Used goods could be the new thing in Asia

Japan's Bookoff tempts consumers with cleaned-up cast-offs

On the second floor of a 24,000-square-foot, used goods superstore in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur, Koji Onazawa pauses beside some old Japanese surfboards. He’s spent nearly two decades at Bookoff Corp — a corporate legend in Japan that’s barely known outside it, with 832 secondhand shops across the country. Now he’s running Jalan Jalan Japan, the company’s first true foray into selling more than just used books abroad. “We’re not a representative of Bookoff here,” he says. “We’re a representative of Japanese secondhand goods.”

He’s not being melodramatic. According to data supplied by the Japan Re-use Business Journal, more than two dozen Japanese companies have set up at least 62 shops or distributorships selling secondhand Japanese goods in eight South-east Asian countries in recent years. (Bookoff plans to open four more superstores in Malaysia alone in the next three years.) Those stores receive much of the nearly $1 billion in used goods that Japanese companies legally exported in 2015 (illegal shipments were at least as large). While Japanese secondhand goods will never overtake new ones in South-east Asia or elsewhere, they’re rapidly growing into a multibillion-dollar industry — and one of Asia’s most surprising export growth stories.

The used goods trade is as old as capitalism, of course. In fact, its downmarket reputation is relatively recent — a result of the industrial revolution, mass-market production and the introduction of the endless upgrade cycle. In Japan, public perceptions of secondhand goods soured in the 1950s as consumers embraced Japan’s new wealth and flashy products. By the time Bookoff was founded in 1991, Japanese were hooked on the upgrade cycle, secondhand goods were synonymous with pawnshops, and used bookstores were niche businesses popularly perceived as dingy and dark.

After Japan’s bubble burst and consumers starting looking for bargains, Bookoff upended that image. Their stores feature bright lighting, wide aisles and well-organised shelves filled with books that look new (thanks to a machine that shaves off yellowed and frayed edges). To a contemporary American visitor, the shops don’t look much different than a Target, Walmart, or — if you squint — a Uniqlo. Thanks to Bookoff and its many imitators, secondhand retail now accounts for 4.36 per cent of Japan’s total retail market. (For luxury brands, secondhand accounts for more than 10 per cent of the market.)

Bookoff eliminated not only the shame associated with buying used goods, but that of selling one’s unwanted stuff. Their cheery slogan — “Please sell us your things” (it sounds better in Japanese) — and friendly, customer-centric store clerks eased doubts among middle-class Japanese who wouldn’t have been caught dead near a pawnshop.

Today, Bookoff executives consider their ability to source high-quality goods one of the company's great competitive advantages. They might even be too good. In 2015, the company bought 489 million individual items from its customers, while it was “only” able to sell 331 million of them. 

 

© Bloomberg