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> In most other other cities there's rarely more than one combini at the same place, and you would not see 5-6 of them just by walking 5 minutes. I live in a p
by kalleboo 7y ago
> In most other other cities there's rarely more than one combini at the same place, and you would not see 5-6 of them just by walking 5 minutes.
I live in a prefectural capitol in Southern Kyushu and yeah you're right - we only have 3 convenience stores in 5 minute walking distance. That's in a residential area and not in the central district where there are more.
I lived in a similarly sized city in Sweden and there was literally one single 24/7 convenience store in the whole city. And I think it closed.
> Never seen a combini owner that was poor or having a hard time to make ends meet.
Well obviously, they quickly become ex-owners. We have 3 convenience stores near our apartment that have shut down in the past couple years. They wouldn't shut down if they were profitable.
- ekianjo 7y ago> I lived in a similarly sized city in Sweden and there was literally one single 24/7 convenience store in the whole city. And I think it closed. I could be wrong but that's probably because Sweden has a far too low density of consumers to support this kind of business.
- kalleboo 7y agoThe cities I'm comparing in Japan and Sweden are of a similar population and density. It's a very small city by Japanese standards and the third-largest city by Swedish standards. I think the differences are less superficial than that. Cost of labor certainly ties into it but also work culture (Japanese people tend to get out of work late)