Reporting and analysis on retail, e-commerce, and consumer trends in Japan, updated continuously by our newsroom.
Japanese retailer, Muji, has confirmed it will open its first Sydney store at The Galeries shopping centre, on May 14. The Galeries’ store will be Muji’s third store in Australia, with the first launching in November 2013 at Chadstone Shopping Centre,…
Retail mogul Tadashi Yanai has topped Forbes magazine’s list of the richest people in Japan. The Uniqlo founder is reported to have a net worth of US$21.1 billion. Last year, Yanai, 66, whose company Fast Retailing also owns a raft of other apparel brands…
US fast food brand Taco Bell is to make a comeback in Japan. Restaurant chain operator Asrapport Dining Co has partnered with the Taco Bell brand’s parent Yum! Brands and will open the first store in Shibuya, Tokyo, on April 21. It will be the brand’s first…
Well-known Japanese store, DAISO Japan (大創), was raided by investigators yesterday for failing to report its mislabeled Japanese food products back to the government, according to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office. Taipei City’s Health Bureau sent…
FamilyMart Co. is in talks to buy Cocostore Corp., which operates convenience stores in central and western Japan, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. FamilyMart, Japan’s third largest convenience store chain, recently announced it is negotiating…
Japanese eCommerce giant Rakuten will start to accept bitcoin, the ‘cryptocurrency’ on its global marketplaces. TechinAsia.com reports the payment format will begin its roll out in America and then spread to Rakuten Germany and Rakuten Austria. Bitnet, an…
Japanese eCommerce giant Rakuten is to pay US$410 million in cash to buy OverDrive, a leading eBook and audiobook content marketplace and sharing economy pioneer. Cleveland, US-based OverDrive was founded in 1986 and supplies the world’s largest catalog of…
Burberry has opened its first freestanding store in Shinsaibashi, Osaka. Set over two floors, the new flagship store houses the largest Burberry product assortment in Osaka, including the brand’s collection of Made in England trench coats. In-store digital…
Airweave, Japan’s top selling brand of premium bedding toppers and pillows, has opened its first store in the US. The flagship officially opens its doors today, February 27, at 498 Broome St in the trendy SoHo district of Manhattan, New York City. Airweave…
Japan retail sales slid two per cent in January according to government data. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry surveys department stores, chain stores, supermarkets and other large-scale stores and convenience stores to compile a monthly trend…
A Tokyo subscription service offers time-poor Japanese women hand-picked fashion items, delivered free for a monthly fee. Women may love shopping, but for time-starved professional females and housebound new mothers adapting to round-the-clock parenting,…
Uniqlo Japan will offer tax free shopping for overseas visitors to Japan at 31 large stores across the country. The service debited last week and allows overseas shoppers to avoid Japan’s eight per cent consumption tax. Uniqlo previously offered tax free…
UK-based fashion group Topshop has shuttered its stores in Japan. No explanation has been given for the closure – but it appears Topshop’s parent Arcadia Group is in some form of dispute with its Japanese partners. In a statement issued overnight in response…
Japan’s Aeon is completing construction of its first shopping mall in Indonesia. Its Indonesia debut follows success in Malaysia and Thailand where it is building strong networks of hypermarkets, supermarkets and mini-markets, and a more recent foray into…
Isetan Mitsukoshi has adopted a new branding positioning – and promises a new in-store concept which will make its debut in Malaysia. In a message to shareholders, CEO Hiroshi Ohnishi says the company has adopted a new corporate message for 2015 ‘This is…
Already reeling from a handful of scandals, Japan’s fast-food industry faces a new problem: diners are no longer heading out for meals like they used to. “Japanese consumers are choosing to buy their meals at convenience stores and eat at home,” said Japan…
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