[Company analysis] Bic Camera Inc. (ビックカメラ)

「Bic Camera Inc. (ビックカメラ)」is a major consumer electronics retailer chain with a total of 44 directly managed stores as of February 2020. It has the second-largest sales after「Yamada Denki Co., Ltd.,(ヤマダ電機)」and owns「Kojima(コジマ)」and 「Sofmap(ソフマップ)」as subsidiaries. The interesting thing about「Bic Camera」is that price negotiation can be done to some extent. The number of consolidated employees is approximately 8,742.

 

1. Company Profile

2. Summary and Features

3. Major Business

4. Financial Information

 

 

 

1. Company Profile

 

※Unit is JPY million, as of 2019

Company name	BIC CAMERA INC.
Company name (Japanese)	ビックカメラ
Date of establishment	Friday, November 21, 1980
Headquarters location	〒171-0033 東京都豊島区高田三丁目23番23号
Capital	25,929
Consolidated sales	894,021
Consolidated operating profit	22,943
Consolidated total assets	400,451
Consolidated capital	163,342
Capital adequacy ratio	40.8%
Consolidated number of employees	8,742

 

 

 

2. Summary and Features

 
「Bic Camera」was first established in Gunma Prefecture in 1968, and they opened first store in Tokyo in 1978. Like 「Yodobashi Camera」, it specialized in cameras at the time of its founding. But as a result of expanding product lineup such as home appliances and personal computers,「Bic Camera」nowadays handle various products like alcohol, golf equipment, bicycles, toys, etc.

 

In 2006, this company purchased「Sofmap(ソフマップ)」, which specializes in purchasing used computers. By this acquisition, not only adding new business to their portfolio, but「Bic Camera」became also able to indirectly cover the Sendai area. Now, most stores of「Bic Camera」have Sofmap counters, and through this, they conduct second-hand goods sale.

 

In 2012, they made「Kojima(コジマ)」, a company whose business condition worsened due to the recession, a subsidiary. At that time,「Kojima」has 6th largest sales in Japanese consumer electronics stores. Through this merger, the sales of「Bic Camera」have expanded dramatically, and eventually it became the 2nd largest Japanese consumer electronics retailer after「Yamada Denki」. In addition, this company optimized business structure by integration of product purchase, closing stores with poor performance, unification of promotion and store operation. As a result, they acheived very high level of operating profits.

 

「Bic Camera」is often compared with the「Yodobashi Camera」. In the case of「Bic Camera」, their sales floor is organized with various products such as futons, alcoholic beverages, bicycles, and golf equipment, beyond the scope of home appliances. However,「Yodobashi Camera」has some maniac items such as sewing machines, high-end audio equipment, etc. And they tend to keep their sales floor layout without change. Most of all, 「Bic Camera」has relatively higher rate of revenue store compared to「Yodobashi camera」.

 

Compared to「Yamada Denki」, which has largest sales in the industry,「Bic Camera」has smaller sales , but the operating profit itself is almost equal size. That means「Bic Camera」a relatively high operating profit margin. This difference between the two companies is based on the strategy.「Yamada Denki」has 960 directly managed stores throughout Japan and tends to open new store regardless of population. So, they have overhelming business area.  On the other hand,「Bic Camera」open new stores in considerartion with many factors such as population density, accessibility, etc. So, there is a large difference in number of stores, this connected the differences in operating margins.

 

 

 

3. Major Business

 

■ Sales of various products centered on home appliances
They handle cameras, video products, audio products, computers, OA equipment, mobile phones, home appliances, watches, games, eyeglass contacts, pharmaceuticals, toys, sports equipment, bedding, alcohol, etc.

 

 

 

4. Financial information

 

※Unit is JPY million

		2016	2017	2018
Consolidated sales		790,639	844,029	894,021
Consolidated operating profit		21,854	27,055	22,943
Consolidated total assets		350,211	365,605	400,451
Consolidated net assets		145,593	155,765	163,342
Breakdown of sales	Audio・Video	126,904	138,601	141,101
	Home appliances	248,896	261,110	277,638
	IT equipment	245,246	263,817	285,112
	Other products	156,048	166,399	176,293
	Others	13,543	14,100	13,875