Department stores offer lucky bags for New Year

TOKYO —

Major Japanese department stores are vigorously promoting ‘‘lucky bags’’ to start the new year with a fresh campaign to get customers to loosen their purse strings amid the nation’s economic slowdown.

‘‘Practical things will likely gain popularity,’’ said an official at Daimaru Inc, which will prepare lucky bags with products that reflect prize-winning catchphrases, such as ‘‘Arafour,’’ referring to women of around 40 and ‘‘Konkatsu,’’ or activities having to do with getting married.

The head store of Seibu Department Stores Ltd in Ikebukuro will put on sale a lucky bag containing five shirts for a price of 5,000 yen under the slogan, ‘‘Lucky bag-buying a week at the same time.’’ It is also preparing neckties and socks.

‘‘We hope these things will be helpful to our customers,’’ said a Seibu Department spokesperson.

To coincide with the Year of the Ox in 2009, Takashimaya Co will have a bag containing Miyazaki beef, vegetables and fruit each month for six months to help consumers get a taste of luxury while cutting back on spending.

Miyazaki beef will total 6 kilograms over six months and is priced at 100,000 yen. But the sale price is 11,290 yen—in Japanese, a number able to be pronounced as a play on words meaning ‘‘good meat.’‘

Daimaru’s Umeda store in Osaka is accepting reservations for a lucky bag of popular brand clothing priced at one-fourth to one-fifth the usual price. It is part of a strategy to help customers avoid long lines on New Year’s Day.

Many department stores are targeting single women in the ‘‘Arafour’’ generation said to be wealthy.

Matsuya Co’s Ginza store has produced a ‘‘marriage activity support lucky bag’’ of women’s ‘‘make-or-break clothing’’ selected by its male employees who have frequently attended mixers. The bag targets ‘‘Arasa,’’ or women around the age 30 and is priced at 14,000 yen.

With the keyword ‘‘Konkatsu,’’ Takashimaya’s Shinjuku store will prepare a 2,009-yen lucky bag, a set of fashion and makeup guidance from professionals, and a talk by the author of the bestseller ‘‘The Era of Konkatsu.’‘

The Kyoto store of Takashimaya as well as Hankyu and Hanshin department stores are coming up with lucky bags for couples holding a wedding ceremony and reception.

‘‘Next year is rich in lucky bags offering customers the chance to experience events rather than having products per se,’’ said a Mitsukoshi Ltd. spokesperson.

Seibu and Sogo Co, under the wing of Millennium Retailing Inc, have prepared a 200,000-yen set for men to receive lessons from Masami Tanaka, a former Olympic Games swimmer, and for women to receive guidance from Yoshio Koide, who coached Naoko Takahashi, the marathon gold medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

Tokyu Department Store Co is preparing a tour to plant mangrove in Okinawa Prefecture at a price of 450,000 yen for two, and the Nihombashi main shop of Mitsukoshi is preparing a luxurious tour of the Antarctic at a price of 20.09 million yen for two.

› Login to comment

Latest 15 of 16 Total Comments Show All

techall at 10:29 AM JST - 30th December

These days a "lucky bag" is one that contains properly labled food stuffs without enough pesticides to sterilize a third world country.
555Book at 12:16 PM JST - 30th December

Sometimes the way the J people put in so much effort and detail in mundane things really puzzle but intriques me.
Dogdog at 12:59 PM JST - 30th December

Sometimes the way the J people put in so much effort and detail in mundane things really puzzle but intriques me.

Not really. It's just like all those people asleep on the trains, most of them are not really tired, they just live completely vacuous lives.
smithinjapan at 02:27 PM JST - 30th December

Department stores in Japan are lucky that Japanese people are so prone to buying into gimmicks, and easily do what their neighbour does; they can get rid of crap they would NEVER be able to sell otherwise while still making a massive profit. I have yet to meet a person -- and I know HUNDREDS who have bought into the lucky-bag thing -- who is happy with what they got that they couldn't have just bought on their own (almost always for less, too).

All I can say is that I don't even go close to a department store at year-end/new year's. Last thing I need are all the obachan elbows in the face while I actually try to buy something worthwhile.
JackDorff at 04:49 PM JST - 30th December

With so many people at these sales, shopping very enthusiastically, I`d expect at least a little bit of violence. I never see it on TV though. Is there a bit of biff which the networks avoid showing, or is it love, peace and harmony?
onewrldoneppl at 08:18 PM JST - 30th December

i will be going to Beams to buy my fukubukuro. maybe even a quick spin by ISHIMARU to pick up a second one. busineswear and electronics for me. too bad they dont have fukubukuros for the average gaijin man, filled with chu-his and really tacky necktie/collared-shirt combos ... ha ha ha.
smithinjapan at 08:19 PM JST - 30th December

JackDorff: Not sure about fighting, but you can feel the stress bubble from about half a kilometer away, I'd say. I imagine there is a lot of jostling and 'accidental' pushing/elbowing, with some 'shitsurei's and maybe even a 'what are you doing?', but that's about it.
Sarge at 08:26 PM JST - 30th December

"a lucky bag of popular brand clothing, priced at one-fourth to one-fifth the usual price"

Those clothes would have to be one-tenth the usual price before I'd buy 'em.
Pukey2 at 08:26 PM JST - 30th December

These bags are only lucky bags if they contain something you like or want. How lucky would I be if I already had 100 shirts? People (not just in Japan) need to learn that you should only pay for things you need. Just because there are discounts doesn't mean you SHOULD spend money.
JackDorff at 08:44 PM JST - 30th December

smithinjapan - thanks for the info. May your mochi go down hassle-free on Thursday.
as_the_crow_flies at 10:03 PM JST - 30th December

>

"marriage support activity lucky bag" - heavens knows what THAT on contains >

outofyourdepth - for the really lucky ones, they contain 2 condoms (a year's supply for newlyweds), 2 single duvets, a dachsund's bib and baby jacket in fake baby blue fleece, 2 sets of earplugs, a first complimentary bottle of Suntory whisky waiting for him at the snakku near his station, for her a choice of 10 decorated fingernails, glass beads to decorate the front of her keitai, or a 5-hour cookery crash course.
Japaneselove at 02:46 AM JST - 31st December

Japan is cool. I hope the lucky bags sell fast and easy.
noborito at 07:57 AM JST - 31st December

An easy way to throw away 10,000 yen or more. Yes these cost over 100 USD. I'd rather play the horses that buy one of these "lucky bags" that contain nothing of real value. Why Japanese people love them is beyond me. No one ever says, "Hey I got this in a lucky bag." Department stores stuff junk into them and then sell them at full retail prices. Business here really have Japanese people brain washed. Another examples: Fried Chicken for Christmas Eve. Waiting in a 90 minute line for Donuts. and the list goes on and on.
Sarge at 09:59 AM JST - 31st December

they ( marriage suport activity luck bags ) contain 2 condoms ( a year's supply for newlyweds )..."

Har! But why any condoms at all? Why, I thought newlyweds are supposed to have children as soon as possible...
Himajin at 10:31 PM JST - 5th January

Lately they are in clear plastic bags in the women's department so you can see what you're getting...it's much better than buying a bag of sweaters blind!

I have to disagree about them being more expensive than buying the same items another time. The last 10,000 bag I bought at an accessory place I like had 5 items priced at 5,000 or 6,000 and some smaller items in it. I gave a couple items to my niece, and used the rest myself. The sweater bag my MIL bought had four women's sweaters, angora, wool, embroidery, they were good sweaters. I suppose some places might make crap lucky bags (Autobacs comes to mind--I peeked into one there) department stores usually have nice ones. Tasaki Shinju, too.