Reporting and analysis on retail, e-commerce, and consumer trends in Japan, updated continuously by our newsroom.
The future ownership of South Korea’s fourth-largest convenience store chain, MiniStop Korea, is uncertain with options under review. Parent Aeon Group of Japan is apparently tiring of falling profits from the chain and has appointed Nomura Securities to…
Debuted at Milan Fashion Week during February of this year, French-Italian outerwear brand opened up eight spaces in the Moncler Genius building to exhibit their eight collaborations with makers across multiple disciplines. Collections that would be released…
Japan should be careful about recent remarks by US President Donald Trump on currencies and might need to convince Washington its monetary easing is not aimed at weakening the yen but beating deflation, a finance ministry official said on Saturday. The US…
Lacoste is pursuing its Asian expansion with the opening of a new travel-retail outlet within Lotte Duty Free Shop Ginza in Tokyo. The brand is, for the first time, introducing its new retail concept – “Le Club” – into Asia Pacific. The French word hints at…
Uniqlo has announced the rollout of its Hana Tajima for Uniqlo 2018 Fall/Winter collection, available in stores and online. The collection is a collaboration with New York-based, British-born fashion designer Hana Tajima, known for her contemporary,…
Japanese jewellery brand U-Treasure has released a series of Pokemon-themed merchandise. The firm launched the “Pikachu Electric Motif” collection of rings for men and women to be available from the U-Treasure Shinjuku store in Tokyo and the K.uno Meitetsu…
UFC Gym has announced plans to open 20 franchise locations in Japan starting from next year. The gym, which creates its own training programs inspired by UFC athletes’ training regimens, has opened more than 150 locations worldwide since first opening in…
Japanese startup Paidy has received US$55 million to build a scheme allowing online shoppers to buys goods without a credit card. The series-C funding was led by Goldman Sachs and Japanese trading house Itochu Corporation Paidy was created because even though…
At only 14 years old, Yoshi is an Instagram phenomenon. After getting noticed by Off-White’s Virgil Abloh, he has quickly become a style icon on the streets of Tokyo. Scrolling through his Instagram, there’s no doubt that Yoshi boasts an innate sense of style…
The flood of Chinese tourists to Japan has given a fresh uplift to the high-end beauty products market. Buoyed with success, some niche brands are now venturing beyond China. Nagoya-based MTG, which sells health and cosmetic tools that cost hundreds of…
Solid overseas growth helped Japanese apparel retailer Fast Retailing post a record quarterly profit. Uniqlo Asia sales proved the star of the business. For the three months to May, Fast Retailing’s operating profit was 68.4 billion yen (US$608 million), 37…
U.S. retailer Walmart Inc (WMT.N) has decided to sell Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu and has already approached major retailers and private equity funds. If realized, the sale could amount to around 300 billion to 500 billion yen ($2.7 billion to $4.5…
Japanese online fashion retailer Zozo is expanding its offer of tailor-fitted clothing with skin-tight bodysuits that help users upload their measurements online. Called the Zozosuit, the garment is covered in polka dots reminiscent of motion-capture…
Overseas growth in the 7-Eleven convenience store business drove a modest increase in profit for Japanese retail group Seven & I Holdings in the first quarter. While the challenges of a shrinking population, falling household spending and corresponding…
Muji parent Ryohin Keikaku has revealed another record quarter in both sales and operating profit. In the three months to May, Muji achieved group-wide sales of 106.5 billion yen (US$963.5 million), up 9.7 per cent year on year. Its net profit reached 9.5…
20-Grand-Slam champion Roger Federer has walked away from a decade long partnership with Nike, signing on to a new deal with Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo. Federer will represent Uniqlo at all tennis tournaments throughout the year, starting with The…
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