24 | The History of Glass: Kimoto Glass's Challenge and the Story of Glass Manufacturing 7

First, please look at this diagram.

Retail formats used to be limited to department stores, supermarkets, and local shops. However, in the 1990s, new formats such as home centers, drugstores, and convenience stores emerged, along with the rise of specialty stores like Uniqlo, and innovative formats like IKEA, Nitori, and Costco. Furthermore, after 2010, the e-commerce business experienced rapid growth.

First, why did the era change from the heyday of department stores to that of supermarkets and mass merchandisers?

Motorization played a significant role. The car-dependent society, with each household owning a car in some regions, transformed lifestyles. Supermarkets grew into large stores, then further into malls and shopping centers, some even boasting vast parking lots, stores where one could spend an entire day, restaurants, food courts, cinemas, and even super sento (public bathhouses) and sports clubs.

In contrast, department stores, located in prime locations in front of train stations, are disliked by female and elderly drivers due to narrow, congested roads, small parking lots, and difficult access and parking. While department stores in terminal stations in Tokyo and Osaka, with hundreds of thousands of daily commuters, still attract customers, regional department stores face tough conditions unless they offer unique characteristics or maintain strong customer management and outside sales activities.

The opening of large shopping centers nationwide by Aeon and Seven & I led to the closure of local department stores in front of stations and the transformation of shopping streets into "shutter streets" (streets with many closed shops). There are countless examples, and I will stop here as writing about them would be disheartening.

I believe one reason why Aeon and Seven & I, which succeeded department stores with large supermarkets, are now struggling is a change in how people interact with family and relatives, which has consequently altered the gift market.

Until around the 1990s, there were many aunts and uncles in the family, and relationships were close. At life's milestones such as weddings, births, Shichi-Go-San, school admissions, graduations, and job placements, many relatives and associates would gather, offer celebratory gifts, and enjoy banquets, then carry home heavy return gifts.

These return gifts included towels, pottery, glassware, sugar, and katsuobushi (dried bonito). The core price range was about 3,000 to 10,000 yen, creating a massive annual market. Manufacturers, wholesalers, department stores, supermarkets, and specialty gift shops all depended on this large market.

This significantly changed and drastically decreased due to shifts in social customs and the way relatives interacted.

At most, gatherings now typically involve grandparents, siblings, and children. While the unit price may have increased, the sheer volume and total monetary value have plummeted. Please recall the weddings you have attended.

Mid-year and year-end gifts also gradually declined, and the gift market shifted from formal gifts to casual personal gifts.

I believe this change has significantly influenced the transformation of retail formats.