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Apr 19, 2017

3 Lawsons in a row, WHY?

During my recent trip in Japan, I came across this intersection in a random district of the city that confused me. More precisely, I was confused by the marketing strategy of Lawson, the convenient store.

3 Lawsons in a row, WHY? photo


I went into Lawson to take a look, came back out empty-handed because there wasn't anything I wanted. I looked across the street and....

3 Lawsons in a row, WHY? photo


Another Lawson. Well, it's not that I've never seen two Starbucks right across from each other, so that's fine, but I know I don't need to pay another visit since they would stock the same products. So I turned the other way and looked down the street, and I saw.....

3 Lawsons in a row, WHY? photo


Down the road from the first Lawson, there is a 3rd Lawson!!! Why, Lawson, Why!??? That makes three of the same convenient stores lining up in a straight line!


I was so dumb-founded, so if someone understands their purposes, please enlighten me....

JapanRamen

JapanRamen

Games, manga, and ramen. Those three things make up my Tri-force lol.


6 Comments

  • Kasajizo

    on Apr 19

    My theory? Beat the competition! I`ve noticed recently Family Mart have been popping up suspiciously close to 7/11`s all over Osaka. I bet Lawson saw this trend and decided to just compete with themselves :)

  • DaveJpn

    on Apr 19

    Maybe it's a kind of 'throw enough at it and hope some of it sticks' approach; if they cover enough ground they're bound to get the customers. I wonder, are people here very specific about their convenience store 'brands' or do they just go to the one that it most convenient at the time?

  • Kasajizo

    on Apr 19

    @DaveJpn I prefer 7/11 over the other stores. They used to have a really delicious choco-pan about five years ago, and even though the pan is long gone, my brand loyalty stays.

  • JapanRamen

    on Apr 20

    @Kasajizo Yea I understand that, except there aren't any other competitors nearby and they are just TOO close together lol. Maybe it's like Mr.Lawson has 3 little piggy sons and they had to go out and build their own branch nearby....

  • JapanRamen

    on Apr 20

    @DaveJpn They aren't just throwing, apparently, it's a total focused strike!

  • SalarymanJim

    on Apr 21

    Perhaps it's nothing more than a 'status' for them. 'Look how great we are, we've got three stores in the same place'. It makes a stronger impression for their brand. It could be a smaller scale version of that area near Shinjuku station in Tokyo where there's a whole block of Yodobashi Camera stores.