FamilyMart more powerful overseas than in Japan

Posted on Japan Update
Convenience store giant FamilyMart is now operating more overseas stores and outlets than here at home.
The Japanese company now operates 7,598 stores outside Japan, slipping past the domestic total of 7,581. Company officials say it’s the first time FamilyMart has had more stores outside Japan than inside the country since it first expanded overseas to Taiwan in 1988.
FamilyMart says the domestic market has become saturated, making it less profitable to open new outlets. The burgeoning economy elsewhere in Asia has made it profitable to expand into the fast-growing developing countries. Officials say Japan’s aging population is producing far fewer children, noting younger people are more inclined to patronize convenience stores.