Developing Effective Marketing Strategies for the Japanese Market: a Review of the Literature

The main challenge about trade is the long-term condition of Japan. Although Japan performs well now, it is a receding market. There is a significant challenge for Japan in the future. It is facing a dwindling work population, as the average populace gets older. This provides a serious risk as if the workforce reduces in size so does the production. And production is one of the main factors that make Japan wealthy. In addition, even though it is the second largest economy in the world it will face high expenditure. This is a serious issue if not properly taken care of. However, a country with one of the highest GDP’s in the world is unlikely to mistreat

In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, earthquake and nuclear disaster that hit Japan last year, killing 19,000 people and battering the nation’s already shaky confidence, it was hardly surprising that people didn’t feel like shopping. At the time, the conventional wisdom was that such restraint was likely to last. People would still have to shop for essentials, of course, but the market for things like high-fashion apparel and luxury handbags was surely bound to suffer long-term damage.

The purpose of this report is to research and examine Toys "R" Us, the world's largiest toy chain store, so as to provide the company with strategic recommendations for future success. To throughly understand the company, the analysis is divided into multiple focus points: industry analysis, firm strategy analysis and firm financial analysis. The analysis concludes with rating that we give the company's stock as well as our strategic recommendations for the company to increase it's overall preformance.

One of the most important facets for a successful business in the twenty-first century is how it communicates with their customers, partners, suppliers and governments from different countries and cultures from around the world. For a business to operate with any modicum of success in Japan, you must possess a basic understand of how their society functions. As a result of learning about the geography, climate, history, religion, cultural rituals, politics, education system, and the role of the family; it will allow a business or business person the insight needed to understand how society functions and the method in which business is conducted.

The JTA’s marketing plan is to increase the choice riders, the millennials, and the aging baby boomers by 15% during the next year. The actual JTA’s strategy marketing plan to attract and retain choice riders and millennials is the followings:

Both societies, moreover, have developed the art of business and commerce, of buying and selling, of advertising and mass producing, to the highest levels. Few sights are more reassuring to people from the United States than the tens of thousands of busy stores in Japan,

Globalisation has had a profound impact on the Japanese economy influencing levels of international trade, business operations, financial flows, government policy, labour markets and even environment. This movement has been driven primarily by numerous TNCs, trade liberalization, and the deregulation of the financial system, and numerous strategies adopted by the Government and Economy, resulting in the creation of a 'new' Japan.

The company I choice to do a marketing strategy on was McDonalds, “Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba I’m Lovin’ it”. I choice McDonalds because it is one of the most universal and internationally known companies that will always and forever be known for its beautiful golden arches and Ronald McDonald characters. Of course, I could have gone with Kentucky Fried Chicken or even Ikea but the thought of not talking about one of the happiest places on earth, and I am not referring to Disney World, would be a disservice to our American culture. McDonalds has dominantly globalized and franchised around the world and gives new meaning to what marketing really is about. It all comes down to the elements of the marketing

Since the end of World War II, Japan's economic strategy for growth was based on exports, that allowed the development of its powerful industrial sector. During the 1980s, Japanese automakers in particular were enjoying an unprecedented and largely unexpected period of prosperity. They managed to establish a successful domestic automobile industry and to gradually sell their products abroad. Thanks to their competitive advantage in producing cars with respect to foreign competitors, due to labor differences, technical efficiencies (lighter and fuel-efficient cars), better designs, and of

Chapter 8: International Strategy ---- P&G Japan: The SK-II Globalization Project (written by Christopher A. Bartlett)

Japan is America’s fourth largest buyer of products. One thing that is very noticeable of the Japanese people is their love for technology, culture, and nice things. In terms of a new business, Japan would be the ideal place I would look into if a small business were extending across the waters. In terms of what will be sold, I would look into selling vehicle parts to mechanics and car fanatics such as turbos, struts, rims, car designs, decals, engines, etc. Japanese are some of the biggest names in drifting and racing when it comes to custom made cars and I think this would definitely thrive in this country. With the many different organizations that purchase and place accounts with companies in Japan for this reason, the company would

a. Transferring the Toys “R” Us competitive advantage to a foreign market was a problem because in the United States Toys “R” Us was the largest toy retail store, but in Japan they had their own system for selling toys. They also faced the issue of how the Japanese value quality over value. The “low prices” approach wasn’t going to work because they were worried about the quality. Toys “R” Us had to rethink their major competitive advantage that was such a success in the States. Toys “R” Us decided to internalize rather then license another retailer because in the States Toys “R” Us was a huge success and before open the Japanese location, Toys “R” Us was already operating in eight other countries. They were not afraid to expand, not to mention they have their own system of success, licensing would jeopardize that success plan.

In 1991, the entry of Toys “R” Us would displace more people from jobs than the opportunities it would create. The displaced people also include old people above 60 for whom this is a safety net post retirement. Japanese economy was in a state of virtual full employment with qualified male graduates preferring local employers to foreign establishments. Yet it will give employment opportunities for Japanese women

Japan is located in the Pacific Ocean in East Asia close to the Asian market. It is 378,000 square kilometres with a total population in 2010 of 127.5 million people (Globaledge, 2011a). 98% of Japan’s population is Japanese. This can be beneficial when looking to enter the new market as a majority of the country holds the same culture and beliefs. It is an attractive market for Australian producers due to their relatively high average income and significant population (Austrade, 2011a).

Slow sales indicate Wal-Mart’s style isn’t catching on with local consumers yet. Since taking a stake in Seiyu in 2002, the chain’s struggling Japanese operations have lost well over $1 billion. A stake in the Daiei chain might have changed Wal-Mart’s fortunes. Daiei was very important for Wal-Mart from a strategic point of view. It would have given Wal-Mart a huge footprint in Japanese retailing. Economies of scale from the deal would have enabled Wal-Mart to get closer to achieving its “everyday low pricing (EDLP)” model. In 2005, Wal-Mart missed already once the opportunity to make a deal with Daiei. At that time, Daiei was under the control of Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan (IRCJ), a government-backed body charged with acquiring, turning around, and selling distressed companies.