Shampoos. Department stores. Potato chips. Books. These are just a few of the Japanese news topics that caught our eyes over the past few days.
- Nippon Unilever and P&G Japan—which used to rank second and third in Japan's shampoo category, but were knocked down a step each when Shiseido jumped into second place last summer thanks to spectacular Tsubaki sales—are about to go on the offensive. Supported by huge promotions budgets, the two companies are importing successful brands from other markets, with P&G introducing h&s on September 1, and Unilever coming out with the Dove Pro Age Series on August 27. Stay tuned.
- If you've noticed that there are fewer chips in your Japanese potato chips bag lately, it's because manufacturers like Calbee have reduced package volume from 90g to 85g. No, this isn't related to Japan's increased interest in healthier eating. Manafacturers have seen increased prices on imported potatoes—but rumor has it they've been reluctant to pass the cost on for fear of losing sales to much cheaper private brands at CVS stores and supermarkets. Solution? Reduce product volume.
- Japanese department store sales were up 5.5% in June vs. the same month last year, while CVS sales dropped 4.2% for the same period. It seems that department stores were able to bump up revenues by starting summer sales earlier than usual and CVS sales failed to reach 2006 levels because of an unusual surge last year when consumers scrambled to buy up cigarettes before new taxes on smokes kicked in.
- Rakuten books has contracted with the Family Mart convenience chain to provided order pickup and payment services at Family Mart stores. Consumers can place orders on the Rakuten website and specify the Family Mart branch where they want their books delivered. This may sound counterintuitive since Japan's delivery services are speedy and efficient—but it turns out that Japan's busy office workers are often not home to take deliveries. With this service, buyers can specify pickup at the most convenient Family Mart branch—be it near their office, home, or wherever. Seven Eleven Japan has offered a similar service for years through its associated book-selling service, but Family Mart and Rakuten were reluctant to compete before coming up with a more efficient delivery model than the market leader.
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I haven't had the opportunity to take up the subject of sporting goods in Japan on these pages yet, but the subject came up in conversation yesterday, and it made me realize I wasn't quite sure which retailers were leading the market of late. As things would have it, Nikkei just so happened to release related information this morning, so let me share with you a ranking of Japan's top 5 sporting goods specialty stores along with some other numbers.
