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本曾经是主要奢侈品品牌最大的单一市场。而今，当它们或延迟开店或悄悄避走之际，有两家刚进入日本不久的低端零售企业却抛出了雄心勃勃的扩张计划，它们就是Hennes & Mauritz和Forever 21。这两家售卖价廉新潮服饰的公司秉持“快速时尚”的理念，每天都有新品到店。在迷信品牌的日本，它们公司的成功反映出消费观念的深刻转变，即消费者将优先考虑价值而非品牌。
Forever 21是一家私人企业，它在4月份时首先在原宿开了一家专卖店。首席财务长拉里•迈耶(Larry Meyer)说公司计划在未来9到12个月在日本再开设两到三家门店。
迈耶在接受采访时说，这是一家造价高昂的专卖店，我们将继续投资；成熟的消费者、良好的零售环境以及整体市场规模综合在一起使得日本成为了公司最有希望的市场。
Associated Press
东京涩谷的H&M商店，摄于9月份。
每到周末，Forever 21在原宿的旗舰店前总是会排起长龙。店里人声鼎沸，四十岁上下的熟女还要和十八、九岁的女孩为了售价1,880日圆（约合20美元）的亮片迷你裙和2,980日圆的褶边裙“争夺”一番。
迈耶说，坦白地说，在原宿的日本女孩儿的对时尚有着比其他事物更敏锐的感觉，你在其他市场里看不到这种现象，它是日本所特有的。
Forever 21门店里的热闹场景和设在表参道的欧洲奢侈品大牌专卖店形成了鲜明对比。在人称东京香榭丽舍的表参道的繁华地段，一家挨一家的欧洲大牌专卖店门可罗雀，偶尔有人光顾也只是看看而已。
美银证券-美林(Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch)驻东京的零售分析师Hidehiko Aoki说，日本消费者的价值观正在改变，他们曾经担心服装价廉意味着质次，但现在则不这么想了。
迈耶说，考虑到现在消费信心低迷，奢侈品已经不流行了；像在美国一样，日本也有一群无力负担奢侈品但希望以低价追逐潮流的人，正是经济萧条使得这一市场得到了壮大。
H&M在日本的销售额已经从去年第四季度的1.98亿瑞典克朗（合2,830万美元）稳步增长到了今年第二季度的2.39亿。公司在第三季度销售收入降到了1.67亿瑞典克朗，因为夏季的原因，大多数零售企业的第三季度业绩往往都会表现疲弱。
Aoki说，那些女性上班族要么奖金缩水、要么拿不到加班费，因此她们也不再出手大方了；人们在服装、杂物等方面开支减少，将钱花在一些更基本的生活方式选择之上，比如购书、外出就餐、购买设备和电视等。
Mariko Sanchanta
As major luxury brands in Japan delay store openings or quietly slink away from what was once their largest single market, two recent foreign entrants on the other end of the spectrum are aggressively plotting their expansion: Hennes & Mauritz and Forever 21.
Both Forever 21 and H&M are purveyors of 'fast fashion' -- their shops feature cheap, trendy clothes, with new items hitting the shop floor on a daily basis. In brand-obsessed Japan, the success of both stores underlines a deep shift in consumers' mentality, as shoppers put value ahead of logos.
Privately owned Forever 21, which entered the market in April with a shop in Harajuku, is aiming to open two to three more stores in Japan over the next nine to 12 months, said Larry Meyer, its chief financial officer.
'It's an expensive store and we will continue to invest,' said Mr. Meyer in an interview. 'The combination of sophistication of the consumer, the quality of the retail environment and overall size of the market makes it our most promising market.'
Meanwhile, H&M is set to unveil its first full 'concept' store in Japan on Saturday in Shinjuku, which will feature men's, women's and children's clothes as well as its new Jimmy Choo collaboration shoe line. The Swedish retailer, which entered Japan in September 2008, currently has five shops in Japan.
On weekends, long lines snake around the entrance of Forever 21, which entered the Japanese market in April with its flagship store in Harajuku. Inside, chaos prevails, as 40-something women jostle 18-year olds for 1,880 yen (about $20) sequined miniskirts and 2,980 yen ruffled dresses.
