I have seen little evidence of Japan's young consumers, particularly young ladies [1], turning away from luxury brand names. The thing that has changed is where they buy them: they don't go to department stores, they go to malls, outlets, and the like.
But a Burberry scarf ($200 back when I first checked, probably more now) is still practically a mandatory part of the high school uniform in some places. That's the sole brand good I can identify at a glance, but I'm told that Gucci bags, etc, are still quite hot.
My ex-girlfriend went through a truly astounding amount of money on bags. She is not exactly unique among the young ladies in my social circle.
[1] I could point to a guy or two I knew who routinely wore single outfits that cost $300+ but, in my personal experience, its a bit more common for the ladies. One factor: twenty-something guys are less likely to be "parasite singles" (this is the actual Japanese word used: it means "living with your parents while you have a job before you're married"), and the ~$2,200 starting engineer's salary in this neighborhood doesn't buy a whole lot of bling UNLESS you have no rent or food bill, in which case its like you've suddenly got ~$1,600 of totally disposable income every single month.
They may not fancy about prada, lv, or etc. But, try to look at their street brands like Levis Fenom(Not Levis, crossover), Bape, Mastermind, Neighborhood, etc. Many of these things costs even more expensive than prada or lv. A pair of Levis Fenom jeans costs around USD900 if it is limited.
Agreed. Perhaps this isn't too bad. Then products will actually have to be useful and worth the money again.
That said, I think certain brands that have always been known for their usefulness or reliability should continue to do well. There always has been and always will be an up-market. It's what the upmarket looks like that changes over time.
That is big. The department stores I saw during (very limited) travels in Japan were all much like the upscale multi-story Macy's you'll see in American city downtown areas.
That same style of store may be on a similarly long downward sales trend in the US -- given the rise of other specialty and discount outlets.
I remember when I first saw a Sony store in Canada, after never seeing one in the UK, I had no clue they existed. I believe it went somewhat like "Oh wow it's a Sony store, that's cool... wait what the hell's the point of a Sony store. Is it like a warranty repair place? I thought they were all mail-to places not stores."
It's just alien to me why Sony would need a store, when everywhere sells Sony products. I mean bestbuy, walmart, sears, the source, futureshop all carry Sony products and they're all easier to get to than the actual Sony store!
They're image/experience stores, which are not all that far from Apple stores. It gives the brand an enlarged presence and a stage to flaunt the company's style, culture, and wealth.
they are more like a showcase places, then real stores. In SF, the sony metreon gets a lot of traffic, and most tourists in the area at some point end up there. You can kill time, playing some playstation, or something, but I don't see many people buying there. (prices are not cheap). It just serves more as marking and branding than for real sales purposes.
Just like a lot of stores in 5th avenue in NYC loose money, as the rent is so expensive, but the companies believe it is worth it, as it is crucial for a luxury goods company to have their wares displayed at luxury road.
It is all about perception and marketing. With the economy going down though, that might change.
It's interesting that this is only happening now, after Japan has suffered through a decade-long recession. Did an entire generation grow up with different values, or did the down economy change consumer behavior over a long period of time to reach this point? Or both?
Mapping this to the US, the transition from spending to saving and from bling to value orientation seems to be happening very quickly. Wonder if it will last.
When I was in Tokyo in 2007, there were several billboards near my hostel with a well dressed man on them, and the caption was something like (bludgeoning it here) "トキょ ダンヂイ？" which transliterates to "Tokyo Dandy?" My impression is that it's a word that entered the language from pre-war British English, and is probably used more in Japanese now than in English.
But a Burberry scarf ($200 back when I first checked, probably more now) is still practically a mandatory part of the high school uniform in some places. That's the sole brand good I can identify at a glance, but I'm told that Gucci bags, etc, are still quite hot.
My ex-girlfriend went through a truly astounding amount of money on bags. She is not exactly unique among the young ladies in my social circle.
[1] I could point to a guy or two I knew who routinely wore single outfits that cost $300+ but, in my personal experience, its a bit more common for the ladies. One factor: twenty-something guys are less likely to be "parasite singles" (this is the actual Japanese word used: it means "living with your parents while you have a job before you're married"), and the ~$2,200 starting engineer's salary in this neighborhood doesn't buy a whole lot of bling UNLESS you have no rent or food bill, in which case its like you've suddenly got ~$1,600 of totally disposable income every single month.