It’s not every day a gaijin living in rural Japan opens the newspaper to see an ad for Wendy’s staring back at him. The American fast food chain will be bringing its square hamburgers and Hobbit-sized versions of those wonderful Frosties to residents of our prefecture this month, opening in a large-scale shopping mall with the somewhat disturbing name of SMARK. It’s amazing how many ways companies from overseas are able to bring their products to market in Japan these days, a far cry from the late 80s when politicians insisted that imported skis were not “suitable” for Japanese snow. While some large companies have brought big changes to their industries directly, for example Toys R Us taking advantage of the lack of centralized competitor in the toy business to take the top spot for themselves, others brands bring their products into Japan by partnering with local companies, which is why you see a little Suntory logo on cans of Pepsi here. Another breakthrough has been the rise of American-style “Premium Outlet Centers,” where companies like Nike and L.L. Bean and Timberland can reach out directly to Japanese consumers without bothering with the infamous multi-tiered Japanese distribution system. I visited one of these shopping outlets the other day, and literally had to think for a few seconds to recall whether I was in the U.S. or Japan, since the layout of the stores was almost exactly the same as in outlet centers I’ve shopped at in San Diego. (The McDonald’s sign written in katakana finally gave it away.) Following recent food trends, Wendy’s Japan is going “mega,” bringing double and triple hamburgers to hungry Japanese eaters.
