The half-year financial results of the two major distribution groups have been released, and high prices have affected the performance of the supermarket business.
According to Seven & i Holdings' financial results for half a year until August this year, the operating profit of the supermarket business decreased by 61% from the same period of the previous year.
In addition, in the settlement of accounts for the same period, "Aeon" recorded an operating loss of 3.7 billion yen in the general merchandise store business, and a 39% decrease in the food supermarket business from the same period of the previous year.
The poor performance of the supermarket business of the two major distribution groups is due to the fact that consumers' desire to save money has spread due to high prices, and the demand for staying at home due to the corona crisis has run its course.
In addition, it is said that the increase in purchasing costs and utility costs at stores has also had an impact.
However, on the other hand, both sales and operating income for the entire group of the two companies reached record highs for this period.
▽ Seven & i's overseas convenience store business was strong, with sales of 5,651.5 billion yen and operating income of 234.7 billion yen.
▽ Aeon's drugstore business grew, with sales of 4,487.1 billion yen and operating income of 95.8 billion yen.
Regarding the future outlook, Akio Yoshida, president of Aeon, said at a press conference, "In a situation where inflation is remarkable, the relative weight of spending on food and daily necessities in household budgets is increasing. may fall," he said.