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100 Yen Shops
By Joyce Millet
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What can you
get for a dollar these days?
Plenty if you shop in Japan! |
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What
Do the Following Have in Common? |
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99
Cents Stores
Dollar Shops
Loonie Bins/Stores
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Pound Shops
100 Yen Kinitsu
5 & 10 Dollar Shops
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From
the United Kingdom to Canada to the United States to Hong Kong to
Japan--bargain-hunting and smart shopping seem to
follow hard times.
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It
is said that "necessity is the mother of
invention." No one has demonstrated this more visibly than Mr.
Hirotake
Yano, founder of Daiso Industries Co, Ltd., in Hiroshima,
Japan. He has created a trend that has turned Japanese
retailing on its ear. Until recently, the obsessively brand-conscious
Japanese were willing to pay two or three times more for brand
names and quality products and services.
However, Japan has been in a recession for more than ten years, and
people, particularly the younger Japanese, are coming to grips
with the concepts of value and discount shopping.

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The
Making of a Trend |
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What
began as a small business out of the back of a truck in the late
1970's has grown into a billion dollar empire! Estimates
state that Daiso handles about 40,000 different
products--everything from food to dishes to stationary to clothing
to plants to cosmetics. You name it, you can probably find
it for 100 yen. Most stores carry about 3,000 different
items!
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How
is this possible in a country infamous for the highest prices in
the world--the country where people often give $100 melons as
gifts! Japan is still a big market for high quality, luxury
products. Perhaps the difference today is that consumers
have a sense of value, and no longer shun the concept discount
shopping.
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Japan
has always been a paradox. Here is an example of how
these two seemingly opposite consumer attitudes exist side
by side. |
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A classic
luxury automobile parked in the garage of a
100 Yen Store in
Osaka
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How
is Daiso able to sell good products for so little? The
company procures almost half of their products from various overseas
locations, they deal in huge volumes that offset the small markup,
they have an excellent sense of the market and timing, they put
stores in excellent locations and they offer good quality products. |
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One
lady told the sales clerk that she just dropped in to see
what all the fuss was about. "I just came in to
satisfy my curiosity, and left with 100 items, including a
few brand names! Sounds crazy, but the total
bill was only about $100, and they validated my parking to
boot." |
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Copyright © 2000 Joyce Millet All Rights
Reserved.
For reprint
requirements, please contact
us.
Article appears on
asia-links.com
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