Lawson launches L Minimart small supermarket in Tokyo, plans two more openings in June

Lawson opened L Minimart, a small supermarket offering fresh produce and other goods at reasonable prices, in Kodaira in western Tokyo on Thursday. The company plans to open two more L Minimart stores in June — one in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward and the other in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.

L Minimart is created by renovating some Lawson Store 100 outlets (the chain's low-price convenience stores) and features a larger sales space than Lawson Store 100 for vegetables, meats, eggs, and nattō fermented soybean products. The supermarket operates from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. in principle.

Lawson will consider further store openings based on sales performance and local needs. The move comes as small-supermarket competition intensifies in the Tokyo metropolitan area, with competitors including Aeon's My Basket stores and Trial Holdings' Trial Go outlets.