Japan Retail: blossoming duty-free shops and the growing tourism market

Shopping in post-war Japan

Takashimaya to open airport-style duty-free shop in Shinjuku

“Major Japanese department store operator Takashimaya Co. plans to open an airport-style duty-free shop in Tokyo in a bid to capture the growing tourism market. Takashimaya will establish a company to operate the shop jointly with All Nippon Airways Trading Co., a unit of ANA Holdings Inc., and Hotel Shilla Co., an affiliate of South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. The duty-free shop will open within Takashimaya’s flagship store in the busy Shinjuku area in spring 2017, according to sources.”  (Japan Times)

In parallel with the soon expected “sakura” blossoming and other “hanami” activities, duty-free shops are blossoming and everywhere in Japan’s busy shopping malls and department stores. The latest trend is however towards “airport-style duty-free” shops, as described in this article. Waves of (Chinese) tourists are benefiting from the 8% tax discount (under some specific conditions, like foreign residency and minimum purchase amount of 5,000 or 10,000 JPY). Should we learn some lessons from this in France, Europe or even US? What do you think?

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