by carterjmrn | Apr 5, 2010 | Aging Technology
Japan may be a long way from the 24-hour, drive-through pharmacies that one sees in the U.S., but a recent flurry of activity to create “new types of drugstores” shows that innovation is alive and well. Several large players last year announced their intentions to...
by carterjmrn | Mar 14, 2010 | Ageing and Generations
Here in Japan the traditionally taken path has been the one of respect for the elders in society. Well, traditions may not have changed, but society has. With Gen X’rs taking center stage slowly but surely, Japan’s largest demographic, senior citizens, is not taking...
by carterjmrn | Mar 1, 2010 | Uncategorized
I was walking through Takashimaya in Nihombashi last week, and was impressed by its grandeur, efficient staff and presentation of luxury brands. However, I also noted its “emptiness” in terms of number of customers. Department stores, once the bastion of retail...
by carterjmrn | Jan 31, 2010 | Uncategorized
It is a breath of fresh air to start this New Year, especially when thinking back on the difference in the feeling now compared to this time last year. At that time, most businesses and consumers were literally reeling in the aftermath of the “Lehman shock,” picking...
by carterjmrn | Jan 10, 2010 | Uncategorized
Are we getting to the point where the consumer’s freedom of choice is compromised? The more progressive marketers among us have begun to talk about using consumer “conversations” as a prime source of market information and inspiration. Under this conversational model,...