'The Japanese girl in Harajuku is really trend aware, compared with anything else in the world quite frankly,' said Mr. Meyer. 'You don't see that as much in any other market -- it is a very unique Japanese thing.'
The scene at Forever 21 is a marked contrast to the hushed interiors of the big-name European luxury goods shops lining the main drag in Omotesando, which is known as Tokyo's Champs Elysees. Most stand empty or nearly empty, with the occasional shopper poking in to have a browse.
'The values of Japanese consumers are changing -- people used to be concerned that cheap clothes meant poor quality, but not anymore,' said Hidehiko Aoki, retail analyst at Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch in Tokyo.
'Luxury is not in vogue right now given the lack of consumer confidence,' said Forever 21's Mr. Meyer. 'As in the U.S., in Japan there has been an underlying group of people who couldn't afford luxury and wanted trend-like fashion at a lower price -- the downturn has made that market that much larger.'
At H&M, sales in Japan increased steadily from198 million Swedish kronor ($28.3 million) in the fourth quarter of last year to 239 million kronor in the second quarter of 2009. Sales dropped off in the third quarter to 167 million kronor -- traditionally a weak quarter for most retailers, as it spans the sleepy summer months.
'OLs are seeing their bonuses cut or getting no overtime pay, so they're cutting back,' says Mr. Aoki from BoA-Merrill Lynch. 'People are cutting back on clothes and groceries and making more fundamental lifestyle choices by spending on things like books, eating out, instruments and televisions.'
Mariko Sanchanta
Both Forever 21 and H&M are purveyors of 'fast fashion' -- their shops feature cheap, trendy clothes, with new items hitting the shop floor on a daily basis. In brand-obsessed Japan, the success of both stores underlines a deep shift in consumers' mentality, as shoppers put value ahead of logos.
Privately owned Forever 21, which entered the market in April with a shop in Harajuku, is aiming to open two to three more stores in Japan over the next nine to 12 months, said Larry Meyer, its chief financial officer.
'It's an expensive store and we will continue to invest,' said Mr. Meyer in an interview. 'The combination of sophistication of the consumer, the quality of the retail environment and overall size of the market makes it our most promising market.'
Meanwhile, H&M is set to unveil its first full 'concept' store in Japan on Saturday in Shinjuku, which will feature men's, women's and children's clothes as well as its new Jimmy Choo collaboration shoe line. The Swedish retailer, which entered Japan in September 2008, currently has five shops in Japan.
On weekends, long lines snake around the entrance of Forever 21, which entered the Japanese market in April with its flagship store in Harajuku. Inside, chaos prevails, as 40-something women jostle 18-year olds for 1,880 yen (about $20) sequined miniskirts and 2,980 yen ruffled dresses.
'The Japanese girl in Harajuku is really trend aware, compared with anything else in the world quite frankly,' said Mr. Meyer. 'You don't see that as much in any other market -- it is a very unique Japanese thing.'
The scene at Forever 21 is a marked contrast to the hushed interiors of the big-name European luxury goods shops lining the main drag in Omotesando, which is known as Tokyo's Champs Elysees. Most stand empty or nearly empty, with the occasional shopper poking in to have a browse.
'The values of Japanese consumers are changing -- people used to be concerned that cheap clothes meant poor quality, but not anymore,' said Hidehiko Aoki, retail analyst at Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch in Tokyo.
'Luxury is not in vogue right now given the lack of consumer confidence,' said Forever 21's Mr. Meyer. 'As in the U.S., in Japan there has been an underlying group of people who couldn't afford luxury and wanted trend-like fashion at a lower price -- the downturn has made that market that much larger.'
At H&M, sales in Japan increased steadily from198 million Swedish kronor ($28.3 million) in the fourth quarter of last year to 239 million kronor in the second quarter of 2009. Sales dropped off in the third quarter to 167 million kronor -- traditionally a weak quarter for most retailers, as it spans the sleepy summer months.
'OLs are seeing their bonuses cut or getting no overtime pay, so they're cutting back,' says Mr. Aoki from BoA-Merrill Lynch. 'People are cutting back on clothes and groceries and making more fundamental lifestyle choices by spending on things like books, eating out, instruments and televisions.'
Mariko Sanchanta
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