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https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/people-want-something-more-than-value-why-we-re-so-into-buying-japanese-stuff-20260728-p60jag.html>
"Just before noon on Thursday, a queue of nearly 100 people had gathered
outside Muji, the Japanese homeware, stationery and apparel store inside
Melbourne’s labyrinthine shopping centre of Chadstone. Those in line had made
their way to the lower ground floor – just around the corner from discount
variety store Daiso and one floor down from a sprawling Uniqlo – not for the
store’s grand opening day, but for the reopening of an existing one.
This is the third evolution of Muji Chadstone, which opened its doors in 2013
and relocated seven years later to a larger space. The freshly reconfigured
layout gives greater prominence to its menswear section, highlights its popular
stationery range of notebooks, pens and office supplies, and entices passersby
with limited-time promotions and essential supplies like hand towels, socks and
toiletries.
Among those waiting in line and eyeing the expanded range of Muji-branded
snacks, chocolates and truffles was Emily Chao, 24. “I come to Muji all the
time. I love their products,” she says.
“The socks, the pyjamas, they have really good material. I love their food too.
They have a great curry. Everything’s very minimalist. Even the packaging is
very simple. You know exactly what you’re buying.”
Across multiple fronts – travel, fashion, entertainment, beauty, stationery,
homewares, food and snacks, booze and even coffee – Australians are turning to
Brand Japan. We are stuffing our cupboards and wardrobes with more Japanese
things, a journey that for many of us begins in our suitcases: more than 1
million Australians visited Japan in 2025, the first time Australian visitors
had broken the mark – a figure double pre-pandemic levels. Globally, Japan
welcomed 42.6 million tourists last year and was one of the world’s favourite
travel destinations.
Australians who have explored the shopping districts of Ginza and Shibuya have
encountered design principles like kaizen (continuous improvement) and
monozukuri (excellence in craftsmanship and manufacturing) and discovered them
in products, now sold at home, by retailers such as Muji and Uniqlo:
high-quality, sleek and functional, typically with an unobtrusive minimalist
design."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
