Not your grandma's Dollar store - 100-yen shop comes to U.S.!
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
If you've ever been tempted by the "3 for $5" pile of little products they sell near the entrance of Uwajimaya, you would love this store. In fact, it may be a bit of a sensory overload - they stock thousands of items for mostly under $2 (most items are $1.50 to $2, some larger items hovering above).
If you've ever been to Japan and stepped into their 100-yen shops, you would've been impressed with the quality of these cheap items. The largest company in Japan that runs such stores is Daiso, which happens to manufacture a LOT of its products to keep the cost down. Daiso decided for some reason Alderwood Mall is where they would begin their U.S. expansion.
But back to the store. They have ceramics (where else can you buy a tea pot or sake set for $2?), cleaning supplies, hair clips, tupperware, snacks, notebooks, origami paper, organizational plastic trays and baskets, screw drivers, pliers, knives, batteries, etc, etc... even those vacuum seal storage bags. Hair curlers? Got them. Little beckoning cat (manekineko) figure? Got them. Planters? Of course. You get the picture. They pretty much have most things a drug store would carry, but cheaper.
Of course, quality of the products vary. There are some good bargains here, though - like those button cell batteries you need for your garage opener remote for under $2, cute soy sauce plates, or plastic wraps (I like their smaller "Japan size" since I always feel wasteful using a huge piece of plastic wrap on a small bowl). Or if your little girl wants some plastic trays to organize her stuff, don't spend $5 each at Target! Come here.
You could get carried away here because everything seems so cheap and there are so many of them. Be careful because all sales are final; no returns. Another drawback is that many products only have instructions in Japanese. If you're curious ask the staff to help you, or bring along your Japanese-speaking friend.
You can read the P-I article (which was facilitated by a bad translator IMHO) on Daiso's business move here: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/246403_retail29.html