Beauty All Around: Salons Greatly Outnumber Convenience Stores in Japan

According to statistics from the Japan Franchise Association, there were 55,924 convenience stores operating in Japan as of the end of 2020. A lot of convenience stores are located in central city office districts and near major stations, where it is not unusual to be able to walk one minute in any direction and find a Seven-Eleven, a Lawson, and a FamilyMart.

Meanwhile, a look at the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare’s annual Report on Public Health Administration and Services shows that the number of beauty salons is steadily growing and as of the end of fiscal 2019 there were 254,422, a rise of 1.3% from the previous year. That is more than 4.5 times the number of convenience stores. Even the number of barbershops, which is gradually declining, stood at 117,266 as of the end of fiscal 2019, more than double that of convenience stores.

Despite this huge difference, there is not the same sense of there being an excessive number of beauty salons. This could be to do with how often the shops are frequented. People only have their hair cut once every one to two months, while convenience stores, not limited to a specific service may be used daily—or even several times a day—making them more visible.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: © Pixta)