297
Fashion Jobs
H&M
Total Rewards Manager, Supply Chain
Permanent · TSIM SHA TSUI
H&M
Accounts Specialist
Permanent · TSIM SHA TSUI
ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES
Assistant Demand Planning Manager
Permanent · HONG KONG
ESTÉE LAUDER - BRAND
Retail Marketing Manager, Estée Lauder
Permanent · HONG KONG
CLINIQUE
Assistant Education Manager, Clinique
Permanent · HONG KONG
CLINIQUE
Senior Marketing Manager, Clinique
Permanent · HONG KONG
TOMMY HILFIGER
Senior Manager, Creative Services, Tommy Hilfiger Asia Pacific
Permanent · HONG KONG
AESOP
Retail Consultant
Permanent · SHA TIN
NEWELL
Senior Manager, Indirect Sourcing
Permanent · HONG KONG
L'OREAL GROUP
Group Product Manager
Permanent · HONG KONG
ADIDAS
Senior Manager, Materials Availability Management
Permanent · HONG KONG
L'OREAL GROUP
Assistant Purchasing Manager (Marketing, Digital IT)
Permanent · HONG KONG
PUMA
Manager Innovation Technical Apparel
Permanent · HONG KONG
DR. MARTENS
Head of Financial Accounting, Apac
Permanent · TSIM SHA TSUI
TJX COMPANIES
Director of Sourcing, Apparel -Hong Kong
Permanent · HONG KONG
A & F
Hollister CO. - Brand Representative (Part-Time / Full-Time), Hysan Place
Permanent · CAUSEWAY BAY
A & F
Hollister CO. - Brand Representative (Part-Time / Full-Time), Yoho Mall
Permanent · HONG KONG
A & F
Abercrombie & Fitch - Brand Representative (Part-Time / Full-Time), Harbour City
Permanent · TSIM SHA TSUI
KERING EYEWEAR
Kering Eyewear Assistant Trade Marketing Manager Travel Retail
Permanent · HONG KONG
JAEGER
Training Manager
Permanent · HONG KONG
L'OREAL GROUP
Retail And Education Manager
Permanent · HONG KONG
TORY BURCH
Senior Manager, Retail Training, Asia
Permanent · HONG KONG
By
Reuters
Published
Jul 20, 2009
Reading time
2 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Retailers do well by going cheap in Japan

By
Reuters
Published
Jul 20, 2009

Japan is back in deflation, and price falls look like gathering pace as shoppers’ bargain-hunting leads stores to cut prices further to weather the worst retail slump in decades.


Uniqlo, a Fast Retailing company

Retailers large and small reported hard falls in quarterly profits last week, and the few bright spots were focused on those drawing in thrifty shoppers with their cheap but well-made goods.

Fast Retailing tops the list, as its Uniqlo stores thrive in tough times by selling T-shirts for $10 — that’s cheap here — and other clothing at similar bargain prices. The company is also seeing strong sales growth at its other basic apparel chain g.u.

g.u., the cut-rate sibling of already-cheap Uniqlo, had a low profile for years but shoppers started flooding in after it slashed prices across the board and started flogging $11 jeans and $5 T-shirts this year.

Shoe retailer ABC Mart, which also saw solid growth in its quarterly profits, said its sales of heeled sneakers jumped three-fold after it lopped almost 50 percent off the price-tag back in spring.

Even convenience stores, which had been thought to be pretty well immune to price competition, are starting to cut prices. Seven-Eleven, Japan’s largest chain, has marked down some household items like shampoo recently.

The trend is likely to intensify.

Japan’s second-largest retailer, Aeon Co Ltd, said it planned more markdowns to plug a hole in its sales. The operator of Jusco supermarkets is one of the most aggressive in expanding cheap in-house brands and marking down national brands.

This is deflation in action. The stores hope that by dangling cheap price tags, they will raise their total sales as customers flood in and buy more items each. This puts added pressure on suppliers like food makers and household goods companies, already pushed hard by retailers to bring down their prices. And then shoppers hold back spending in the hope of even cheaper prices.

All this gives the central bank and the government major headaches as they try to break the downward spiral in prices that has dire consequences for businesses, employment and the economy as a whole.

They’ve got their work cut out though, and some retailers aren’t that sympathetic.

An executive at one major retaling group told me he didn’t think his firm’s demand for further price cuts would hurt its suppliers.

“Look at how much profit they make,” he said rather grudgingly.

By Taiga Uranaka

© Thomson Reuters 2024 All rights reserved.