Japan’s Premium Pricing Problem

International | Tokyo

Coach Kristin Leather Hobo Bag | Source: Coach

TOKYO, Japan — In the United States, the Coach Kristin Leather Hobo bag retails for $298. In Japan, the same bag costs $711 (¥59,850). This disparity in pricing is not unique to Coach. Premium and luxury fashion brands based outside Japan have long charged Japanese consumers a significantly higher price than in other markets for the same goods. But today, due to a strong yen and greater visibility of global pricing thanks to the

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In Tokyo, Abercrombie Misses Its Mark

Intelligence | Tokyo

Abercrombie & Fitch, Ginza | Source: Fashionsnap.com

TOKYO, Japan — After several years of “will they or won’t they” speculation, American casual fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch finally opened its first retail store in Japan this past December. The 11-story shop in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza neighbourhood is just steps away from Uniqlo’s flagship store and Swedish fast fashion brand H&M. As with every big retail opening in Tokyo, the first day of sales saw long lines of

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Uniqlo | A Feel-Good Commodity

International | Tokyo

The colours of Uniqlo | Source: Uniqlo

TOKYO, Japan — For the last two years, the inverted black triangle — Japan’s version of the minus sign — has infected monthly earnings reports at most of the nation’s retail chains. The global recession has been almost universally bad for the apparel market. Japanese customers are just not spending on fashion like they used to. There’s one exception, of course: Uniqlo.  For the fiscal year ending in August 2009,

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Friday Column | Japanese Luxury Fatigue

International | Tokyo

Prada flagship store in Omotesando, Tokyo

LONDON, United Kingdom — The scariest news I have recently read about luxury was in Tuesday’s Financial Times. The Japanese, it seems, have stopped buying luxury goods. Luxury imports in Japan were down 10 percent and sales of LVMH in the country were down 18 percent in the first quarter. And no, it’s not just the recession. “This is not a blip. This is a long-term shift in the market,” Brian Salsberg, the

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Japan Fashion Week | Not prime time

International | Tokyo

Somarta A/W 09, courtesy of Coutorture

TOKYO, Japan — Japan Fashion Week (JFW) is nearing its end, but has anyone really noticed that it started? While the entire cities of Paris, Milan, and New York seem to get completely swept up in the glamour of their respective fashion weeks, the average Tokyo citizen is most likely unaware that Japan Fashion Week is currently happening. This is very odd, considering that Tokyo is obsessed with designer fashion to an extent seen

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