnichannel Development and E-Commerce Expansion

「We are also strengthening the business foundation for future growth through initiatives such as expanding the delivery area and creating new customer touchpoints for the online-only supermarket Green Beans.」

「The online-only supermarket Green Beans exceeded 1 million members in May, and expansion of the digital channel is also progressing smoothly.」

「In November, it added 15 municipalities in Saitama Prefecture, including Saitama City and Kawaguchi City, to the service area, bringing membership to approximately 900,000 as of the end of the current consolidated fiscal year. The second Hachioji CFC and third Kuki-Miyashiro CFC are under construction and scheduled to begin operations, and the service will be expanded mainly across Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures.」

「The business base in the Tokyo metropolitan area continued to strengthen, and membership increased to approximately 660,000 as of the end of the first half of the current consolidated fiscal year. The service area covers all 23 wards of Tokyo as well as Hachioji, Musashino, Mitaka, Chofu and Komae; 13 cities in northwestern Chiba Prefecture; and all of Yokohama, Kawasaki, Minami Ward of Sagamihara and Yamato and Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture (as of the end of September 2025). With the planned operation of the second Hachioji CFC and third Kuki-Miyashiro CFC from fiscal 2027 onward, a system covering the main areas of Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures, including Saitama Prefecture, is expected to be in place.」

「As of the end of February, membership had increased to approximately 500,000. In service areas including all 23 wards of Tokyo, deliveries became possible to more than 7.3 million households through 7 spokes, or transfer points, located in addition to the hub CFC. With the planned operation of the second Hachioji CFC in Hachioji, Tokyo, and the third Kuki-Miyashiro CFC in Miyashiro, Minamisaitama District, Saitama Prefecture, a system capable of covering up to approximately 15 million households in the main areas of Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures is expected to be in place from fiscal 2027 onward.」

「In its online channel, it is strengthening its response to customers who have a strong need to reduce shopping time and limited opportunities to visit physical stores. Green Beans, an online supermarket fulfilled from a customer fulfillment center (CFC), has won customer support for its diverse selection, freshness and peak-ripeness guarantee for fresh food, and the convenience of specifying one-hour pickup slots from 7:00 to 23:00. Its business base in the Tokyo metropolitan area, where the number of conventional stores is limited, is strengthening, and membership reached approximately 330,000 (as of the end of September 2024). By fiscal 2027, delivery is expected to be available to up to approximately 15 million households in the main areas of Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures.」

「Green Beans, an online supermarket fulfilled from a customer fulfillment center (CFC), has won customer support for its diverse selection, freshness guarantee for fresh food, and convenience of specifying one-hour pickup slots from 7:00 to 23:00. It is strengthening its business base in the Tokyo metropolitan area, where the number of conventional stores is limited.」

「In July, AEON Next Co., Ltd. grand-opened Green Beans, an online marketplace fulfilled from a customer fulfillment center (CFC), and offers the service in 11 special wards of Tokyo, 8 cities in Chiba Prefecture and Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture (as of the end of November 2023).」

「In July, AEON Next Co., Ltd. grand-opened Green Beans, an online marketplace fulfilled from a customer fulfillment center (CFC). The service is available in 7 special wards of Tokyo and 4 cities in Chiba Prefecture, and from September has also been available in 2 wards of Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Customers can specify delivery slots in one-hour intervals from 7:00 to 23:00, and the service offers up to 50,000 items, including high-quality fresh products and large-volume products made possible by CFC fulfillment.」

「Online, sales of the online supermarket fulfilled from stores are expanding, and it has also launched Green Beans, an online marketplace fulfilled from a customer fulfillment center (CFC). The service offers delivery slots in one-hour intervals from 7:00 to 23:00 and approximately 50,000 items, including high-quality fresh products and large-volume products made possible by CFC fulfillment. It meets the needs of customers, including dual-income households and families raising children, who have a strong need to reduce shopping time and limited opportunities to visit stores.」

「Construction of the CFC in Chiba City, a state-of-the-art large automated warehouse using the latest AI and robotics, is progressing smoothly, and an online marketplace is scheduled to launch in 2023 through the subsidiary AEON Next Co., Ltd. A second CFC is also scheduled to begin operations in 2026, in conjunction with a mixed-use commercial complex that AEON Mall Co., Ltd. plans to open in Hachioji, Tokyo, in 2025. The online marketplace is planned to offer up to 50,000 items, including large-volume and specialty products made possible by warehouse-based fulfillment and the strength of home delivery, as well as the convenience of allowing customers to specify delivery times in one-hour intervals.」

