Editor’s Note
As Trial Holdings prepares to launch its new “Trial GO” small-format stores in Tokyo, this report from Fukuoka—where the concept has been trialed—offers a crucial early look at the potential impact on the convenience store sector. It examines the firsthand experiences of local franchise owners and provides a comparative price analysis, highlighting the competitive shifts already underway.
This autumn, Trial Holdings will begin opening its self-developed small-format stores, “Trial GO,” in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Existing convenience stores are expected to be impacted in terms of sales.
What changes occurred to convenience store sales in Fukuoka, where Trial GO has been conducting demonstration experiments?
This report delivers the voices of franchise owners. Furthermore, based on a price survey of national brand products, it also reports on a chain that could become a “high wall” for Trial GO. (Diamond Editorial Department, Nami Shitamoto)
It was a move that could be taken as a declaration of war. At the end of July 2024, Trial GO Fukuoka Beppu 3-chome Store opened in a location about a 20-minute drive from the bustling Tenjin area of Fukuoka City. When the opening information circulated, Fukuoka retail industry insiders were astonished.
This was because a 7-Eleven Fukuoka Jonan Store was already operating right next door to the new Trial GO store, making it a challenge to “seize market share from the top chain.”
What kind of location features these two stores side by side? Exiting from Exit 2 of Beppu Station on the Fukuoka City Subway Nanakuma Line, the stores face National Route 202, with a private university and a ward office nearby. Along the national highway, there are take-out bento chain “Hotto Motto,” restaurants, clinics, family-oriented apartment buildings, and a bus stop in front of the two stores, making foot traffic very high during the day.
The fact that FamilyMart stores are located in front of the ward office and next to the university respectively indicates that the location has sufficient potential for lunch demand.
So, what was the outcome of the head-on competition that unfolded between the Trial GO and 7-Eleven in front of Beppu Station?
The Diamond Editorial Department conducted on-site research in the Fukuoka area, where Trial GO began opening stores from 2022, to investigate the impact on existing convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart. By directly interviewing franchise owners, we learned about the impact on daily sales and which product categories saw sales declines.
Furthermore, we investigated the prices of national brand products sold at various Fukuoka convenience store chains and Trial GO stores. This survey also highlighted the existence of a “dark horse”—a chain that could pose a “high wall” for Trial GO, which uses low prices as its weapon.
Trial GO will begin its expansion into the Tokyo metropolitan area from November onward. The situation of each chain reported on the following pages could be replicated in Tokyo from November. Let’s proceed with the detailed report.
