Clearance sales are a common sight in any grocery store or warehouse market, be it here or in Japan. Marking down unsold items that are close to expiration moves them out the door more quickly, cutting down on disposal costs, adding revenue, and freeing up storage space, which is especially precious over there. And for bargain-hunting shoppers, buying near-gone food can result in significant savings, like buying clothing off-season.
Unfortunately, the Japanese arm 7-11 will take none of that crap. Franchise owners reported being sent nasty letters threatening termination if they refused to stop discounting their near-gone bento boxes and other food, something they're legally entitled to do. Worse still, standard policy at 7-11 is that franchise owners incur the costs for getting rid of leftover stock, never a good thing when trying to cope with a recession. An owner even noted the douchebag language used in some threats, where the convenience store giant would not renew his contract because they "did not need people who sell products at a loss."
Japan's Fair Trade Commission has stepped in, instructing 7-11 to quit their shenanigans and let their franchises do what they're entitled to. 7-11 has also announced that it would shoulder 15% of disposal costs, taking some of the pressure off franchise owners who toe the line and keep items at full price. In any case, this is pretty good news for frugalistas, I'm sure anyone would appreciate not having to pay as much for decent bento.
Hit the jump for a clip from the news broadcast, which would be incredibly boring if not for the narrator's dramatic voiceover and riveting musical score. Who needs feature films when you've got this?!
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