Tag: market entry

  • H&M: green field market entry to Japan, opens first Japan store in Tokyo – Ginza on September 13, 2008

    H&M: green field market entry to Japan, opens first Japan store in Tokyo – Ginza on September 13, 2008

    H&M entered Japan’s fashion market initially using a green field strategy, opening stores. On September 13, 2008, H&M opened the first store in Japan in Ginza, and is planning two more stores in Shibuya (see picture below) and in Harajuku.

    H&M adapted it’s global way of doing things to Japan’s market needs – for example, H&M introduced “Quality Managers& in it’s Japan store, in order to match Japan’s consumers high expectations for quality (and I guess also to avoid problems with Japan’s recently introduced product liability laws).

    One week after opening, customers are queuing in line to enter the store – typical waiting time is about 2 hours, daily number of visitors to the store are estimated ot be about 8000/day.

    Closest foreign competitors in Japan include US retailer GAP, and Spanish retailer Inditex (Diseno Textil SA)’s ZARA.

    Biggest Japanese competitor is Fast Retailing’s UNIQLO.

    H&M is preparing to open the second and third stores in Shibuya (photo below) and in Harajuku.

    Our comments:

    H&M has had a very successful start and has created a successful opening “event”. To be successful longterm H&M will have to:

    • sufficiently tune to Japan,
    • continue to innovate,
    • compete successfully especially with UNIQLO
    H&M opening in Ginza
    H&M opening in Ginza
    H&M's building in Ginza
    H&M’s building in Ginza
    H&M in Tokyo-Ginza
    H&M in Tokyo-Ginza
    H&M building the second store in Tokyo-Shibuya
    H&M building the second store in Tokyo-Shibuya

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  • Okaerinasai (=welcome back) IKEA

    Today, Monday April 24, 2006 at 7:30am, IKEA invited about 300 guests to celebrate the opening of the first 100% IKEA-owned IKEA store in Japan. We had the honor of working for IKEA – IKEA is another company that “thinks different” in so many creative ways. We wish them all the best in Japan!

    IKEA had attempted earlier to establish business in Japan via a joint-venture established in 1974. This Joint-Venture was terminated in 1986, and IKEA ended business in Japan in 1986. Interestingly – and this is not the only such case – its only that IKEA itself at that time failed in Japan. The business IKEA created in this joint-venture actually continued successfully without IKEA even after IKEA had left Japan.

    About 20 years later, this is now IKEA’s second venture into Japan.

    The photographs shows Mr Koshichi Fujishiro, the Mayor of the City of Funabashi, and Mr Gordon Gustavsson, Manager of the new IKEA Funabashi store sawing the traditional log. Witnessing the log sawing ceremony are Ms Akiko Domoto, Governor of the Chiba Prefecture, His Excellency, Mikael Lindstrom, the Ambassador of Sweden, Anders Dahlvig, CEO of the global IKEA Group and Tommy Kullberg, CEO of IKEA-Japan:

    IKEA opening ceremony for the IKEA store in Funabashi
    IKEA opening ceremony for the IKEA store in Funabashi
    Opening ceremony for IKEA's store in Funabashi
    Opening ceremony for IKEA’s store in Funabashi
    Opening ceremony of the IKEA store in Funabashi: the Mayor of Funabashi and the IKEA store manager saw a log
    Opening ceremony of the IKEA store in Funabashi: the Mayor of Funabashi and the IKEA store manager saw a log

    A JR-Keiyo Line train with IKEA logos passing the new IKEA store in Minami-Funabashi:

    IKEA advertisements on JR-East trains
    IKEA advertisements on JR-East trains

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