Lawson expands in China with prefab convenience stores

Japanese convenience store operator Lawson will begin opening prefab outlets in China that will save money on construction and give rise to a more flexible expansion strategy.

The first prefabstore will open Friday in Nanjing, the capital of China's eastern JiangsuProvince. About 10 prefab stores are scheduled to open across the countrybefore the year ends.

Unlike aconventional minimart, which takes about 20 days to build, the prefabs willtake a week to complete, saving 40% on construction costs. Even if a locationcloses, the prefab building can be reused elsewhere.

The prefab convenience stores will come in twoversions: A shop that is slightly smaller than a regular 80-sq. meter minimartand a kiosk for transit stations.

Lawson partneredwith Panasonic to develop the stores. Panasonic's heat-insulating materials issaid to help save 20% on electricity costs. Lawson plans to use the knowledgegained from China to open prefab stores in Japan as well.

Lawson operatesmore than 2,700 stores in China. The coronavirus epidemic has fueled a rise inbulk shopping, which has lifted average sales per customer. On the other hand,customer volume has dropped, owing to sheltering habits and surging onlineshopping.

Prefabconvenience stores are still a novel concept in China, however. Lawson plans tocounter online retailers by opening prefabs in parks, idle corners infactories, and other areas with small retail space but substantial foottraffic.