I’m interested in cultural differences, and in cross-cultural success stories. This FT article examines some of the reasons why foreign (non-Japanese) companies trying to enter the supermarket field have mostly failed, with the exception of Costco. The reasons for the failures seem to be a combination of lack of patience (expecting success too soon, not enough funds to survive many years with very small profits) and poor market-research, or perhaps assuming that Japanese consumers are similar to consumers everywhere.
The failures include Walmart (still here but struggling), Carrefour and Tesco. The reasons?
One exception has been Costco, the US membership discount wholesaler, which has slowly but steadily increased the number of stores it has in Japan.Increasingly cost-conscious Japanese consumers have flocked to Costco stores, often in groups, which share the large-sized packages that Costco products are generally sold in.Although Costco does not disclose its results, “the industry believes it is doing well and is keeping a close eye on it,” Mr Suzuki says.
