Let me talk about the gas station business I’m currently running.
For the past 20 years, managing gas stations in Japan has been very challenging.
I’ve continued to manage it by diverting profits from other car dealerships I’m managing to the gas stations.
It’s a so-called “refueling“. It’s not a laughing matter.
Many of my competitors have gone out of business, but thanks to my long-serving employees, I have been able to keep my business going.
However, I am still facing various problems such as labor shortages, rising gasoline prices, and increasing labor costs.
Furthermore, needless to say, the demand for gasoline is also decreasing due to the spread of hybrid cars and electric vehicles.
However, it’s not that the management of gas stations is deteriorating.
In fact, the management situation has been improving, and I have acquired eight gas stations in the past five years.
If you look at this picture from the principle of competition, you might feel “I see”.
I would like to talk about such a story.
According to data from the Imperial Bank, in fiscal 2022, only 12.5% of gas station operators were in the red, which is very low compared to other industries.
