China Business Daily (Reporter Tu Hanwen Text/Photo) After more than a year of dissemination of the news of entering Beijing, Japan's "most beautiful bookstore" that entered Beijing for the first time has finally been unveiled.
ON APRIL 20, TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE BEIJING CHAOYANG'S THE BOX STORE, WHICH INTEGRATES BOOKS, CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES, LIFESTYLE RETAIL, COFFEE AND LIGHT FOOD, AND SHARED SPACES, OPENED ITS DOORS ON AN APPOINTMENT BASIS, AS THE FIRST PROJECT TO START TRIAL OPERATION IN THE BOX B HALL, INJECTING NEW VITALITY INTO THE BUSINESS IN CHAOWAI.
Located in THE BOX B, Tsutaya Beijing's first store.
The first store of Tsutaya in Beijing opened
"The long-awaited Tsutaya has finally opened in Beijing", "I came to visit the store for the first time, and it feels very good to shop", "Beijing has another good place to buy groceries, comics, and 'millet'...... On the first weekend of the soft opening, Tsutaya's first store in Beijing set off a wave of check-ins on social platforms, and many consumers came to explore why this bookstore brand from Tokyo has become the "most beautiful bookstore".
Consumers pick up books at Tsutaya.
A large number of Japanese anime books is one of Tsutaya's specialties.
It is understood that as of April 2024, Tsutaya has opened 12 stores in Chinese mainland, which are divided into 4 "TSUTAYA BOOKS" and 8 "TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE" in terms of model, the latter is mainly small and medium-sized stores in the mall, which is more compatible in terms of product selection. The store covers an area of about 1,665 square meters, with books, cultural and creative products, commodities, coffee, and offline activities as the main line, aiming to "bring more possibilities for a better life" to consumers.
The Tsutaya Beijing store has a total of 3 floors, one of which is Tsutaya Coffee.
There are about 85 café seats in the store.
"I've been to Daikanyama and Tsutaya Bookstore in Shanghai, and to be honest, I don't feel like Beijing Tsutaya looks like the 'most beautiful bookstore' in comparison. Maybe it's because there are too many things that want to be 'stuffed' in, the space seems to be crowded, and the circulation line is a bit chaotic. However, the delicate objects sold in the store are really beautiful, and if you don't think about the price, you can see anything. Ms. Yu, a consumer in Beijing, told a reporter from China Business Daily that she made an appointment for the first time on April 20 and walked for several hours. ”
Consumers are picking up crafts from Japan.
There are also many consumers who regret on social platforms that the opening of the Tsutaya Beijing store was a little hasty. On the other hand, there are still loopholes in the details of the new store's opening, such as some shelves and products, the lack of matching packaging for gifts, the provision of only a very small number of sample books, and the lack of staff when asking for help.
"After all, it is a trial opening, and it is normal to find problems during this time, and I look forward to a better experience when the bookstore officially opens in the future. Ms. Yu said.
From selling books to selling lifestyles
Books, stationery, art, clothing, jewelry, household goods, outdoor goods...... In the eyes of some consumers, "it seems to sell everything", Tsutaya has created a "lifestyle boutique store" with a relatively limited space.
Consumers are trying on hats sold at Tsutaya.
As a bookstore that has been selling more than books since its inception, Tsutaya has always been based on the management proposition of "lifestyle proposals". In the book business, the first store in Beijing has about 33,000 books in Chinese, Japanese and other foreign languages, including magazines from all over the world. According to the person in charge, there is a magazine area with the largest number of Tsutaya stores in Japan at the staircase of the empty area between the first and second floors of the store, where consumers can get in touch with the latest fashion culture. On the first day of opening, the magazine wall covering a variety of themes such as fashion, art, travel, cooking, home, camping, pet care, handicrafts and so on attracted many consumers.
The Tsutaya Beijing store has the largest magazine area among all Tsutaya stores in China.
The 30,000-odd books are categorized in an ingenious way, and Tsutaya does not simply follow the traditional way of categorizing literature, history, philosophy, science, art, etc., but labels these books with specific "lifestyle labels". Taking the food-themed books that occupy a large area of the aisle bookshelf on the second floor as an example, the bookshelves are divided into more than 20 sub-categories, such as tea culture, coffee, spirits, cocktails, baking introduction, home cooking, bento, low-calorie light food, food processing, and food essays. Whether you're looking to learn about the food culture of a different country or learn how to cook, you'll find the answer here. Muneaki Masuda, the founder of the brand, believes that discovering a lifestyle that suits them in the book is what consumers really need.
