Reporting and analysis on retail, e-commerce, and consumer trends in Japan, updated continuously by our newsroom.
Private equity company KKR is to invest as much as S$500 million (US$366 million) into V3, the parent of cafe chain TWG Tea and massage chair retailer Osim, to fund regional expansion. In a deal which mixes equity and financing, KKR will take an unspecified…
Chinese-owned, British headquartered toy store chain Hamleys has entered the Japanese retail market, opening two theme-park styled outlets. Hamleys Japan is targeting 4 million visitors to each store within the first year, with a view to opening 30 stores in…
Shiseido is boosting management of its Greater China business as part of a new strategy to boost is presence and sales in the region. Hong Kong-based Morgan Tan has been named as the senior VP of the Prestige Brands Division for the China region and will take…
LNG Canada, the US$30 billion (RM125.7 billion) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project, has bagged another client after project shareholder Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) signed an initial sales deal with trading house Vitol. Royal Dutch Shell decided…
Hotel Chocolat has opened its second store in Asia Pacific. The British-based luxury chocolate retailer has opened an outlet in Tokyo to follow up its first store in the region, in Hong Kong. The new store is in the giant Aeon Lake Town shopping mall on the…
After opening two concept stores in Milan and Berlin earlier in the year, British cosmetics retailer Lush has opened a third global concept store in Tokyo. While the Italian and German locations opened with a focus on packaging-free cosmetics, the Japanese…
South Korean banks are setting themselves up to score big in Vietnam as foreign ownership limits would be loosened. South Korea’s second-largest lender by assets, KEB Hana Bank, is interested in buying a 17.65 percent stake in the Bank for Investment and…
Uniqlo Hong Kong will launch its online store on December 4. A spokesperson for the company said the online platform for Hong Kong and Macau is a fitting solution considering rising rentals and limited space for retailers in Hong Kong, along with the…
Japanese department store operator Takashimaya has opened inside a brand new shopping mall in Thailand, opting for the capital city of Bangkok to bring the Japanese way of luxury retailing to the nation. Scaling seven floors, the newly named and opened Siam…
Cult-classic skate brand Palace opened its first store in Tokyo, opting for the Japanese capital to debut its logo-ed fashion and apparel in the archipelago Asian nation.nThe British street label first announced the Tokyo location via Instagram, in a short…
Ikea Japan is preparing to open its first central Tokyo location. The 2500sqm store is planned for the fashionable Harajuku district, a central focus point for young local shoppers and tourists. Threatened by the rise of raw materials costs, Ikea is expected…
Hokkaido soft serve ice cream franchise Naganuma Ice Co is opening in Singapore. The brand is distinguished as the sole Hokkaido firm certified by the prefecture’s authorities for using raw Hokkaido milk in their ice cream products. The milk is sourced from…
Muji Canada is reopening its original Toronto location next week as its first flagship store in the country’s east. The Muji Atrium opened four years ago as the company’s first location in Canada. While the previous store occupied 5658sqft of retail space,…
The planned Starbucks Tokyo Reserve Roastery will open on February 28 next year. The outlet will launch in the Nakameguro district as the brand’s fifth global Reserve Roastery, designed and constructed in partnership with architect/Kuma Lab founder Kengo…
Japanese beauty products firm Shiseido is partnering with Singaporean cosmetics agent Luxasia to expand into the Philippines market. The two firms will be setting up a partnership in the form of Shiseido Philippines Corp this December. Shiseido will retain…
Japanese casualwear retailer GU will open a “next-generation” Style Studio in Harajuku this month, merging physical retail and advanced technologies. The studio will feature digital signage and a style creator app in the high-end retail district of Tokyo for…
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