{Inter} Cultural Japan

“100 yen shops” were a typical phenomenon of the long economic crisis in Japan. In the nineties, they mushroomed all over the country, and even reared their heads in upperscale shopping districts.

You now find them everywhere in Japan. Their stock consists of a variety of items from clothing to stationery, housewares to food, with each item neatly priced at 100 yen (before VAT). Important chains are Daiso (1300 shops) and Cando (800 shops). They are able to offer their low prices by buying large volumes in Asia, mainly China.

[Screenprint of Daiso’s webpage]

But now things are changing, according to the Mainichi Daily News. It seems the formula is getting a bit tired… the novelty has worn off and the number of customers is falling. To counter the trend, in last April Cando has set up a test shop called Seikatsu Zakka where all 3000 items are priced at either 315 or 525 yen, from shirts to frypans to slippers. The higher price allows the shop to stock a wider variety. If succesful, Cando will set up Seikatsu zakka sections in its other stores as well. Other 100 yen shops are following suit or expected to do so.

They have to, because at the same time competition is coming from below as well. Lawson and similar convenience stores are setting up 100 yen supermarkets and these are eating away into the profits the 100 yen shops used to make on foodstuffs. Home centers, too, are now selling the same merchandise that in the beginning allowed the 100 shops to make a profit.

So it does not sound so strange that Cando has choosen to move to a higher echelon of merchandise and customers. Or is this all simply a sign that Japan has left the crisis squarely behind it.

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