Ikebukuro Becomes a Quake Zone for Mass Retail Chains of Consumer Electronics Stores! Report on the “YBYK War

Akihabara (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) is known as the “town of consumer electronics,” but that has changed. The center of the electronics retail store industry, with a market size of over 7 trillion yen, is Ikebukuro (Toshima Ward).

At the east exit of Ikebukuro are the flagship stores and affiliated stores of Yamada Denki, the “absolute champion” and the only electronics retail store chain with sales exceeding 1 trillion yen, and Bic Camera, whose headquarters are located in Toshima Ward. In addition to Bic Camera, there is also a “Nojima” store in the Tobu Department Store at the West Exit. Walking through Ikebukuro’s electronics district, one can see that customers who want to examine home electronics are hustling from one store to another. Chinese tourists hanging out in the cosmetics section and people lining up to buy Pokemon cards, which have become a hot topic due to their high resale value, were also noticeable.

Yamada has been expanding its market share through a “roadside strategy” targeting suburban customers. On the other hand, in recent years, the company has been focusing on a “railside strategy” centered on its “LABI” stores in urban centers, and the Japan head office in Ikebukuro is the first of these. The Ikebukuro Japan headquarters is the first of its kind,” says a former store employee.

LABI is a “dollar box,” with one store sometimes selling 100 million yen a day, and LABI offers lower prices than stores in the suburbs, so price competition is fierce. LABI offers lower prices than suburban stores, and price competition with other companies is fierce.