Japanese department chain store debuts

Located at a prime residential estate in Fai Chi Kei District, a Japanese department store chain opened its doors in Macau for the first time yesterday morning.
The store covers a floor area of 1,776 square meters and will operate 24 hours a day.
Set up in Tokyo, Japan in September 1980 by Takao Yasuda as Just Co., the chain store initially focused on retail but switched to wholesale in two years. The brand opened its first Don Quijote store in Tokyo in 1989.
Don Don Donki is the brand’s store concept designed for the Southeast Asian market. It identifies as a Japanese specialty store, although they do not restrict their stock to food items and sell products ranging from cosmetic goods to household products.
Following the store’s model at home, the Macau premiere store sells various products imported from Japan, such as foods, fruits, sushi and sashimi, ready-to-eat meals and pet products.
For example, the store boasts its frozen eel teriyaki product. A store representative told the media that the fish is both grown and processed in Japan, in contrast to some products for which one or both aspects of production take place outside of Japan.
In the early phase of the store’s launch, few whole fish will be featured in the chilled seafood section. At the media preview, the store displayed only sea bream and snapper. However, store representative said in future more fish would be sold.
Moreover, the store sells several varieties of vegetables. It highlights sweet potatoes from Japan, which the store representative described as easy to cook.
The store also boasts several exclusive products, such as a series of cup noodles sold only in Macau, special-flavored potato chips co-produced with Nissin Noodle Company, and two flavors of vegan instant noodles, which contain no animal products in the manufacturing process. AL