With the world's top two retailers faltering in the tough Japanese market, local retail chains are refining their approach to the budget-conscious and discerning Japanese consumer.
Despite the novelty of the megastore most Japanese still prefer frequent shopping at smaller local shops rather than weekly one-stop shopping to stock up their small refrigerators and pantries.
And fashion-conscious young Japanese are more likely to buy clothing at upscale department stores or less expensive specialty shops like GAP, Uniqlo and Muji, rather than the megastore.
"I sometimes buy clothes [at a megastore] for my child and some casual wear for myself, but not clothes for going out," said Miyuki Osaku, a 31-year-old housewife in Tokyo.
Kimiharu Oba, 28, an office worker, and his wife Satomi, 25, said they can't find their style of clothing at megastores and prefer to shop at department stores.
"The only clothing I buy at a big supermarket store is stockings. Their clothes are not cool at all," said a young female shopper strolling in Tokyo's posh Ginza district, home to every brand name in the world.
The nation's top retailers in the megastore or general merchandising category are also struggling to lure shoppers to their food sections.
"I go to smaller shops in the old shopping arcades where you can often find cheaper and fresher food and good quality clothes," said Daisuke Odagiri, 33, who lives near a Seiyu store in central Tokyo.
Carrefour SA of France, the world's second-largest retailer, has pulled out of Japan after four years in the red, selling all of its eight megastores to Japan's biggest retail group, Aeon Co Ltd.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the largest retailer in the world, has seen its "everyday low price" philosophy flop with Japanese shoppers who demand a wider range of higher quality goods to choose from.
Wal-Mart holds a 37.8 percent stake in the medium-sized supermarket chain Seiyu, which has posted net losses in the past two years of Wal-Mart style merchandising in Japan, the world's second-largest consumer market.
Responding to consumer's preferences, Japanese retailer Ito-Yokado has set up a research center to create new brands and merchandising, headed by the legendary Yukio Fujimaki, known for his successful purchasing strategy at the upscale department store Isetan.
Ito-Yokado, Japan's second-largest retailer, started in 1920 as a small shop in downtown Tokyo selling western attire and has grown into a group that includes 180 superstores in Japan and China, the Seven-11 convenience store chain and a bank.
"In the past it was said that Japanese [stores] needed lower-priced merchandise, modeling the success of discount outlets in the US," said Toshifumi Suzuki, chairman and chief executive officer of Ito-Yokado group.
"But emulating the US style will not lead to success in Japan due to the totally different economic structures in the two countries," he said.
The current front-runner, Aeon, began in 1758 selling kimono fabric and accessories and now operates over 300 JUSCO stores in Japan, China, Thailand and Malaysia.
It remains in expansionist mode with its takeover of Carrefour's hypermarkets, the term for general merchandizing which combines its supermarkets with department stores.
But Aeon is also responding to calls for improved quality.
"We will concentrate more on malls, and in merchandizing policy we will pursue quality as well as low prices," said Manabu Ohshima, an Aeon spokesman.
There are on average 91 grocery stores, supermarkets or convenience stores for every 10,000 people in Japan, far above the 54.8 in the US, 52.2 in Britain and 62.3 in France, according to trade ministry data.
Easing deflation and an increase in jobs in Japan would seem to bode well for consumer spending, but major retailers operating general merchandise or megastores have been struggling to achieve stable profits.
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
The zero emissions ship Porrima P111 was launched yesterday in Kaohsiung, showcasing the nation’s advancement in green technology, city Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said. The nation last year acquired the Swiss-owned vessel, formerly known as Turanor PlanetSolar, in a bid to boost Taiwan’s technology sector, as well as ecotourism in Palau, Chen said at the ship’s launch ceremony at Singda Harbor. Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) also attended the event. The original vessel was the first solar-powered ship to circumnavigate the globe in a voyage from 2010 to 2012. Taiwan-based Porrima Inc (保利馬) installed upgrades with
ENHANCE DETERRENCE: Taiwan has to display ‘fierce resolve’ to defend itself for China to understand that the costs of war outweigh potential gains, Koo said Taiwan’s armed forces must reach a high level of combat readiness by 2027 to effectively deter a potential Chinese invasion, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) published yesterday. His comments came three days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the US Senate that deterring a Chinese attack on Taiwan requires making a conflict “cost more than what it’s worth.” Rubio made the remarks in response to a question about US policy on Taiwan’s defense from Republican Senator John Cornyn, who said that Chinese
RSS