With 2008 already a quarter over (gasp!) the Nikkei Marketing Journal gives us a round-up of a few of the hit products so far this year. First up is the “Shower Clean Suits” from men’s apparel company Konaka. This wool suit is designed to be cleaned with just a hosing from the shower head, no detergent or ironing needed. The fabric is made from a special fiber with minute holes designed for quick evaporation, allowing it too dry quickly in a shaded corner of your room.
Not only is this suit incredibly convenient, but also cost effective, saving on pricey dry cleaning fees (which, due to the rising cost of oil, have increased 5-10% recently). Since the suit debuted in February, sales have doubled expectations and would-be Shower Clean Suit owners have been waiting listed.
Next on the list are food staples, of the non-prepackaged variety like meat and vegetables (or more specifically pork and cabbage). Following a health scare earlier this year, when a shipment of pre-packaged gyoza from China was discovered to contain unhealthy amount of pesticides, the idea of eating organic and home made food has jumped from the pages of earth mama magazines into the mass media and is making, at least for now, a real impact in what consumers are buying at major grocery chains around the country.
Compared to this time last year, the purchasing of (relatively) natural foodstuffs is up 3.7%.
We were hardly surprised by the next product, sugar-free beer, since hardly a conversation goes by without someone dropping the word “metabo,” the trendy contraction for metabolic syndrome that has become a catch-all phrase for anyone who could use a little trimming around the waste.
Kirin Zero, which was released this February sold one million cases in just 20 days, a number equivalent to a quarter of the projected sales for the whole year. Likewise Suntory Zero Nama has sold 700,000 cases in the first month since its March debut, exceeding expectations by 20%.
Rounding out the list is the NTT Docomo P905i model mobile phone, which has the capacity to stream a “One Seg” digital television signal to the handset’s three-inch screen.
From Panasonic Mobile Communications, the mobile phone wing of the company behind the popular Vieja TVs, the P905i has been Docomo’s best-selling phone for four months in a row.
Any predictions for the next three months?
