 |
|
Gashapon
machines |
 |
|
Pics property
of Mainichi Shimbun |
|
|
 |
|
ETC
Gachapon!
|
 |
|
We thought this recent
article was an
interesting look at the gashapon market in Japan. And we
quote:
"Even on a midweek afternoon, the
flow of customers into Gachapon is constant. One of
them, Motonori Takahashi, an immaculately dressed
30-something electronics salesman, furiously pours 100
yen coins into a dispenser with tiny toys made in the
likeness of noodles made by famous shops throughout
Japan.
He cranks the level around and snatches the plastic
container as it tumbles down the shoot. He rips it open
and checks the contents. He mutters a profanity and
shoves the ball into the pocket of his duffel coat.
"I only need two more to get the full set," he says as
he furiously whips out more coins and inserts them into
the machine to continue his quest. Vainly, as it turns
out, but he keeps feeding money in. "Once I've finished
this set, I'll start on something else, probably to do
with food.""
After reading the article, entrepreneurs may be inspired to open
shop adjacent to Gachapon and peddle complete sets of
capsule toys at a slight premium. Such a move would make
customers such as Motonori Takahashi happy as pigs in
silt and reduce the surfeit of profanity in the world.
We'd try something like that as an experiment, but those
plans are still a few years away. If enough toy vendors
join in on the gashapon bundling revolution, it could
force a sea change in the way capsule toys and other
hidden candy toys are sold and distributed in Japan.
Maybe. In our view, there are two major forces that
would probably squash the gashapon-bundling movement.
One: Maybe Japanese
consumers enjoy the angst of gashapon surprise.
Two: Manufacturers may block any upstarts seeking
to roil the gashapon market by simply not shipping
product to them.
We'll let you know how it turns out if we ever move operations
overseas. We'd probably call the shop,
Gashapon Madness. Or
something like that. |
|
|
|
