Inside Angel Farm Fukui (photos via Nikkei)

Imagine going to the latest Ginza flagship store of an up-and-coming brand flagged as the “new Uniqlo”. You have to wait, as there’s a line of consumers around the block, hungry to get a piece of the latest trend. Inside, it’s a minimalist space, with light techno music. Produce is stacked up to the ceilings in cool white units. Literally cool, that is – these units are refrigerated. And what they’re chilling isn’t clothes but the latest must-have item: designer lettuce.

A taste of what may be the future already exists in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, at an award-winning produce store called Green Flavor. It sells vegetables grown in a “plant factory” located upstairs in the same nondescript apartment building. The plant factory is operated by Mirai Co. Ltd. and its 37-year-old founder, Shigeharu Shimamura. He calls his firm an “agricultural software company”.

Plant factories are slowly spreading in Japan, with support from the government. Vegetables are produced indoors and under controlled conditions. Lighting, temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and water are all measured constantly to ensure stable production. For example, lettuce can be cropped twenty times a year.

Because the produce is grown in a clean room, it can be eaten without washing. That’s potentially attractive to consumers who want safe foods and restaurants that need to guarantee quality. The factories eliminate the need for physical labor in the countryside, so may create new jobs for young people in cities, according to the government.

Ozu Corp., a maker of traditional Japanese paper known as washi, turned its unused Tokyo warehouses into plant factories in 2008 in response to consumer concerns about unsafe food. The brand is called Nihonbashi Vegetables, after the central-Tokyo location of the company’s headquarters, where it plans to open another plant factory.

Another manufacturer, Fairy Angel Inc., has its main plant factory in Fukui Prefecture and others in Kyoto and Chiba. The Fukui factory’s temperature is controlled to +25°C by day and +18°C by night and is capable of producing three million plants a year, according to the Nikkei. Many factories are starting to use LEDs instead of fluorescent lighting to lower costs.

"Green room" veggies can go direct to the shelves

Mirai, which consulted on the Ozu project, says it receives 100 inquiries a month about the “green room” concept, including many from the Middle East and Africa. The government provided financial support for plant factories as part of its New Economic Growth Strategy in September 2008, and has pledged more as part of the so-called “Green New Deal”. However, concerns remain.

Plant factories consumer high levels of artificial energy compared with natural farming methods, raising the price of the produce, as well as questions about the net cost to the environment. When grown naturally, vegetables are a vital element of the food chain. The implications of their widespread removal from the natural environment are also yet to be measured.

This article was compiled using information supplied by the Japan Foreign Press Center.

For more of Five by Fifty’s consumer insights on “Part Time Greens”, contact us.

Oxford Circus, after it receives the Shibuya Treatment

London’s city planners are borrowing a very simple principle of Japanese pedestrian management – the “scramble” – to try and replicate Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing in the West End. It will be a sociological as well as logistical innovation for the European city.

London has started consultations on a major regeneration of Oxford Circus, the juncture of Oxford St. and Regent St., according to the Evening Standard. The scheme would stop all traffic at the crossing for 30 seconds at a time to allow pedestrians to cross diagonally as well as perpendicularly, cutting in front of each other in all directions.

In Shibuya, the phenomenon of thousands of people intersecting uninterrupted by traffic is a major tourist attraction in its own right. It’s one of dozens of such diagonal pedestrian crossings in Tokyo and other major cites that streamline consumer paths between key retail areas and transport links. Thousand gather at these intersections as they wait to cross, providing marketers with a captive audience for advertising hoardings and outdoor TVs replaying commercials.

“The parallels between Shibuya and the West End are stark: [both are] important fashion and entertainment areas,” said Danny Chalkley, Westminster Council’s cabinet member for environment and transport.

However, the new crossing will also be a sociological test of citizens’ expectations of personal space. It remains to be seen how frayed Londoners will cope with the multi-directional onslaught of barging pedestrians, something tolerant Tokyoites are well used to.

If approved, work will be complete by spring 2011, in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Oxford Circus today

Shibuya Crossing

Following the trend started by Isetan Girl in Tokyo last autumn, department store operator Marui has remodeled it’s Shinjuku location to create “Marui Curren,” which opened on February 27.

Marui Curren features ten floors of fashion boutiques and interior shops targeting young women in their late teens-early twenties. In a move away from luxury designer brands, the focus is on cute and casual clothing that is stylish but also affordable. Uniqlo, which is rebranding itself as an affordable fashion line rather than a casual wear brand, has a large shop in the new store.

In the current economic climate point cards, which are issued everywhere from small restaurants to airlines, could become an important tool not only to increase customer retention and grow spending, but also to win new customers.

According to some of the numerous surveys on the topic, more than 95% of Japanese consumers own at least one loyalty card, and 30% of Japanese women under 40 carry ten or more cards in their wallets.

Almost every retailer in Japan, from small restaurants to large companies such as airlines, department store chains and credit card companies, has a loyalty card program. However, until recently the use of these cards was limited to a single company – reward points collected at retailer A could only be used at stores of this particular chain.

But this limited use of loyalty cards mainly to drive loyalty and therefore sales is increasingly a thing of the past. More and more Japanese companies are discovering them also as a tool that also allows them to attract consumers from non-competitors, and launching cards that can be used at a wide range of stores and service providers.

One such format is the T Card, which was originally introduced as a loyalty card for members of rental video chain Tsutaya. The company has now turned it into a stand-alone brand that allows it’s almost 30 million members to collect and redeem reward points at over 30 retailers with more than 27,000 stores nationwide, including convenience stores, electronics stores, cinemas and restaurants.

