business

Don Quijote leads Japan tourism push to rake in sales

10 Comments
By Chang-Ran Kim

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Uniqlo is another example. I know a university student who is half Chinese, half Japanese. She speaks Chinese and English as well as Japanese, which is her first language. She has a part-time job in Uniqlo in Ginza and told me she got it because of her language ability. Many part-timers hired there are multilingual so that they can deal with foreign customers.

This is actually a big part of this nation's economic woes problem. Japan Inc. continues to rely on salarymen who suffer from myopia and only speak Japanese, while forward-thinking, multilingual youth are relegated to low-paying, part-time jobs.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I alwats go there each time I visit Japan from my home in NYC, and enjoy the bargains. I also got back from a vacation in France last month, but was appalled by their rip off prices for tourists, $8 bottles of water with food that was uniformly overpriced and crappy. Yes, France is geared toward touristd, which is where the term "tourist trap" comes from. For its good food and great attitudes, Japan wins my tourism dollars, hands down.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Tilting at the right windmills.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I just wrote a comment on Abenomics and why it was a failure. My point was that Japanese must be imaginative and creative to improve the economy. Don Quijote is doing well because it is a company that is imaginative and creative.

Uniqlo is another example. I know a university student who is half Chinese, half Japanese. She speaks Chinese and English as well as Japanese, which is her first language. She has a part-time job in Uniqlo in Ginza and told me she got it because of her language ability. Many part-timers hired there are multilingual so that they can deal with foreign customers.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

When I encounter tourists looking for an interesting place to shop ... I always point out the nearest Don Quijote here in downtown Tokyo. And I also enjoy browsing ... and shopping ... in these interesting stores ...

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Donki is a fun place to shop and also has lots of those little touches unique to Japan that are so endearing. Now if i could just get their cheesy jingle/company song out of my head......

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The place is a bit junky, but kudos for going after tourist dollars. I recently read that France leads the world in number of tourists, but is not at the top in income from tourists. One reason is the short hours, particularly the Sunday closures of shops and department stores except in a small number of areas.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

For me Don Quijote was best appreciated at the end of a night drinking with a friend or girlfriend. Never has there been a retail store crammed from floor to ceiling with everything you can possibly imagine. You could easily spend an hour or more checking out what they have to offer.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Don Quijote is a fun, zany place to shop. There's a broad appeal, so they are successful. Basic business sense: provide customers what they want at reasonable prices and you'll likely be successful.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Every time I've visited my local DQs (there are two in my ward) they've been packed with foreign tourists, especially Chinese-speaking ones. Some of the cashiers are multi-lingual, which helps, but you don't really need to speak a foreign language to provide good service. The baseline for good service in Japan is already pretty high.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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