Tag - retailers

 
 

RETAILERS

Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2019
Minimum charge for plastic bags at Japanese shops from July: ¥1
The government on Friday revised ordinances of four relevant ministries to oblige retailers to charge a fee for issuing plastic shopping bags from July 1.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 30, 2019
Japan retail sales grew at fastest pace since 2014 ahead of tax hike, but outlook murky
Japanese retail sales grew at the strongest pace in 5½ years in September as consumers rushed to buy big-ticket items to beat a rise in the country's sales tax, raising concerns spending could pull back sharply in the coming months.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2019
Japan firms fight the frugal retail psyche with AI-driven pricing and other tricks
After years of soggy inflation and a long reign by Japan's tightfisted shoppers, businesses are adopting new methods to lift prices, from artificial intelligence to simple packaging tweaks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2019
Forever 21 files for bankruptcy, adding to retail apocalypse
Forever 21 Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection, adding another big fashion merchant to the tally of retailers who couldn't cope with high rents and heavy competition.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2019
Can a tax rebate persuade Japan's mom-and-pop stores to shift to cashless payments?
Despite the government pushing the opportunity to accelerate Japan's shift away from cash, many small-business owners are hesitant to change over to cashless payments.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 14, 2019
Japan drugstore giants Cocokara and Matsumotokiyoshi in merger talks
Major drugstore chain Cocokara Fine Inc. said Wednesday it will enter merger negotiations with industry peer Matsumotokiyoshi Holdings Co.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2019
Private equity has directly killed 600,000 U.S. retail jobs, study says
Amazon.com Inc., landlords who charge sky-high rents, brands that fail to adapt. The carnage in the retail industry has been blamed on all of them. Now Wall Street is too.
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2019
Lack of sunshine cools sales of summer products in Japan
A severe lack of sunshine in the Kanto region is cooling sales of summer products, while the temperatures, unusual for this time of the year, are also generating unseasonal demand for hot drinks and food products.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2019
Blue-collar clothier Workman shakes up Japan's stagnant apparel market
It's a weekday morning and a steady stream of customers is entering a Workman store in Tokyo's industrial Ota Ward, mostly blue-collar workers looking for ¥99 rubber gloves, ¥3,500 safety shoes and other gear they need before heading to construction sites.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 22, 2019
Finally in cross-hairs of Trump's tariffs, U.S. retailers sound alarm
After surviving a year mostly unscathed in President Donald Trump's trade war, retailers are finally sounding the alarm bell — and loudly.
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2019
Keeping convenience sustainable
Moves are afoot among major convenience store chains to review the uniform 24-hour operation of their stores, the standard industry practice since Seven-Eleven Japan Co. started it a year after it opened its first outlet in 1974. The sustainability of 24-hour operations came under the spotlight after...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 4, 2019
Yodobashi to buy outdoor goods shop operator ICI Ishii-Sports
Major electronics retailer Yodobashi Holdings said Wednesday it will acquire outdoor goods shop operator ICI Ishii-Sports as early as the end of this month.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2019
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.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 28, 2019
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.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 10, 2019
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.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2018
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.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2018
Department store Takashimaya joins new venture in Bangkok as it looks beyond traditional domestic sales model
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 neighboring countries.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 8, 2018
Signpost's cashierless kiosk in Tokyo signals a real challenge to Amazon in 'smart store' sector
Amazon.com Inc. is betting that stores of the future won't have any clerks or registers. A company in Japan thinks it can get there first.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 24, 2018
Alibaba harnesses vast trove of shoppers' data to create 'spicy' Snickers bar
Brands spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year trying to figure out what consumers want.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 16, 2018
Alberta expects 80 to 100 cannabis stores licensed in a month
Alberta expects to have 80 to 100 cannabis retail stores licensed over the next month, with 17 locations ready for the first day of legal sales on Wednesday.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past