NEWSWORTHY
Struggling furniture retailer Otsuka Kagu forms tie-up with Yamada Denki
Otsuka Kagu Ltd. said Friday the struggling furniture retailer has reached a basic agreement to form a business tie-up with major electronics retailer Yamada Denki Co. The two companies will provide each other with know-how on selling furniture and home appliances while cooperating on human ...
Japan's H2O Retailing expands push into Taiwan bread market with joint venture
Japanese department store operator H2O Retailing Corp. will set up a joint venture in Taiwan to meet growing consumer demand for freshly baked bread. H2O will upgrade its partnership with PX Mart Co., a local supermarket chain, to sell more freshly made bread in Taiwan. The ...
More and more women in Japan are abandoning the tradition of giving obligatory chocolates to male coworkers on Valentine's Day, instead using the occasion to treat themselves. The trend reflects shifting societal norms and consumer attitudes in the country, creating new opportunities and challenges for ...
Aeon rolls out real-time video interpreting service for non-Japanese customers in 10 languages
In light of an increasing number of foreign customers, supermarket giant Aeon Co. on Friday launched a real-time video interpreting service. Shop clerks at about 550 Aeon stores now carry smartphones or tablet devices that can access interpreters through video chat software to assist non-Japanese ...
Retail rout deepens as U.K. and Germany lose thousands of jobs
Europe's retail crisis deepened as companies in the U.K. to Germany are set to cut thousands of jobs as online shopping accelerates erosion of sales from traditional bricks-and-mortar stores. Tesco, the biggest U.K. grocer, will eliminate about 15,000 positions and close meat, fish and delicatessen ...
Japan household spending falls for third straight month in November
Japanese households cut spending for the third straight month in November as unseasonably warm weather reduced the need for heating and winter clothing. Spending by households with two or more people fell 0.6 percent in real terms from a year earlier to ¥281,041, according to ...
Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing blames warm winter for surprise profit decline
Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. reported an unexpected decline in quarterly profit on Thursday, blaming warm weather for hurting winter clothing sales even as its Chinese business shrugged off concerns of a decelerating economy. Uniqlo has become Asia's biggest clothing retailer, helped in part ...
Furniture retailer Otsuka Kagu agrees to tie up with Chinese firm
Struggling furniture retailer Otsuka Kagu Ltd. said Friday it has agreed to a business tie-up with a Chinese company in the same sector, as it looks to boost sales in the world's second-largest economy and turn its fortunes around. The upscale furniture retailer based in ...
JR East's Atre to open first shopping mall outside Japan in Taiwan
East Japan Railway Co. will open the first overseas shopping mall of its station complex management arm Atre Co. in Taiwan next month to capitalize on its consumption-oriented lifestyle. Atre said the mall will open in Taipei Nan Shan Plaza's Breeze Center on Jan. 10. ...
SoftBank to invest $2 billion in Coupang, S. Korea's largest online retailer
SoftBank Group Corp.'s Vision Fund will invest $2 billion in South Korea's Coupang, giving the e-commerce giant funds to accelerate development of new shopping and delivery services. Founded in 2010, Coupang is South Korea's largest online retailer and sells more than 120 million items from ...
Boxed in by a shrinking domestic market and consumer preferences shifting toward online shopping, the only way for Japanese department stores — as well as the broader retail sector — to survive is to get a slice of fast growing markets overseas, especially in ...
