CanDo

Can Do emerged in 1993 as Japan's 100-yen retail format was becoming a significant part of the country's general-merchandise landscape. The concept offered customers a simple value proposition: a wide selection of daily-use products at an easily understood price. This format was particularly suited to household consumables, small accessories, stationery, craft products, seasonal goods, and other items that could be sourced and displayed in high volume. During its development, Can Do positioned itself as a general-purpose variety retailer rather than a narrow discount specialist. Its stores combined functional merchandise, such as cleaning tools and storage products, with low-cost leisure, hobby, gift, and novelty items. The breadth of the assortment encouraged customers to use the stores for both planned purchases and unplanned discoveries. Store placement in shopping centers, commercial facilities, and neighborhood locations helped the brand integrate into ordinary shopping routines. The business model required intensive purchasing and inventory management. A large number of small-ticket products had to be selected, sourced, distributed, and replenished economically. Can Do therefore relied on scale, standardized store operations, centralized merchandising, and a mixture of sourced products and retailer-developed merchandise. Product rotation and seasonal displays became important ways of keeping the format attractive and maintaining customer traffic. Can Do operates in a highly competitive sector. Daiso and Seria are major domestic rivals, while supermarkets, convenience stores, home-improvement retailers, specialty chains, and online platforms compete for portions of the same customer need. The 100-yen format also faces structural pressure when procurement costs, freight expenses, wages, and rents rise. In response, Japanese value retailers have used assortment changes, private-label development, higher-priced product ranges, and operational improvements to balance affordability with margins. Can Do has likewise expanded beyond a strictly uniform price concept by offering selected merchandise at prices above 100 yen when necessary for product quality or commercial viability. A major corporate turning point came in 2021, when AEON announced a tender offer for Can Do. The transaction reflected AEON's interest in strengthening its presence in the 100-yen-shop and value-retail market, while giving Can Do access to the resources and retail ecosystem of a large corporate group. After the tender offer and subsequent shareholding changes, Can Do became a consolidated subsidiary of AEON. It continued to operate under its established name and remained listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Today, Can Do is principally a Japanese domestic retailer. Its identity is tied to accessible prices, broad everyday utility, frequent product renewal, and the small-discovery shopping experience associated with 100-yen shops. The brand's competitive task is to retain that accessibility while managing inflationary costs, changing consumer expectations, digital commerce, and competition from both specialist discount chains and larger multipurpose retailers.

• 2022

  Can Do joins the AEON Group as a consolidated subsidiary

  [1]Can Do corporate websitecando-web.co.jp

  The ownership transaction is completed and Can Do becomes a consolidated subsidiary of AEON while continuing to operate as a separate retail brand.

• 2021

  AEON announces a tender offer

  [3]AEON Group corporate websiteaeon.info

  AEON announces a tender offer for Can Do shares as part of a plan to make the retailer a consolidated subsidiary.

• 2000

  Can Do becomes a listed company

  [4]Japan Exchange Groupjpx.co.jp

  Can Do's corporate predecessor or operating company becomes publicly traded; the company is now associated with Tokyo Stock Exchange ticker 2698.

• 1993

  Can Do is established

  [1]Can Do corporate websitecando-web.co.jp

  The company is established in Japan and begins developing the Can Do 100-yen retail format.

A convenient Japanese value retailer combining a standardized low-price proposition with a broad, frequently changing assortment of practical and novelty goods.

• Household merchandise

  Household and kitchen goods

  Can Do's core assortment includes cleaning tools, kitchen utensils, tableware, food-storage items, organizers, laundry accessories, and other small household products. These goods address frequent everyday needs and are central to the chain's practical value proposition.

• Stationery and hobby

  Stationery and craft goods

  The chain sells writing instruments, notebooks, paper products, office accessories, art supplies, sewing materials, decorative items, and do-it-yourself craft components. The assortment is often refreshed around school, hobby, seasonal, and gift-giving occasions.

• Home organization

  Storage and organization

  Storage boxes, baskets, hooks, dividers, containers, and related organization products form an important part of the Can Do proposition. These products appeal to customers seeking inexpensive ways to organize kitchens, bedrooms, offices, bathrooms, and compact living spaces.

• General merchandise

  Seasonal and lifestyle merchandise

  Can Do carries seasonal decorations, party supplies, travel accessories, toys, personal-care accessories, gardening products, mobile accessories, and small lifestyle goods. The mix supports frequent visits and gives stores a changing, discovery-oriented character.

• Food

  Food and snacks

  Selected Can Do stores carry packaged food, snacks, drinks, cooking ingredients, and other shelf-stable products. Food broadens the chain's convenience role, although the exact range varies by store format and location.

• 2021

  AEON tender offer and group integrationM&A

  Background

  Japan's 100-yen-shop market was strategically important to large retailers, while the sector faced intense competition and rising operating costs.

  Action taken

  AEON launched a tender offer for Can Do shares with the objective of making Can Do a consolidated subsidiary.

  Aftermath

  Can Do became part of the AEON Group while retaining its brand, operating identity, and stock-market listing.

  Source

• Introduction of selected higher-priced merchandisePrice change

  Background

  Higher procurement, logistics, labor, and other operating costs put pressure on the traditional single-price 100-yen model.

  Action taken

  Can Do expanded selected product ranges beyond the standard 100-yen price point, following a broader industry shift toward multiple price points.

  Aftermath

  The move allowed the retailer to offer products whose cost or specification could not be supported by the traditional price point, while preserving the core 100-yen assortment.

  Source

• 2022

  Can Do continues operation as an AEON Group company[1]Can Do corporate websitecando-web.co.jp

  M&A

  Following AEON's tender offer and related shareholding changes, Can Do became a consolidated subsidiary while retaining its listed-company status and operating brand.

• 2021

  AEON launches tender offer for Can Do[3]AEON Group corporate websiteaeon.info

  M&A

  AEON announced a tender offer intended to make Can Do a consolidated subsidiary and deepen its participation in Japan's 100-yen-shop market.

1. 1Can Do corporate websitecando-web.co.jp
2. 2Can Do corporate information and investor materialscando-web.co.jp
3. 3AEON Group corporate websiteaeon.info
4. 4Japan Exchange Groupjpx.co.jp