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- KAIZEN,PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
- Deliberately making a low-quality product is immoral to
- the Japanese. A typical American product would not be
- acceptable in Japan if it were scratched or its interior
- were unfinished or it manifested loose threads. The
- Japanese exerise a philosopy of incremental improvements.
- KAIZEN means gradual unending improvement in doing little
- things better; setting and achieving ever-higher standards.
- The Japanese develop new consumer desires and when these
- products reach the market in five years we will WANT them.
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- PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION
- Japanese do not like competitive advertising.Newspapers may
- refuse advertisements which knock competing products. Mood
- ads are preferable to hard-sell advertisements.
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- Some products may use a very sophisticated package design
- that borders upon fine art.Some packages may contain nothing
- but English.This may be just part of the design to give the
- product a foreign image.
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- Product prices are expensive in Japan due to a distribution
- system. A manufacturer from abroad may have to pass goods
- through four layers of wholesalers before reaching a single
- sales outlet. Distribution provides employment in Japan,
- but it makes market penetration difficult.In some instances
- the distribution network is the result of personal favors
- and obligations. A retail-space shortage shuts out many
- foreign goods because of the lack of space.
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- The Japanese youth can be very fashion conscious, moving
- from one craze to another. There may be a near-obsession,
- for instance, with symbols of American culture such as the
- 'Hard Rock Cafe', used American '50s clothing,and Batman.
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