Reporting and analysis on retail, e-commerce, and consumer trends in Japan, updated continuously by our newsroom.
Singapore cosmetics startup BeautyFresh is eyeing the eCommerce potential in its home market and broader Asia. Stocking more than 70 international brands including Chanel, Dior, Jo Malone and Nars, the company ensures authenticity of its products by scanning…
Japanese retailer Muji is expected to end its latest quarter with a 10 per cent year-on-year rise in group operating profit to about 10.5 billion yen (US$95.5 million), a record for the period. Sales for the parent company, Ryohin Keikaku, will probably have…
Young Chinese luxury travellers demand bespoke experiences and go abroad every three to four months, mainly for leisure, according to a Hurun Research Institute report. It shows that these travellers spend RMB420,000 (US$65,000) on tourism every year and…
Chinese tourists’ consumption in Japan has begun to wither in the face of a strengthening yen, setting up Hong Kong to recapture spending that has moved elsewhere in recent years. Affordability is key A country appeals more to foreign travelers as its…
Japan department stores saw their sales fall 3.8 per cent year-on-year last month, continuing the trend from March when sales fell back into negative territory after a short return to growth in February. According to the Japan Department Store Association,…
A tactic to move to high prices over the past year has failed for Japanese casualwear chain Uniqlo, admits the chairman of its parent company, Fast Retailing. Japan’s richest person, billionaire Tadashi Yanai says the company is considering how to sell…
As well as opening a Blancpain Osaka shop-in-shop, the Swiss watchmaker has a new flagship boutique on one of Hong Kong’s busiest streets. Blancpain’s new Japanese concession is inside the Hankyu Department Store Umeda Main Store, on its seventh-floor…
Japanese carmaker Toyota Motors on Friday resumed production at all assembly lines in the country after operations were halted at most facilities due to powerful quakes that struck the nation in April. A company spokesperson told EFE news that the last five…
With the idea that food needs to be tasted as well as its provenance explained, a Hokkaido dairy “pop-up flagship” shop was opened in Tokyo to introduce the brand. Over three months, Milk Land HokkaidoTokyo aimed to build the brand by letting consumers learn,…
Gap Japan will close its 53 Old Navy stores as its parent narrows its focus in Asia. But CEO Art Peck says the company “remains committed” to growing its brands in regions where it has a structural advantage. The relatively down-market Old Navy brand will…
Japanese supermarket giant Aeon has set up a joint venture with a European company to establish an organic supermarket in Japan, to be called Bio c’ Bon Japon. Bio c’ Bon, an affiliated company of business investment firm Marne & Finance Europe, runs a…
Footwear label Manolo Blahnik is expanding operations in select Asian markets through a new distribution and retail partnership. Beginning with the autumn/winter 2016 collection, Bluebell Group will be responsible for Manolo Blahnik’s distribution and retail…
One of the more significant banking stories of the year is the acquisition of Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) of a 20 percent share in a local bank. It’s a move that many predict will eventually lead to a larger ownership stake in the future. BTMU CEO Go…
Panasonic Healthcare Indonesia, a local producer of equipment used in the health care industry, has set a target to increase sales by 70 percent over the next four years on the back of growing exports. The company, which is a subsidiary of the Japanese…
JCB International Co., Ltd, (JCBI) the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., and Network For Electronic Transfers (Singapore) Pte Ltd (NETS) today announced a new partnership to accept JCB cards in Singapore. Receiving an average of 15 million…
A Japanese businessman has revived the established Japanese shirt brand Wasedaya Shirt – in Vietnam. His first outlet is in the Aeon Mall Long Bien in Hanoi, run by Japanese retail giant Aeon and its subsidiary Aeon Mall. Founded in 1903, the Osaka-based…
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