The Japanese customer has long been known for their whimsical tastes and being one of the major buyers of luxury goods in the world. With a population less than half that of the US and an area about the size of Montana, the Japanese have typically consumed about 40% of the world's luxury goods.
The bad news is the Japanese luxury market, estimated between $15 billion to $20 billion, has been among the hardest hit by the global economic crisis, according to a report by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. The worse news is retail analysts, economists, and consumers are saying the change could be a permanent one. A new generation of Japanese fashionistas does not even aspire to luxury brands; they are happy to mix and match treasures found in a flurry of secondhand clothing stores that have sprung up across Japan.
To read more, visit http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/03/japan-luxury-marketing-leadership-managing-mckinsey.html and http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/business/global/21yen.html?_r=1&th&emc=th
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