Reporting and analysis on retail, e-commerce, and consumer trends in Japan, updated continuously by our newsroom.
Just opened, Gucci Roppongi in Tokyo is the first-ever Japanese flagship store designed by Alessandro Michele, the Italian fashion brand’s creative director. Covering 228 sqm, the store is in Westwalk Roppongi, Minato-ku. It features both women’s and men’s…
Japanese sake maker Asahi Shuzo plans to open a shop in Paris next year in collaboration with French chef Joel Robuchon. It will have a bar featuring Dassai sake, with Robuchon overseeing a restaurant that will pair the rice wine with French cuisine. It is…
Toyota Tsusho, Internet Initiative Japan, and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities announced the start of a joint demonstration project in the Lao PDR. The firms said the project is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of greenhouse gas emission…
The Sagawa group will acquire Phat Loc Express, Vietnam’s fifth-largest delivery service, gaining a foothold to expand operations nationwide as online shopping continues to grow. Japan’s SG Holdings, the parent of Sagawa Express, will buy all of Phat Loc’s…
Takimoto Koji, chief representative of the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) in HCMC, said Vietnam is a market with rapid growth, where consumers easily accept new products. According to Jetro, Japanese food exports were bringing $7.5 billion a year,…
After encountering a slew of character cafes this year, it was particularly refreshing to discover the travel-themed Japan Rail Cafe. The first of its kind in the world, the cafe is East Japan Railway Company (JR East)’s first overseas venture. For the…
German luxury car dealer Mercedes Benz Japan has opened a restaurant in its Tokyo showroom. But diners can forget caviar – bowls of noodles are the order of the day with a choice of two varieties of ramen, largely considered cheap, fortifying comfort food in…
Japanese restaurant group Colowide is introducing its shabu-shabu hot-pot chain to Vietnam via a franchise network. Its first On-Yasai hot pot location opens at Vincom Mega Mall in Hanoi this month, being run by affiliate Colowide Vietnam. The 260 sqm outlet…
Yogibo bean bags, which started in a Nashua, USA, basement in 2009, is about to launch in Korea. The brand has proven a hit in Japan, where 20 of its 50 global stores are located, and now the company has opened a pop-up store in Seoul after appointing a local…
French skincare brand L’Occitane International’s interim net profit has jumped 33.9 per cent for its latest six months. Earnings for the period to September 30 climbed to €25.99 million (US$27.5 million) from €19.41 million year-on-year, while net sales edged…
Japanese retail sales fell 0.1 per cent year-on-year in October, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. But while sales were down, the figures were much better than the 1.6 per cent fall analysts expected, after September’s 1.7 per cent…
Following on from a very weak second quarter, it is pleasing to see Tiffany nudge back into growth on a total sales basis. The 1 per cent uplift is modest, but it is far better than the string of poor numbers the company has been posting for well over a year.…
Japan is to be home to the seventh NikeLab flagship, a premium sub-branch of the sports-shoe brand launched in 2014. The other flagship locations are in New York, London, Paris, Milan, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Opening this week, Tokyo’s NikeLab MA5 offers a…
Taiwanese restaurant chain SheenHo has awarded a master franchise to Myanmar company Creation Strength to open outlets in the frontier market. About K1.3 billion (US$995,000) will be invested in opening up to 20 branches over five years, starting in Yangon.…
Japanese luxury jewellery Tasaki plans to open its first US standalone store in New York City next year. It will also be the retailer’s first directly run store in the US. Tasaki also has a directly run store in London, plus an outlet at Hong Kong’s Lee…
Restaurant group Jumbo Seafood has reported a full-year net profit of S$15.7 million (US$11 million) – up 17.9 per cent from the previous year. Overall group revenue grew 11.4 per cent to S$136.8 million, attributed mainly to revenue contributions from its…
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