Business is booming at Japanese discount chain Don Quijote, which sells everything from nostril-hair wax to compact gadgets and colorful party costumes, thanks to its cult status among tourists but also inflation at home.
At a large Don Quijote store in Tokyo’s bustling Shibuya district, hundreds of tourists rush to fill their baskets with snacks and souvenirs from its heaving narrow aisles.
“I was pretty overwhelmed at first, just because there’s so many options, everything’s in a different language,” 27-year-old American Garett Bryan said.
Photo: AFP
“I feel like I bought a lot and it was only like $70,” he said, including “a coffee cup for my mom, a fan, some Godzilla chopsticks, just a couple toys.”
The chaotic cut-price shops nicknamed “Donki” were founded in the 1980s by Takao Yasuda, who named them after his business inspiration: the idealistic protagonist of the classic Spanish novel, Don Quixote. He wanted to shake up Japan’s staid retail industry with new tactics including late-night opening hours, as well as more varied prices and product lines.
Now a record influx of visitors to Japan, fueled by a weak yen, is boosting sales nationwide.
Revenues at Don Quijote in Japan are “around 1.7 higher than before the pandemic,” said Motoki Hara, a manager at the retailer.
Last year its parent firm Pan Pacific International Holdings (PPIH) saw revenue rise about 12 percent year-on-year for its discount chains including Donki, while tax-free sales beat internal forecasts.
Shopping at Don Quijote is like a “treasure hunt” — a fun experience that foreign visitors love, Hara said.
“Customers end up buying something different than what they came in for,” he said beside rows of cherry-blossom flavor KitKats, a popular exclusive product.
Don Quijote and its sister brands have 501 stores in Japan, where 24 new ones opened over the past financial year.
PPIH Group also runs 110 stores abroad, in the US and across Asia from Taiwan to Thailand.
California is being targeted for expansion, according to analyst Paul Kraft, founder of Tokyo-based consultancy firm JapanIQ.
That could be complicated by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs — including 24 percent on Japan, which was paused until July.
Even so, “I wouldn’t bet against them, even in this entire high-tariff environment,” Kraft said. “Nobody adjusts as fast as Don Quijote in retail in Japan — even faster than convenience stores, because they give so much autonomy to their stores.”
They are also “some of the smartest and most aggressive buyers that I’ve seen,” he said.
However, in Japan at least, the shopping experience is “cramped, dark, you know, the buildings might be old,” Kraft added, with products seemingly “hanging from everywhere.”
Don Quijote’s omnipresent Santa-hat wearing penguin mascot Donpen and its “Don Don Donki” jingle on repeat just adds to the “jungle”-like experience.
“It is just almost an assault on the senses,” Kraft said.
Still, Don Quijote “has grown to be an extremely important retailer in Japan,” Kraft said — especially as rising inflation ramps up demand for cheaper products.
Japan’s core inflation rate accelerated to 3.2 percent in March, and consumers are feeling the pinch.
Household consumption fell 1.1 percent last year, with some people heading to Don Quijote to save.
“It’s less expensive than other shops, and they also have famous brands,” said a Tokyo resident who shops at the store twice a week and gave her surname as Kuroki.
Shoji Raku, 20, said she shops at Donki for “shampoo, electronics and everything that you don’t find elsewhere.”
There is even usually a cordoned off adults-only section at Donki stores selling various sex toys.
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