Japanese Elderly Spent $1.4 Trillion Last Year
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Companies in Japan are rushing to introduce more products geared towards the elderly, said Bloomberg News on Wednesday, as the country continues to face a rapidly aging population.
According to a study by the Japanese Health Ministry, the number of Japanese over the age of 65 hit a record 23.3 percent of the population (29.8 million) last October, with this percentage expected to grow to 40 percent by 2055.
Companies in Japan are rushing to introduce more products geared towards the elderly, said Bloomberg News on Wednesday, as the country continues to face a rapidly aging population.
According to a study by the Japanese Health Ministry, the number of Japanese over the age of 65 hit a record 23.3 percent of the population (29.8 million) last October, with this percentage expected to grow to 40 percent by 2055.
But, the age group also spent an estimate 109 trillion yen ($1.4 trillion) in Japan over the year ended March 31 – more than any other age group and close to 44 percent of the national’s overall consumption.
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“We perceive this change as a golden opportunity for (corporate) growth,” said Shohei Murai, executive vice president of supermarket chain operator Aeon Co.
[quote]“In the ‘80s and ’90s, Aeon set families that were the massive majority in terms of population as its main target. Now the elderly are going to be the engine of consumption.”[/quote]Accordingly, Aeon has already begun putting medical clinics in some of their supermarkets, while other supermarkets have introduced elderly-friendly changes such as lighter shopping carts and increased stocks of elderly products.
The country could soon become a “model case” for how a modern retail economy can switch its focus to a more traditional and older target market, said Naoki Fujiwara, chief fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management Co.
[quote]“They are remodelling stores and changing products portfolios. It may take time, but their efforts will be successful not only in Japan, but also overseas.”[/quote]Already, Unicharm, Japan’s largest diaper maker, is reporting higher adult diaper sales than that of its baby diapers.
“Domestic sales of diapers for the elderly are growing by double digits,” Unicharm’s Chief Executive Officer Takahisa Takahara told reporters last month. “It’s an extremely important business in terms of both sales and profit margin.”
Takahara added that the lessons his company was learning now could soon be applied overseas – particularly in China, where the elderly population is gradually increasing as a consequence of the one-child policy introduced in 1979.
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[quote]“China will necessarily face the aging society at a faster pace than Japan because of the one-child policy,” Takahara said. “We have the responsibility to take Japan’s standards and spread it into Asia.”[/quote]
