Banter Without Borders

Cupcakes and Cashmere: Stalking Cultural Preferences

Whether it’s cupcakes in Doha or sushi in Warsaw, following cultural trends and ever-evolving cultural preferences will forever be one of my favorite pastimes.  Such inclinations are of interest as reflections of their surroundings, economic and otherwise. Although not ‘big ticket’ items, the sudden appearance of cupcakes in the Middle East, sushi in Eastern Europe and fine chocolates in China are new tokens of luxury in select burgeoning economies and segments thereof.  What is of greater significance to me, though, is what has happened to the luxury market in Japan, and how this has affected both consumer thinking and its cultural manifestations.

 Much has been written about changing consumer spending habits in Japan (see Carrefour post below), as the country’s collective belt has been tightening for a considerable period of time.  The early proliferation of ¥100 stores in the post-bubble 1990s was perhaps an early indicator of an emerging trend in shopping, which until then had generally eschewed bargain hunting as a cultural sport.  Now, such shops with names like Seria, Watts and Don Quixote are as ubiquitous in Tokyo as tea vendors, and cheap chic is now not only acceptable, it’s downright trendy.  The country’s ailing luxury sector, meanwhile, has been steadily eroding, evidenced by plummeting department store sales, and punctuated by Versace’s complete withdrawal from the Japan market last week.

This is all music to the ears of companies like Fast Retailing (of Uniqlo fame), H & M, and Forever 21.  They, like many others, have been ‘recession ready,’ and are now all battling for supremacy on Japan’s legendary fashion battleground, with jeans at $10.00 and cashmere sweaters of decent quality at eye-popping prices. For even as the country’s luxury market suffers, and one can conjure up a picture of austerity and restraint in a culture known for embracing stability and resisting change, Japan is at the same time one of the most cutting edge trend-driven places on earth. Thus, its new economic realities have simply presented new challenges for its trendmeisters, whether in food, fashion or tech devices and beyond.

As buying on the cheap continues to evolve from ‘hazukashii’ (embarrassing) to virtuous and even cool, it will be exciting to monitor the manifestations of this cultural trend in Japan, along with others across the globe. Now if only flying to foreign cultures were as inexpensive as those Uniqlo jeans………