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B8ta opens third store in Japan

B8ta is a US showrooming chain that is largely focused on gadgets in the US but its third Japanese store has shifted to categories that draw in more Japanese consumers, including beauty products and food. The first two stores had footfall of 500,000 in the first year.

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B8ta, the US retail as a service company, opened its third Japanese store last month in Shibuya. Unlike the first two, which emulated the US model of providing space for rent to mostly gadget brands, the Shibuya location is more experiential and includes new categories such as food and a lot more beauty/cosmetics gadgets and products. Beauty items include the hit gadget, Denki Bali Brush, which retails for JPY 198,000 (USD 1,743) thanks to claims of scalp and skin rejuvenation.

There is also a cafe offering vegan dumplings, sugar-free granola and tea/incense sets. Customers downloading the app in-store receive one set of free dumplings and coffee at JPY 88 (USD 0.77) a cup instead of the usual JPY 500 (USD 4.40). 40 companies had merchandise on display at the launch, of which at least 25 percent are food and 25 percent are beauty and health brands.

In 2015, B8ta opened its first store in Palo Alto and now it has nine stores in the United States and three in the Middle East. The Japanese operation is a joint venture business formed by B8ta with its main venture capital backer, Evolution Ventures, but with investment from Marui, Mitsubishi Estate, Cainz (a major Japanese retailer) and Toppan Printing.

Rental prices for exhibitors in Japan are around JPY 300,000 (USD 2,640) per month for a 40 cm by 60 cm display, inclusive of sales staff. Camera-tracking data from the store is available to merchants as well as feedback from testing and customer reactions to product. Some products are also sold in-store or online but the main purpose is to allow potential customers to try out products.

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Reports suggest that just under 500,000 people visited its Yurakucho and Shinjuku stores in the first year, with 11.5 million “impressions” (the number of times customers passed in front of each display) and the company is believed to be looking at 10 Japanese stores longer term.

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Japan Consuming

JapanConsuming is a research firm specialising in Japanese retail and consumer markets. Founded in 2000, JapanConsuming has become the provider of insights on Japanese retailers and consumer trends to retailers, brands, government agencies and investors. JapanConsuming produces monthly reports to help subscribers keep up to date with the latest trends and data, and also provides in-depth reports on retail sectors, seminars on key trends and consulting on market entry, expansion strategies and future trends.