export-japan.com's newsletter 23rd January 2006 edition

Contents

Fighting With Personality - How New Businesses Compete

When entering the Japanese market, it is inevitable for those new to the market to be forced to come up with a well thought out game plan to differentiate themselves from already established companies. The situation perhaps may be different if your company's product had never before been developed, but since most of the time this is not the case, there is no way to rise to the top but to carefully plan for success. This is especially true in the electronics industry where there are already too many established companies in Japan to simply compete with the same methods for the same customers.

For example, if a well-known Japanese electronics company such as Panasonic or Sanyo developed a new portable electric stove, it would be marketed towards the growing elderly population. These stoves can be advertised as safe for the elderly compared to a gas stove, and these established companies could utilize their brand name to market reliability. For a company less known by the elderly population, this same marketing strategy would not work.

Following the footsteps of Tescom & Co. Ltd., a newcomer in the electronics industry, would perhaps provide hints to compete against already established companies. A twenty-something woman designed Tescom's IH electronic stove for young women using a sleek silver design. The price and marketing strategy was also set to appeal to young women keeping the price low and using colorful store displays. However, interestingly, 50% of those who purchased the stove were senior citizens, 40% were families, and only 1% were young women.

As you can see, the company's product development and marketing strategy targeting young women were really not setup to attract the attention of these female customers. But use of these different means served to differentiate themselves from the more established electronics manufacturers. Tescom succeeded by focusing on their strengths as a women friendly electronics manufacturer to eventually attract the same customers as their larger competitors.

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Discover Business in Traditions

Ideas found in various cultural traditions can sometimes lead to unexpected hit products in the Japanese market. The rising popularity of the ger, a traditional Mongolian dwelling that can easily be assembled and disassembled to support a nomadic lifestyle, is an example of such a phenomenon.

Something that the public would have never purchased seven years ago is now turning into a new business, resulting in an increase in imports of these dwellings. Beginning with the popularity of Mongolian Village Tenger, a campsite in Tochigi Prefecture Nasu City, where trees and snow surround 13 ger, business ventures using ger are increasing. For example, a Mongolian restaurant just recently opened in Tokyo built inside a 10-meter ger. However interesting enough, these new ger import businesses are mainly responding to demands from individuals looking to purchase a ger as a second home.

It is hard to deny that the increase in popularity of these dwellings is at least partially related to Asashoryu, the Mongolian sumo wrestler whose fame recently put Mongolian culture in the spotlight in Japan. However, there was definitely something in this Mongolian dwelling that spoke to the modern citizen living in Japan. Many say that the lack of partitions between people when living or just dining in these ger was what attracted customers. To those that live in large cities in Japan like Tokyo where people find it difficult to communicate and meet new people, these ger provide a space that allows them to easily start conversations with strangers.

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Export-Japan.com Site Update

Come see the new renewed export-japan.com website. If not yet a full member, register for free to publish your company details and trade offers. Also make sure to take a look at our Business Information Search Service for those looking for specific Japanese business information.

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At export-japan.com we help build successful business relationships between Japanese companies and like-minded companies all over the world. We can help you do business with Japanese companies.

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