[Topic 260] Is your business tied to the relics of the 'if you build it, they will come' era? Does the withdrawal of vending machines signal the end of price competition?

The vending machine in the neighborhood park I see while out for a walk. I used to insert coins as a matter of course, but lately, I find myself stopping and wondering about the 'reason to buy here'.

Vending machines, once the ultimate business model that 'earned money on its own if you just placed them,' are now at a turning point. Sapporo HD selling off its business, DyDo removing 20,000 units. This news is not just a reorganization of the beverage industry.

By the time you finish reading this article, the current pain of 'labor shortages' and 'high costs' should have transformed into an exciting 'turning point' for redefining your company's strengths and creating a system that sells even at a higher price.

Article Summary

[Summary: Structural Transformation and Selection in the Vending Machine Business] Major beverage companies are accelerating a fundamental review of their vending machine businesses, which were once their primary earners. Sapporo HD has sold its vending machine business to concentrate resources on its high-profit lemon business. DyDo and Coca-Cola have also carried out the removal of unprofitable machines and impairment of assets. The background to this is the widening price gap (up to about 100 yen) with drugstores and the soaring costs of logistics and replenishment. The expansion strategy of 'if you place it, it will sell' has come to an end, and the industry is now shifting toward AI-driven placement optimization, a shift to high-value-added products like health drinks, and 'lock-in' strategies in locations with stable demand, such as inside offices.

Three Points

• The decision for 'asset-light management': The courage to cut off assets that do not generate profit and concentrate resources on your company's 'sharp strengths'.

• Value that is conveyed in '2 seconds': The importance of designing the 'experience' or 'benefit' that can be obtained immediately on the spot, rather than price.

• Rethinking location (context): Instead of targeting an unspecified number of people, enter 'specific spaces' where your target is guaranteed to exist.

The 'customer pain' behind the news

Having spent a long time in the field of handling complaints, this news does not sound like a simple story of 'customers cooling off on vending machines' to me. This is the moment when the balance between the customer's 'pain of not wanting to feel like they are losing out' and the convenience of 'it's a hassle to go out of my way to buy it' has finally collapsed.

Vending machines once provided the value of 'anytime, anywhere.' But what about now? If you open your smartphone, you can compare prices, and if you walk a little, there is a cheaper drugstore.

A Suntory representative said, 'Vending machines must convey their value in 2 seconds.' The exact same thing can be said for the services of small and medium-sized enterprises. Does your company's product convey a 'reason to choose' within 2 seconds of catching a customer's eye?

Practice: Things you can do in the field starting tomorrow

There is no need to panic, thinking, 'My company's products are also being dragged into price competition, just like vending machines...' When you go to the office tomorrow, please try this 'down-to-earth step' first.

A 'question' the president should ask employees tomorrow

Using this question as a starting point, please inspect your company from the following perspectives.

• Practice 'subtraction' instead of 'addition': Just as Sapporo focused on its lemon business, try stopping just one 'work we do for no particular reason' that has low profit margins.

• Go to the place of 'someone specific': Stop advertising to the masses, and just as Kirin specialized in offices, approach only the 'specific communities' where your fans are guaranteed to gather.

• A catchphrase you can understand in 2 seconds: Abandon jargon and use words that even a fifth-grader can look at and think, 'Oh, this is about me,' as your entry point.

Bonus: Ideas for a change of pace

'The neighborhood hot and cold locker vending machine that protects the temperature of the last mile'

Let's set aside the fixed idea of selling beverages for a moment. The greatest strength of a vending machine is that it operates 24 hours a day and provides thorough 'heat and cold' management.

If it were me, I would convert this function into a 'smart pickup hub for delivery items.'

• Mechanism: Deliver food or fresh groceries ordered online to a dedicated vending machine (locker) near the customer's home.

• Benefits: No need to meet the delivery person, and zero stress from redelivery. Just by holding up your smartphone, you can receive freshly made hot pizza or chilled sashimi in perfect condition.

This is the 'ultimate contactless delivery' required in this day and age. By updating the existing vending machine network into 'the city's shared refrigerator/warmer,' a new infrastructure should emerge that solves labor shortages and logistics problems simultaneously.

A cheer from a presidential advisor

The number of vending machines is decreasing not because the business is ending. It is simply returning to a healthy market where the structure of complacency—where things sold 'for no particular reason'—has vanished, and only 'value that is truly needed' survives.

Finally, I will leave you with a question to think through today.

'If your company's products were to double in price starting tomorrow, what is the reason people would still say they want to buy from you?'

Hidden within that answer is your company's 'asset (stock)' that will support the next 10 years.

Let's sweat together.

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