In September 2009, T Card went mobile and subscribers of Japan’s largest mobile provider DoCoMo were able to collect points on payments made through their mobile phones. In February 2009, the service was extended to include Japan’s other two mobile phone companies.

T Card website (Japanese)

An advertisement for the Isetan Girl floor of the Isetan department store.

A Starbucks location in the department store was specially designed for a communal feel.

Since September, 2008, Isetan department store in Shinjuku, Tokyo, has operated a successful section called “Isetan Girl,” which offers affordable fashion items, accessories, and interior goods aimed at Japanese women from mid-teens to early 20s. Stylish yet affordable Japanese brands such as Rich, Plush&Lush, and Cher.  The focus here is not on the luxury goods that Isetan has long been associated with, but rather functionality and affordability. A new shop sells the Japanese brand Bonica, offering casual clothes to be worn at home.

When planning the department, Isetan survey consumers in the target group and found that women in their teens and 20s choosing clothes based on various people’s opinions and expectations, depending on the situation. At home, their own opinion governs what they wear, at school and on weekends that of their friends, and at formal occasions the opinion of their parents is the important thing. Accordingly the store is divided into five different sections: Weekend, Private Time, Campus, It! Girl, Communication.

A recent addition is Swati, a shop that sells decorative candles shaped like high-heel shoes and other interior items. Other shops sells affordable jewelry and accessories.

A Starbucks location on the floor was specially designed to create a communal feel, with shared sofa seating rather than private tables.

Swati brand candles.

The Mitsui Outlet Park Iruma opened in April.

2008 proved to be a big year for outlet malls in Japan. Four new locations opened around the country, bringing the total up to 36 malls which have been built since the concept was imported from America in the 1990s. Two other outlets expanded floor space, driving total sales in 2008 up to an estimated 520 billion yen ($520 million).

Outlet malls in Japan follow the pattern established by counterparts in the US, with brands such as Coach and Issey Miyake selling directly to consumers stores in locations far from the urban centers, but not too far to bring in big city shoppers. The Sano Premium Outlet in Tochigi prefecture, which opened in 2004 and expanded floor space this year, is a 90-minute bus ride from central Tokyo.

New outlets, such as the Mitsui Outlet Park Iruma, which opened in Saitama prefecture in April, drawing 37,000 visitors on its first day, focus not only on retail, but also family leisure, with a number of restaurants, cafes, and mini amusement parks for children, and play areas for pets.

Pasela karaoke parlors feature champagne and dining.

The Pasela chain of karaoke parlors, operated by Tokyo-based company Newton, have found a way to make money during off-peak singing hours during the day: hiring out the karaoke rooms as conference facilities.

Pasela karaoke parlors are now doubling as conference rooms.

Facilities include projectors, wireless internet connections, and whiteboards, thus catering to a new need among the growing number of companies who have started to downsize office space in order to cut costs. Rooms cost around 10,000 yen ($100) for one hour.

Pasela karaoke parlors are positioned as a luxury alternative to nation-wide chains, boasting chandeliers, champagne, and state-of-the-art karaoke machines.  Select locations in popular entertainment districts such as Shinjuku and Shibuya are billed as “Pasela Resorts.”  The Pasela Resort in Shinjuku, for example, features six floors of karaoke, dining, a Mexian-themed darts bar, a billiards hall, and a rental party space.

As Pasela Resorts are located in areas where many companies have offices and offer both dinning and entertainment, they are a popular location for “bonenkai,” end-of-year office parties always held outside of the office.

Learn more:
Pasela official homepage (Japanese)

The Kawasaki BE center is targeting young professional women.

The Kawasaki BE retail complex opened November 14, in the Kawasaki train station building. The new shopping center targets professional women in their 20s and 30s, with 126 retailers, including casual and fine dining, interior goods shops, and cafes. Additional shops are scheduled to open in May, 2009.

The center is following the model set by Remy Gotanda, which opened in the Gotanda train station building in Central Tokyo, where many women in their 20s and 30s work in offices. The convenient location of the shopping center encourages women to shop or dine during lunch breaks or just after work. In the case of Kawasaki BE, retailers are positioned in a major commuting hub, with many women who live in the Yokohama area but work in Tokyo changing trains here twice a day.

One of the several cafes in the complex is a new Tully’s Coffee designed on the concept of “casual & cozy, especially for women,” and targetting women in the 20s and 30s who want to cheerish their rare moments of free time. The cafe features a chic white interior with pink accents, comfortable seating, and seating for women dining alone, and light meals of panini and coffee, or premium sweets such as panna cotta and coffee. Also on the menu are caffe lattes flavored with liqueurs, not available at other Tully’s locations. Prices are higher than other Tully’s locations.

This cafe was especially designed for busy working women.

A recent event held at Architect Cafe in the fashionable district of Aoyama in Tokyo had an atmosphere similar to a networking event. Products on display included sweets, soap, aroma, cheese and interior goods. Products on sale were from large brands such as Jalux and Lion, as well as small businesses that ordinarily sell only online. Admission to the event was 1,500 yen (around $15). All participants received 1,000 yen worth or products from Lion, a major manufacture of body care and housecleaning goods, and Suntory provided free drinks at the bar.

The shopping parties provide companies with a chance to target consumers in a fun and casual setting. For participants, it is opportunity to have a “girls night out” as well as a way for professional women to exchange business cards.

Learn more:
Other stories on Lion
Other stories on Suntory

Sample Lab provides a space for consumers to discover new products.

Tokyo’s premier tryvertising space Sample Lab is celebrating their first anniversary from July 23rd until August 4th with a presentation of the 50 most popular products that were test-marketed since its opening.

Learn more:
Other Sample Lab News
Sample Lab Official Site (Japanese)