Convenience store sales up, Mos Burger in Indonesia, lower sales at Toyota and trouble with the iPhone

October 21, 2008
By Ken Worsley

According to the Japan Chain Stores Association, sales at Japan’s convenience stores increased 6.6% in September from a year earlier. Total sales hit 624.0 billion yen, showing a rise for the fifth consecutive month, as customers continue to flock to convenience stores for their tobacco products. September’s figures follow a 7.5% rise in August.

Keeping watch of Japanese service brands moving overseas, Mos Burger has announced plans to move into the Indonesian market. According to the Nikkei, the firm intends to set up a joint venture capitalized at 2 million dollars. Masuya Holdings will contribute 70% of the funds, while Orix’s Indonesian subsidiary will chip in 20%. This leaves Mos with a 10% stake in the firm. Mos Burger intends to open 15 shops in Indonesia by 2011, with 50 or so being open ten years from now.

According to Attractors Lab, 62.2% of those folks in the market for a new condo in Japan believe that current prices are too high. This figure is up by 6.4% from July.

In the bad news category, Japanese steelmakers are set to cut production for the first time in three years, as demand from automakers has slowed. At the same time, Toyota’s sales are expected to slide for the first time in ten years, by 2%, in 2008.

Finally, the Nikkei is reporting that quality control problems with Apple’s iPhone are apparently “tarnishing” the firm’s image in Japan. Nikkei lists trouble with the “MobileMe” service, as well as faulty chargers, software glitches and the “freezing of the iPhone while in use” - I used to call that a “blue screen of death.” Any iPhone users out there to report?

Filed Under Automotive, Business, Convenience Stores, Economic Reports, Real Estate, Technology, Telecom

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