A Model for the Support of Small Grocery Retailers: The Example of AKR in Japan
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Date
2004Author
Dawson, John
Terashima, Kazuo
Metadata
Abstract
In Japan, independent small retailers used to dominate the retail industry. Since the second half of the
1970s, small grocery retailers have been losing market share partly attributed to the growth of the large
grocery retailers. Although there has been considerable research into policies to address this issue, the trend
has not changed. Japan has seen a steady decrease in the number of small shops. For the most part these are
food retailers. Recently a new approach to improve their competitive position has achieved success in the
Retail Grocery Market (RGM) in Japan. This paper deals with the case of AKR which is a co-operative
buying group targeting firms operating in this institution. This paper describes the AKR business model
and examines its success factors. Through the research, it is revealed that a guarantee system for buying
debts has a critical role in the AKR model, and also it is shown that the key factors for the development of
AKR model are:
1) Removal of reservations felt by the members,
2) A consistent competitive strategy aimed at low cost and high effectiveness, and
3) Focus on the customer value.
AKR provides a business model to address the declining competitiveness of small retailers not only in
Japan but also in other countries. The paper concludes with some suggestions for the further research.