← Comparison · Which companies in Japan are most similar to KALDI Coffee Farm?
AI answer · one of 9
Opus 5.5 at High, asked 3 Oct 2026
One answer from the comparison, shown in full as the model produced it on 3 October 2026. Nothing is edited. Its 16 cited links have not been opened, so this page does not say whether the pages back what it wrote.
I ranked the five by how closely each matches KALDI's model: chain retail of coffee, imported food and wine, with direct importing and private-label goods. One important finding: the closest match, Jupiter, filed for court-supervised rehabilitation in January 2026, so its figures are shrinking.
| Company (operator) | Founded / HQ | Stores | Revenue / status | What they sell | Why it made the list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KALDI Coffee Farm (Camel Coffee Co., Ltd.) | Camel Coffee was established in September 1977 and is headquartered in Daita, Setagaya, Tokyo (Camel Coffee overview, Aug 2026); the first KALDI store opened in Shimotakaido in March 1986 (Camel Coffee history, accessed 2026-10-03) | 514 domestic stores as of August 2026, plus an online store (Camel Coffee overview, Aug 2026) | Revenue not published on the corporate site; 14,000 employees, of whom 11,300 are part-timers (FY Aug 2026) (Camel Coffee overview, Aug 2026) | Coffee beans, imported foods and alcohol, with in-house coffee sourcing, development and manufacturing, plus the "Moheji" domestic line (Camel Coffee overview, Aug 2026); its import subsidiary Overseas was set up in 1996 (history, accessed 2026-10-03) | Baseline |
| Jupiter (Jupiter Coffee Co., Ltd.) | Founded May 1971 in Bunkyo, Tokyo as a coffee bean wholesaler, incorporated August 1979 (Toshoken, 2026-01-07) | 91 stores in March 2024 and 88 in January 2026; the sponsor takes over 47, and the rest are closing (Toshoken, Jan 2026) | Revenue was ¥10.28bn for FY July 2021 (Gendai, 2026-02-06); it filed for civil rehabilitation in Tokyo District Court on January 5, 2026, with about ¥6bn in liabilities (TDB, 2026-01-05) | In-house roasted coffee beans, imported food and imported wine (Akashi Journal, 2026-01-06) | Nearly identical format. Coverage treats it as a same-industry rival to KALDI and attributes the gap to KALDI's centralized management and stronger private brands (Gendai, 2026-02-06) |
| Seijo Ishii (Seijo Ishii Co., Ltd.) | Founded February 1927, HQ in Minatomirai, Yokohama (Mynavi, 2026-07-23); now under Lawson (Toshoken, 2026-01-07) | More than 220 stores (Nikkei BP, Sep 2025) | ¥127.2bn revenue and a 10.4% operating margin for FY Feb 2026 (Mynavi, 2026-07-23) | Own imports that cut out intermediaries, a central kitchen, and wine bars and bakeries as spin-off formats (Mynavi, 2026-07-23) | The largest premium imported-food chain, and it overlaps on direct import, wine and private label. However, it is a full supermarket. |
| Kitano Ace (Ace Co., Ltd.) | Head offices in Koto-ku, Tokyo and Amagasaki, Hyogo (DreamNews, Sep 2025) | 100+ stores, mainly in department stores nationwide (DreamNews, Sep 2025) | Revenue not found in sources reviewed | Regional specialties, gifts and imported foods, with about 4,100 SKUs at one renewed store (DreamNews, Sep 2025); category-focused shelves such as its "curry bookshelf" (Ryutsuu News, 2024-09-19) | Uses the same "discovery" format in malls and stations. It took over Jupiter's former S-PAL Fukushima location (Toshoken, Jan 2026). |
| Yamaya (Yamaya Corp., TSE Standard 9994) | Established November 1970, HQ in Sendai (Yamaya press release PDF, 2018) | 356 liquor stores in 31 prefectures, and 954 group stores including izakaya (March 2026) (Monex, May 2026) | ¥160.2bn consolidated revenue for FY March 2025, which includes restaurants (Mynavi, 2026-08-25) | Direct imports of wine, beer, spirits and specialty foods from about 30 countries, plus private-label products; it is an Aeon equity-method affiliate (Monex, May 2026) | Represents KALDI's wine and imported-food aisle at national scale, though it is led by liquor. |
| Meidi-ya (Meidi-ya Co., Ltd.) | Founded 1885 in Yokohama, HQ in Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo (3rd-in Pedia, undated) | 36 Meidi-ya Stores (Hiroshima Pref., 2023-06-02) | Revenue not found in sources reviewed | Import sales and retail since its founding years (Hiroshima Pref., 2023-06-02); led by its "My" private brand (3rd-in Pedia, undated) | A heritage import grocer that uses the same import-plus-private-label approach, positioned more upscale. |
Two caveats. Camel Coffee and Ace do not publish revenue, so those cells are blank rather than estimated. Meidi-ya's store count is from 2023 and may be out of date.
End of the answer. AI-generated, unverified. Asked 3 Oct 2026.
13 websites, 16 links.
The same count the comparison's density chart uses. A website is a distinct hostname. None of these pages has been opened and compared with its passage.
| Website | Links |
|---|---|
| camelcoffee.jp | 2 |
| job.mynavi.jp | 2 |
| toshoken.com | 2 |
| akashi-journal.com | 1 |
| bookplus.nikkei.com | 1 |
| dreamnews.jp | 1 |
| gendai.media | 1 |
| pedia.3rd-in.co.jp | 1 |
| pref.hiroshima.lg.jp | 1 |
| ryutsuu.biz | 1 |
| scouter.monex.co.jp | 1 |
| tdb.co.jp | 1 |
| www2.infomart.co.jp | 1 |
Read another answer.
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| Sonnet 5.5 | High | 3 Oct 2026 | 599 | 15 |
| GPT-6 Luna | High | 3 Oct 2026 | 355 | 6 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | High | 5 Oct 2026 | 436 | 10 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | High | 3 Oct 2026 | 410 | 7 |
| Latest | Extra High | 4 Oct 2026 | 935 | 8 |
| Latest | Pro | 4 Oct 2026 | 780 | – |
| Pro | Pro | 4 Oct 2026 | 547 | 9 |
| Grok 4.7 | Fast | 5 Oct 2026 | 721 | 2 |