Japan retailers Ryohin Keikaku Co, which owns Muji, and The Loft Co, which sells household goods, have suspended their e-commerce sites after logistics supplier Askul Corp. was hit by a cyber attack — the second such incident to disrupt the country’s consumer market in less than a month.
Ryohin Keikaku said that its own system hasn’t been compromised and store logistics and deliveries are unaffected by the incident but didn’t have a timeline for the resumption of online sales. The Loft Co, owned by York Holdings Co, which recently spun off from Seven & i Holdings Co, also said that resumption of e-commerce operations has yet to be determined, according to a Monday statement.
The disruptions stem from a ransomware attack that crippled the system of Askul, a Japanese seller of office supplies, on Sunday, forcing a suspension of orders and shipments. Askul’s share fell as much as 6 percent on Monday morning, the biggest drop since early July, while Ryohin Keikaku’s shares also declined as much as 6.6 percent.
The incident comes just weeks after Japan’s largest brewer Asahi Group suffered a cyber attack that disrupted production and shipments of its “Super Dry” beer, Japan’s most popular brew. It caused the company to postpone the reporting of third-quarter financial results. The latest disruption will raise questions about the vulnerability of Japan’s e-commerce infrastructure, especially with many retailers sharing the same online vendors.
Askul is investigating whether client or personal data was compromised, it said on Monday. The company is assessing the financial impact and may postpone the release of monthly earnings data scheduled for Oct 28, it said.
Ryohin Keikaku’s e-commerce exposure is low and the site suspension will have limited impact on the company, said Daisuke Aiba, a retail analyst at Iwai Cosmo Securities Co. But Askul is likely to see “significant” impact to its earnings as recovery from such attacks typically takes time and may put off customers, especially if the disruption is prolonged, he added.