「In March 2022, AEON Next agreed to accept a capital injection from SBS Holdings Co., Ltd. (SBS Group) for the subsidiary responsible for logistics for the next-generation online supermarket. Going forward, it will use SBS Group's extensive last-mile logistics expertise to establish the most widely supported online supermarket service in Japan and maximize customer satisfaction in last-mile delivery.」

「Through a subsidiary, it is constructing in Chiba City Japan's first customer fulfillment center (CFC) equipped with state-of-the-art AI and robotics capabilities, and plans to launch a next-generation online supermarket business based at the CFC in 2023.」

「For its online supermarket in China, it promoted categories with strong demand for online sales and strengthened efforts to complete the process from order receipt to delivery within 1 hour. As a result, sales for the first nine months of the current consolidated fiscal year rose to 162.5% of the year-earlier level, while food accounted for approximately 10% of sales.」

「As a result, online supermarket sales for the first six months of the current consolidated fiscal year increased by more than 20% from the first six months of the previous consolidated fiscal year, when demand expanded sharply. The number of in-store pickups of online orders also reached a record high for a single month.」

「Honda CFC is a large automated warehouse for a next-generation online supermarket scheduled to open in 2023, powered by the latest AI and robotics.」

「AEON Malaysia will use a platform supported by Boxed's advanced technology. Boxed operates an online-focused wholesale business with highly automated logistics systems and strong customer recommendation capabilities based on AI algorithms. Through functional interface design and personalization features, AEON Malaysia will provide many customers with a convenient online shopping experience.」

「For the online supermarket, where demand surged, it expanded the service allowing customers to collect orders at stores, including dedicated counters, lockers and car parks, to 196 stores as of the end of the third quarter of the current fiscal year, thereby diversifying pickup options.」

「For its online supermarket, where demand surged further during the COVID-19 pandemic, it increased delivery capacity and expanded to 178 stores as of the end of August the service allowing customers to collect orders at dedicated in-store counters or car parks, thereby diversifying pickup options.」

「In addition, online supermarket sales surged as a result of restrictions on going out and other factors, with February sales, when infections spread, increasing more than fourfold year on year.」

「Under the partnership, AEON aims to build highly efficient operations by establishing a centralized warehouse in 2023 and develop a next-generation online supermarket capable of meeting customers' needs for "anytime, anywhere, anything" through an outstanding app interface.」

「In November, it signed an exclusive partnership agreement in Japan with Ocado Solutions, a subsidiary of Ocado Group plc, which boasts the fastest growth in the UK's online supermarket industry. Under the partnership, AEON aims to build highly efficient operations by establishing a centralized warehouse in 2023 and develop a next-generation online supermarket capable of meeting customers' needs for "anytime, anywhere, anything" through an outstanding app interface.」

「In addition, as part of its omnichannel strategy in China, it is expanding its online supermarket service, which offers delivery within 2 hours to locations within a 3-kilometre radius of stores. As of the end of June, 71 stores in China offered the online supermarket service, and sales from the service grew substantially.」

「DMC will build a new business model by integrating physical stores with online stores consolidated in smartphone apps, incorporating AI and other technologies. It will provide customers with new customer experiences unique to AEON, while also working to improve the productivity of back-office operations and develop IT personnel with expertise in the retail business.」

「The In-Store Pickup Service, which allows customers to pick up in-store products ordered and paid for online, began its full-scale rollout in November and is available at approximately 400 AEON and AEON Style stores in Honshu and Shikoku.」

「The In-Store Pickup Service began its full-scale rollout in November and is available at approximately 400 AEON and AEON Style stores in Honshu and Shikoku.」

「It also offers highly specialized products and services, including a service that allows customers to pick up in-store products ordered through AEON's e-commerce site.」

「To further strengthen the e-commerce business, the company aims to build a marketplace where group companies, tenant companies, and local producers and sellers can list products. It will sell local specialities and private-brand products not only online but also in stores, with the aim of developing a model that grows together with local communities. It will raise the group’s digital sales ratio to 12%.」

「The company also promoted omnichannel retail, with sales through e-commerce increasing significantly.」