Iuchi has about 20 years of experience at Daiso. “The quality that customers request in our products has changed dramatically over the past few years.” This is what he had to say after having closely observed both customers and products as a store manager and buyer.

Around 2014, Daiso reviewed every single product with regard to specifications and quality. Procurement had changed as well. Price is no longer the priority. At Canton Fair in China, one of the world’s largest trade fairs, Iuchi looked for high-quality nonstick frying pans for three consecutive days to satisfy a request from store staff. “I visited about 100 booths. Our customers can tell good products from bad ones. I had to check the products myself. The degree of procurement difficulty has increased.”

Right now, Iuchi is working on Standard Products and THREEPPY, Daiso’s new business lines. “Customer needs have gone outside the framework of 100 yen. This was something I felt while working at Daiso.” Selected products are priced around 300 yen using the expertise accumulated while creating high quality, safe, and secure products for the 100-yen store. At Standard Products, as declared in the brand message “Something kind of good that continues to be good,” raw materials, such as Japanese lumber and thinned wood, are carefully chosen, and non-disposable quality to ensure long-term use is pursued. “Continues to be good” is what Iuchi values the most.

Standard Products and THREEPPY opened on the same day in the same building as the Daiso Marronnier Gate Ginza branch, the global flagship store, in April 2022. On the day of the grand opening, access control was required, and a long queue was formed at the cashier. Daiso was probably more excited than the customers. “I remembered how people lined up for Daiso 20 years ago. It was something I had not seen for quite a while.” We will strive to meet customer needs at a high level. Our challenge has just begun.