Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. will strengthen its energy management business for retail outlets including supermarkets and convenience stores. In addition to retail stores in Japan, the company will pursue expansion of its services to other Asian markets focusing primarily on convenience stores in China.
Following the amendment of the Japanese Act on the Rational Use of Energy, which expanded the scope of businesses subject to the regulation, many retail franchise chains now have new obligations to implement energy conservation measures. On the other hand, it is expected that the number of new chain outlets opening in Japan will decrease in the future and the domestic sales of energy-saving equipment to retail chains will eventually hit the ceiling.
In light of these circumstances, Sanyo Electric has set out a policy to step up its business to not only include the sale of energy-saving equipment, but also provide an integrated service incorporating the monitoring and analysis of energy consumption and development of recommendations for improvement.
At the same time, the company is focusing its attention on the convenience store industry in China as a market that promises future growth. The number of convenience store outlets in China is projected to increase about four times the current number by fiscal 2015, reaching 40,000. It is anticipated that the Chinese government will introduce some forms of environmental regulations into the growing industry. Sanyo Electric looks to achieve a fourfold expansion of its business aimed at convenience stores in China from the current 3-billion-yen scale to 12-billion-yen scale by fiscal 2015.
