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When it comes to Japan, we must mention the power of Japanese convenience stores, and not only the well-known 7-ELEVEN, Family Mart, LAWSON, etc., there are also very distinctive "regionally limited supermarkets" in Japan, and their history in Japan, even It is even older than the industry leader, and the exclusive delicacies and special services in the store are unique. Next time you go to Japan, you must definitely include it in the pilgrimage list!

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Hokkaido limited convenience store

The main limited stores are "セイコーマート" and "ハセガワストア", among which the most famous one is "セイコーマート".

The history of this store in Japan is longer than that of the industry leader 7-ELEVEN. For the people of Hokkaido, "セイコーマート" is closer to the national chain store, and its characteristic is its good service attitude. It has won the championship for four consecutive years in the satisfaction survey.

Its own brand "HOT CHEF" sells freshly made rice balls and bento boxes that pursue the ultimate taste, and it is very popular.

Affordable prices are also an important factor in capturing the hearts of the people.

Since there is still a gap between urban and rural areas in Japan, compared with areas with high consumption levels, the 100-yuan side dishes here will not be too burdensome for the local people's wallets.

The ice cream developed using Hokkaido's specialty cantaloupe is a popular product based on the local climate. On the contrary, it does not sell products that competitors already have, such as oden, which reflects its creed of showing local characteristics.

Image credit / yu_photo_Shutterstock.com

Tohoku limited store

Famous limited-edition stores include "Rito ルスター", "ハローショップ", etc. The following is a detailed introduction to "Rito ルスター".

"Riturus ター" is a regional convenience store based in Miyagi Prefecture.

The earliest store opened in 1979, and in its heyday, it had 35 branches in northeastern regions such as Miyagi, Iwate, Fukushima, and Yamagata.

But after that, the business scope was gradually reduced, and the current store was reduced to one in Miyagi Prefecture, which can be said to be a very rare existence.

One of its major features is the business hours. General convenience stores are usually open 24 hours for convenience, but "リトルスター" does the opposite and only opens from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Although there are no special original products in this store, it is very special to use Twitter to promote products and interact with local people. For example, a simple greeting such as "It's snowing, please be careful when visiting our store", can make people feel strong. Human touch.

Image source / twitter @_YAMAHANEKO

Kanto limited store

The Kanto region is densely populated, and there are relatively many types of convenience stores, such as "セーブオン", "ニューデイズ" and "コスモス".

Take "セーブオン" as an example. It used to be based in Gunma Prefecture. In its heyday, there were about 600 stores in the Kanto area. However, due to the fierce competition in the industry, most of the branches were taken over by Lawson.

The main focus is "local service" and "parity strategy", and the store name "セーブ (transliteration of English save)" means "saving".

The exclusive products are most famous for the "Find Good Taste" series of snacks, all of which are sold at 100 yuan.

After Lawson took over, most of the shops have no traces of the original, and only a few shops still retain the original "セーブオン" elements. For example, a few shops still sell the famous "barbecue buns" of the era, with bamboo skewers like skewers The skewered steamed buns are coated with miso sauce and then grilled. It is a local dish of Gunma prefecture.

Image source / httpswpb.shueisha.co.jp

China limited store

The Chugoku region refers to the western part of Honshu, including Okayama Prefecture, Hiroshima, and representative convenience stores here include "ポプラ" and "ハイウェイェイェワケ".

"ポプラ" is a store with its main base in Hiroshima Prefecture. Although it is not well-known in terms of the national scale, if it is limited to the Chinese region, its popularity is not inferior to other well-known chain stores.

The most impressive thing about "ポプラ" is its exclusive product "Pop Bento".

Other competitors' bentos are sold in pre-packaged rice in containers, but "ポプラ" only saw the side dishes but not the rice.

It turns out that this is the distinctive feature of "ポプラ". The store has ready-made white rice, which is added when customers check out, so as to avoid the problem of losing the taste of cold rice after being microwaved.

"ポプラ" also has its own production line and logistics system, and it can also sell bento even in the middle of the night (sounds natural, but it was a big innovation before 24-hour business became mainstream).

Image credit / yu_photo_Shutterstock.com

※The content of this article is authorized from "Japanese Convenience Stores: Nippon's Selected Japanese Lectures", and may not be reproduced without authorization.

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