Daiso
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Daisō or The Daisō [sic] (Japanese: ザ・ダイソー) is the largest franchise of 100-yen shops in Japan. Its parent company is Daisō Sangyō Corporation (Japanese: 株式会社大創産業). Daiso has a range of over 50,000 goods, of which over 40 percent are imported goods, many of them from China. [1] Many of these are own-brand goods.
Daiso sets itself apart from other 100 yen shops by choosing not to sell closeout or factory second merchandise. Instead they keep prices low by purchasing directly from manufacturers in very high volume, a strategy often compared to Wal-mart. While the prices are low, and in many cases identical items are sold for more elsewhere, in some cases the quality reflects the low price.
Daiso often uses such locations as disused pachinko parlours for its retail outlets. They spend a lot of money on shelving and fixtures to help the stores compete with more high-end retailers. The stock of items retailed at each shop is varied frequently in order to increase repeat customers.
Daiso categorizes all its own-brand items on sale using the word za ザ, the Japanese representation of the English word "the", plus a category. For example, za hanabi ザ・花火 is the category for fireworks, and za purasuchikku ザ・プラスチック is the category for plastic items such as plastic buckets or trays.
In 2004 Daiso also started selling items priced at multiples of 100 yen, such as 200, 300, 400 or 500 yen. For example children's clothes or large toys. This may be the start of a change to competing with other-than-100 yen outlets such as Don Quijote.
Daiso has 2,400 stores in Japan, and 380 stores overseas, in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Canada, U.A.E, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Macao, and The United States of America.
In December 2003, Daiso opened a 2,310 square metre (approx. 25,000 square feet) store in Aberdeen Centre, in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. All items sold in the store (Daiso products plus a small selection of Japanese foods and beverages) are CAD$2 each. "This store is to be our springboard to launch Daiso's operations across North America," said Roy Fujita, director of the company's international division. [2]
On October 2, 2005, the first store in the US opened for business in Alderwood Mall located in Lynnwood, Washington near Seattle, WA. This store is much smaller at only 442 square meters (Approx. 4,750 square feet), and items were originally one of three prices, $1, $1.50, & $2 (all USD). The current inventory now includes packaged food and items are now priced up to $8, though most items are at the $1.50 price point. Daiso officials have said they plan to open as many as twenty stores in the United States. They also hope to work through the US import laws and begin offering cosmetics and textiles.