Food-themed books are divided into more than 20 specific categories, such as low-calorie light food and food ingredient processing.
Although the vast majority of books do not have sample books for trial reading, the reporter learned from the staff that if consumers are interested in the content of a certain book, they can take the book to the cashier or find other staff in the store to help open the package and read it on the same floor.
Consumers sit in free seats in stores and read.
The wide variety of retail items is also an extension of the "lifestyle proposal". When consumers are "planted" with the tricks of "handbooks" when reading, they can easily obtain notebooks, brushes, stamps, notes, stickers and other materials in the store, or get inspiration from books to improve the home experience, and can also instantly buy tableware, handicrafts, decorative paintings and other "high-value" groceries to make the room better.
Consumers are picking up groceries such as accessories.
In addition, Tsutaya Beijing has also added the first "SHARE LOUNGE" paid event space in Chinese mainland, which has functions such as shared office, independent library, rest, coffee, afternoon tea, etc., creating a "place to inspire and provide new ideas" for consumers.
Take the route of "good quality and low price".
Walking into the Tsutaya Beijing store, a large number of selected products from Japan are dazzling, from mid-to-high-end Yagenji kiln Jincai, Qiquan porcelain, Fukuoka ten lacquerware products, to relatively daily popular lifestyle goods brand DECOLE ornaments, KODOMO wooden seals, KOKUYO stationery, many consumers have said "too good to shop" and "too addicted". So, what is the consumer experience of "buying, buying, buying" in this store?
Japanese Yayuan sub-kiln gold color ware.
In the store visit experience on social platforms, "expensive" is the word that appears most frequently. The price is 42 yuan soap paper, 70 yuan paper tape, 120 yuan key ring, 170 yuan socks, 198 yuan mobile phone case, 228 yuan card sleeve, 320 yuan diary, 640 yuan wine glass...... Some netizens joked about this: "Tsutaya has already marked the price for the lifestyle. ”
Co-branded with domestic artists and made of intangible cultural heritage technology, the gold leaf rock color mobile phone case is priced at 198 yuan.
"Tsutaya seems to have its own exchange rate. Xiao Tong, a post-00s consumer, told reporters that because the imported goods retained their original packaging, she could clearly see that "the selling price here is the original yen price to zero", and if calculated according to the latest real-time exchange rate, the prices of these goods have doubled. However, she also admits that such premiums are not only found in Tsutaya, but also in two Japanese grocery stores in Shanghai, Niko and ... and LoFt, too, there are many imported goods that have doubled their prices. "It's true that import taxes and transportation costs are included, but for me this price is still expensive, so it's better to find a purchasing agent. ”
Japanese paper products such as sticky notes and letterheads, among which the price of dessert special-shaped sticky notes is 42 yuan, with a total of 25 pages.
Ms. Zhang, a consumer, also said that she "went shopping, and in the end she was willing to spend only coffee", because the price of 30 yuan for American style and 36 yuan for latte is common in Beijing, and you can also use the 10 yuan coupon given by registered members. "Actually, there are a lot of things that fit my eyes, but every time I pick them up, I hesitate for a while, and then put them back. Especially the tableware on the 3rd floor, the design is really eye-catching, and the eyes are black when you see the price tag. Ms. Zhang said.
On the first weekend of the soft opening, Tsutaya Coffee, which was considered "cost-effective" in the eyes of consumers, was very busy, and due to too much customer flow, the store temporarily closed the online ordering mini program. Most of the consumers queuing up at the scene chose to buy coffee and tea at the original price of 30 to 40 yuan, and used the new membership coupons under the guidance of the store staff. In addition, the dorayaki printed with the words "Tsutaya Coffee" and sold in limited quantities at a price of 15 yuan per piece are very popular with consumers, and they have been sold out in advance for several days in a row.
Consumers line up to order food at Tsutaya Coffee.
Products such as doraya, sandwiches, cheesecakes, and more sold by Tsutaya Coffee.
In an increasingly competitive market environment, Tsutaya refuses to play the "cost-effective card". However, it remains to be seen whether Chinese consumers can be persuaded to pay a premium for their "lifestyle proposals" through product selection and experience. After the trial operation, whether there are any new changes in the officially opened Tsutaya, this reporter will continue to pay attention.