Daiso

Daiso Japan
Native name
 ザ・ダイソー
Daiso-sangyo
Formerly called
 Yano Shoten
Private
Industry Variety store
Founded December 1977 (1977-12) in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan
Founder Hirotake Yano
Headquarters Higashi Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima[1], Japan
Number of locations
 3,660[1]
Area served
 Asia, Oceania, Middle East, North America, Central America, Brazil, Africa[2]
Key people
 Hirotake Yano (President)
Website www.daiso-sangyo.co.jp/index.php

Daiso or The Daisō (ザ・ダイソー) is a large franchise of 100-yen shops in Japan, owned by Daiso Sangyo Corp. (株式会社大創産業 kabushiki gaisha daisō sangyō). Its headquarters are in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture.

Daiso has a range of over 100,000 goods, of which over 40 percent are imported goods, many of them from China.[3] Many of these are house-brand goods.

History

Daiso was originally opened first as a street vending shop dealing with 100-yen products known as “Yano Shoten" by Hirotake Yano in 1972. He later founded Daiso in 1977.[4]

Business method

Daiso often uses such locations as previous 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 morpheme 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.[4]

Locations

Daiso has 2,800 stores in Japan, 975 in South Korea, and 700 stores overseas in Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Vietnam.[5] [6]

Number of Daiso stores, as of 15th June 2016. [7]

Middle East [8]

Asia

Americas

Oceania

Africa

Australia

The first Daiso store opened up in Abbotsford, Victoria in 2010, selling thousands of items at a flat rate of $2.80.[11] Since then it has expanded to seven stores in New South Wales, three in Queensland and eight in Victoria. The stores range from 133 m2 (1,430 sq ft) to 1,067 m2 (11,490 sq ft) (Melbourne Bourke St store), which is currently the largest in Australia. All items are AUD$2.80. Except for those that are sold at a higher price $3.80 - $6.80.

Canada

Daiso's first North American store, at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond, British Columbia

In December 2003, Daiso opened a 2,400 m2 (26,000 sq ft) store in Aberdeen Centre, in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Most 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.[12]

Malaysia

All products are priced at RM5.30 GST-inclusive.[13]

Singapore

There are fifteen Daiso stores in Singapore. All products are priced at SGD$2.

South Korea

Daiso Korea owns 975 stores across the country,[14] which was established in 1992 as the Daiso-Asung Corporation. Working in cooperation with Daiso Japan in 2001 (until 2011), the chain has proliferated over the last 10 years by using a low cost-high quality strategy. Each store stocks over 30,000 items and most are under 1,000 won. Daiso has an online shopping mall that allows people to purchase the same items at home.[15]

In 2011 and 2014, Daiso Korea announced that they were no longer part of Daiso Japan; they claim that Daiso Japan was trying to promote the Takeshima Islands, as part of Japan. Daiso Korea confirmed that they were not selling the products Daiso Japan was selling and that they were acting as a different company.[16]

Daiso Korea has a unique logo compared to the rest of the Daiso Corporation. The modified logo is used inside the country to rebrand itself as a more modern company and to show its break-off from Daiso Japan.[17]

United States

Daiso in San Gabriel, California

On October 2, 2005, the first store in the United States 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.

There are over fifty stores in the United States: seven are in Washington and over forty in California. The largest U.S. Daiso is located in Union City, California, which has 17,760 square foot (1,650 square meters) of floor space and opened on August 8, 2007. A total of 15 to 20 locations are planned for the entire San Francisco Bay Area in the future.[18]

References

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