Japanese supermarket LAWSON's dream of landing in Taiwan is broken! The headquarters responded: There are currently no plans, and registering a trademark is "another consideration"

Is LAWSON, a well-known Japanese convenience store chain, coming to Taiwan? As soon as the news came out on the evening of the 10th, it aroused heated discussion among the public. However, just after two days of "high expectations", "Wealth Magazine" pointed out that Japan's LAWSON headquarters responded that there are currently no specific plans to open a store in Taiwan.

According to the "Wealth Magazine" report, Japan's LAWSON applied for a trademark in Taiwan out of the standpoint of protecting trademark rights. Regardless of whether there are any exhibition plans, LAWSON will register trademarks in various countries for the purpose of protecting trademark rights.

However, this incident can still provide a glimpse of the Taiwanese market's expectations for Japanese convenience store operators. Through many discussions, people have more imagination and expectations for Taiwan's supermarket landscape.

LAWSON's trademark application was exposed, which was regarded as an important signal to enter the Taiwan market

Rumors that LAWSON may be on the stage originated from former Taoyuan City Councilor Wang Haoyu who broke the news on the Threads platform on December 10 that LAWSON had submitted a trademark application to Taiwan on August 30, 2024, and the business project applied for was clearly marked as a "convenience store" "Business and Management Industry", and posted a screenshot of the application record, confirming that the registered party is "Nissho Lawson Co., Ltd."

This news has excited many Taiwanese consumers, because LAWSON is famous in Japan for its signature products such as "Fried Chicken", and its convenient ticket purchase system is also widely praised. Taiwanese consumers are looking forward to LAWSON supermarket's entry into the Taiwan market.

Wang Haoyu: If LAWSON deploys its troops to Taiwan, it may adopt two modes of expansion.

Wang Haoyu pointed out that if LAWSON enters the Taiwan market, there are two possible models: one is to directly open stores in a regional manner and first open a dozen stores to establish a foundation; the other is to quickly expand its layout by acquiring existing convenience store brands in Taiwan.

He believes that Laifu and OK Supermarket are possible acquisition targets, and believes that Laifu's store size and location are more in line with LAWSON's needs. "Just modify all of Lair's products, eliminating the weak and leaving the strong. There will be 1,500+ stores at one time, and it will be quite competitive by then."

Regional exhibition stores and acquisition models have their own advantages and disadvantages. The former allows LAWSON to completely transplant its brand features, while the latter can quickly establish a store network. If the news is true, LAWSON's choice will affect its initial development in the Taiwan market and may also have an impact on the existing convenience store ecology.

Industry insiders: LAWSON does have the possibility of entering Taiwan, but it is unlikely to start from scratch

Industry insiders and columnist Shosha Nanao analyzed that LAWSON is entering the Taiwan market and it is unlikely to open stores from scratch. However, if there are other local brands with a large number of stores to sell, if the transaction conditions are not too bad, the convenience of foreign countries There are still opportunities for store brands to enter the Taiwan market.

He once wrote an article titled "Officially Ended! The growth myth of Japanese supermarkets has been shattered. The next fierce battle area for the three major players: Taiwan?". The article pointed out that the overall environment in Japan has become increasingly unfavorable for convenience store operators in recent years. In the current Taiwanese supermarket retail market, 7-ELEVEN and FamilyMart are already in place, but there is still room for other convenience store brands to establish their presence in the market.

Overall, although Taiwan's market seems saturated, the distance between urban and rural areas is not far (compared to the United States, Japan and other countries), so the business environment is relatively simple and can be considered stable.

In addition, Taiwan's third and fourth supermarkets are both larger than Okinawa. Japanese supermarkets already operate the Okinawa market. There are so many ready-made supermarkets in Taiwan, why wouldn't they want to take over? Unless it is due to price factors, it may not be too expensive for Taiwan, so it is still possible from this aspect.

Although LAWSON has confirmed that it has no plans to enter the Taiwan market, it can be found that the public still has expectations for LAWSON's debut and hopes that Taiwan's convenience store market will have more choices. This incident has triggered a new wave of competition among supermarkets.

Source: Intellectual Property Bureau, Wealth Magazine