JapanConsuming
Real insight on Japanese consumer markets



Japanese: 15% spending on food (Jan 6)
A recent article on Kiplinger.com illustrates some differences in Japanese consumer spending that really set it apart from other advanced economies. Forget the luxury handbags (which weren’t considered in the article), Japanese consumers spend almost 15% of their monthly budgets on food alone. This compares to just 5.7% in the US and between 9% and [...]


Uniqlo same-store sales up 10.3% (Jan 6)
Fast Retailing’s core apparel chain, Uniqlo, saw same store sales up in double digits yet again in December, this time by 10.3%. This is the second straight month of high like for like sales, and shows both the retailer’s success in marketing, but also the shift towards more value shopping by consumes. In November, like [...]


Focus: Aeon: running scared (Dec 31)
Aeon is Japan’s largest retailer. Its official accounts rank it number two, but when affiliates are added into the figures, the ¥7.5 trillion total easily dwarfs that of Seven & I. But Aeon is a company with problems, and now at last its smoke and mirrors management has been revealed for what it is. Mitsubishi’s [...]


Marubeni steps in to help Rosen (Dec 31)
Sotetsu Rosen looks set to become part of the growing Marubeni stable of food supermarket chains around Tokyo. Marubeni is setting a precedent as the saviour of small chains, particularly those run by private railways, and there’s no reason to suppose similar tie-ups might not follow. Equally, other trading houses may well begin to wonder [...]


Handbags: next purchase less than ¥30,000 say 80% (Dec 31)
WWD Japan recently surveyed women across the country regarding their handbag preferences, favourite brands and future buying plans. While there were few surprises in their favourite brands currently, responses to questions about future purchases will worry the luxury brands if they are indicative of the wider population: 80% of the survey said they would spend [...]