Still, he concedes there are signs that the semiconductor industry's key inventory measure, the book-to-bill ratio, has bottomed out.

CNN: Bottom-Fishing in Singapore

Restaurants use an electronic reservation book, and customers have access to its full inventory (though a block of tables can be set aside for unannounced regulars and celebrities).

CNN: Online restaurant reservations really do work

"They have a giant warehouse so they have to pay rent, pay wages for warehouse employees and carry a huge amount of inventory at their own risk, because not every book is going to get sold, " says 7-Eleven Japan Vice Chairman Masaaki Kamata.

FORBES: I Got It @7-Eleven