TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese discount retailer Don Quijote Holdings Co Ltd (7532.T) was once the industry’s enfant terrible, overturning standard retail practices with its cluttered and chaotic stores that sell everything from faux leopard-skin rugs to designer watches.
Products are displayed at Japanese discount retailer Don Quijote Holdings' store in Tokyo, Japan, June 18, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
These days, however, Donki - as it popularly known - is more of a role model, defying Japan’s weak retail environment to last week report its 29th year of unbroken sales and profit growth.
With sales projected to hit 1 trillion yen ($9 billion) this year, Donki is joining the top ranks of Japan's heavyweight retail market, among the likes of Aeon Co Ltd (8267.T), Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing Co Ltd (9983.T) and convenience store operator Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd (3382.T). (Click here for an interactive graphic on the trillion-yen club tmsnrt.rs/2nlHCUl)
The company says its success lies in its ability to amuse customers, who have tired of the efficient yet predictable shopping experiences at other Japanese stores.
“Our biggest rival is not Amazon or Aeon, but customers’ losing interest,” Mitsuo Takahashi, Don Quijote’s chief financial officer, told Reuters in an interview.
After struggling to find sites in some areas to fuel its sustained expansion, Donki has tied up with FamilyMart Uny Holdings Co Ltd (8028.T) to convert its struggling big box stores, delivering a rapid turnaround at the first six outlets to try the new format.
And on Monday the discounter said it would be interested in buying Walmart Inc’s (WMT.N) Seiyu supermarket unit, reflecting its increasingly ubiquitous presence on Japan’s shopping streets, where it has replaced stores struggling in
