12/05/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | MAY 12, 2025

17

Tourists boost sales at Japan’s Don Quijote stores

Chinese car sales rise for third month in April

SHENZHEN: China’s car sales in April rose for a third month, up 14.8% from a year earlier, as government-subsidised auto trade-ins mitigated the impact of US tariffs on consumer sentiment. Passenger vehicle sales totalled 1.78 million units last month and for the first four months of 2025 were up 8.2% from the same period a year earlier at 6.97 million units, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed yesterday. Sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, known collectively as new energy vehicles, increased 33.9% year-on-year to make up 50.8% of total car sales last month. A government scheme that hands out larger subsides to trade-ins of old cars for NEVs than for gasoline vehicles had covered 2.71 million cars as of April 24, official data showed, cushioning the impact on Chinese consumer confidence as the increase in American tariffs on Chinese exports disrupt trade between the world’s two largest economies. Car exports slid 2.2% in April from a year earlier, extending an 8% decline in March, CPCA data showed. For domestic buyers, however, automated-driving systems are fading as a catalyst for sales, according to the association. The focus of a years-long price war in the world’s largest auto market shifted toward next-generation automated-driving features after BYD announced in February to offer its “God’s Eye” driver-assistance system as free standard equipment across its lineup. But the fervour to tout driver-assistance systems is cooling following a government crackdown on marketing terms using “smart” or “autonomous” to describe their technology after a fatal crash involving a Xiaomi SU7 sedan in March. The EV caught fire after hitting a cement pole, seconds after the driver tried to assume control from the car’s assisted driving system. – Reuters India dismisses clean energy agency chief NEW DELHI: India has removed the chairman of the Solar Energy Corp of India (SECI) with immediate effect, the Ministry of Personnel said in a notice on Saturday, just over a month ahead of the scheduled end of his tenure. The former top bureaucrat at India’s Environment Ministry was appointed SECI chairman in June 2023, and was scheduled to end his tenure as SECI chief next month. The government did not provide a reason for dismissing Rameshwar Prasad Gupta. Gupta declined comment. During Gupta’s tenure, SECI had barred India’s Reliance Power from participating in competitive tenders for renewable energy projects. It withdrew the order a month later in December after a court directive. SECI also came under fire last year for a solar deal involving SECI and billionaire Gautam Adani, which was signed before Gupta became chairman. US prosecutors had indicted Adani and seven other executives in November for alleged involvement in a bribery and securities fraud scheme. Adani had denied the allegations as baseless, and SECI denied any wrongdoing. He had also announced last year SECI’s plans to go public, but said it had yet to take a final call on the size of the initial public offering. – Reuters

TOKYO: Business is booming at Japanese discount chain Don Quijote, also known overseas as Don Don Donki, which sells everything from nostril-hair wax to compact gadgets and colourful party costumes, thanks to its cult status among tourists but also inflation at home. At a large Don Quijote store in Tokyo’s bustling Shibuya district, hundreds of tourists rush to fill their baskets with snacks and souvenirs from its heaving narrow aisles. “I was pretty overwhelmed at first, just because there’s so many options, everything’s in a different language,” 27-year-old Garett Bryan from the United States told AFP. But “I feel like I bought a lot and it was only like US$70” including “a coffee cup for my mom, a fan, some Godzilla chopsticks, just a couple toys”. The chaotic cut-price shops nicknamed “Donki” were founded in the 1980s by Takao Yasuda, who named them after his business inspiration: the idealistic protagonist of the classic Spanish novel Don Quixote . He wanted to shake up Japan’s staid retail industry with new tactics including late-night opening hours as well as more varied prices and product lines. Now a record influx of visitors to Japan, fuelled by a weak yen, is boosting sales nationwide. o Business booming at discount chain as rising inflation ramps up demand for cheaper products

However, in Japan at least, the shopping experience is “cramped, dark, you know, the buildings might be old” with products seemingly “hanging from everywhere”. Don Quijote’s omnipresent Santa-hat wearing penguin mascot Donpen and its “Don Don Donki” jingle on repeat just adds to the “jungle”-like experience. “It is just almost an assault on the senses,” Kraft said. Still, Don Quijote “has grown to be an extremely important retailer in Japan”, Kraft said – especially as rising inflation ramps up demand for cheaper products. The country’s core inflation rate accelerated to 3.2% in March, with consumers feeling the pinch on electricity bills as well as kitchen staples like cabbage and rice. Household consumption fell 1.1% in 2024, with some people making the trip to Don Quijote to save. “It’s less expensive than other shops, and they also have famous brands,” said a Tokyo resident who shops at the store twice a week and gave her surname as Kuroki. Shoji Raku, 20, told AFP she shops at Donki for “shampoo, electronics and everything that you don’t find elsewhere”. There is even usually a cordoned off adults-only section at Donki stores selling various sex toys. Tourist sales remain a key focus for the chain, which plans to open two new stores targeted at visitors in Japan next year, centred on duty-free products. But one Donki customer, Bruno Bosi from Brazil, said shoppers should tread with caution. “It is a store for you to buy as much as you want – but I think you need to ask yourself if you need it,” he said. – AFP

Revenues at Don Quijote in Japan are “around 1.7 higher than before the pandemic”, said Motoki Hara, an Inbound Support Department manager at the retailer. Last year its parent firm Pan Pacific International Holdings (PPIH) saw revenue rise around 12% year-on-year for its discount chains including Donki, while tax-free sales beat internal forecasts. Shopping at Don Quijote is like a “treasure hunt” – a fun experience that foreign visitors love, Hara told AFP. “Customers end up buying something different than what they came in for,” he said beside rows of cherry-blossom flavour KitKats, a popular exclusive product. Don Quijote and its sister brands have 501 stores in Japan, where 24 new ones opened during the past financial year. PPIH Group also runs 110 stores abroad, in the United States and across Asia from Taiwan to Thailand. California is one place being targeted by the company for expansion, according to analyst Paul Kraft, founder of Tokyo-based consultancy firm JapanIQ. But that plan could be complicated by US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs – including levies of 24% on Japan, which have been paused until July. Even so, “I wouldn’t bet against them, even in this entire high-tariff environment”, Kraft said. “Nobody adjusts as fast as Don Quijote in retail in Japan – even faster than convenience stores, because they give so much autonomy to their stores.” They are also “some of the smartest and most aggressive buyers that I’ve seen”, with consistently “the best selection of almost anything”, he said.

Hara walking past cup noodles for sale at a Don Quijote branch in Tokyo. – AFPPIC