The Daiso
We were in Vancouver this past weekend. The first place we stopped at, after Dim Sun at Sun Sui Wah, was Daiso in Richmond. This is the first North-American store of the chain and the most profitable one of all 3000 locations. So… what does Daiso sell? Everything, for less than 2$ a piece, in pastel colors, with broken english. Unlike your average 1$ shop, the quality is surprisingly high. I suspect they make their money by selling some items at a really really high margin to compensate for a loss on others.
In any case, to quote their web site:
Richmond Daiso carries over 50,000 types of products in various styles (over 700,000 individual pieces in total) including: household items, tableware, cutlery, cooking pots and pans, lighting fixtures, rugs, artificial plants, vases, garden tools, shoes, socks, scarves, car accessories, luggage and bags, glassware, porcelain, arts and crafts, bookcases, magazines, stationery, toys, oriental tea, soft drinks, snacks, candies, spices, cosmetics, massage products, electrical and electronic items, and many more.
Frankly, they had soooo many cute things in their stationary, tableware and gift wrapping sections that I had to drag her out of the store. I’ll admit though, I almost bought yarn for a friend. 2$ seemed too good to be true though. Stop on by next time you’re in Vancouver and judge for yourself. The store is a few blocks west of I-99. Make sure to wander the shopping mall too; gems are hidden in there.
P.S.: more on Daiso
In Japan alone, there are over 2,400 stores; and Daiso ranks second to Tokyo Disneyland, receiving higher brand recognition and customer satisfaction among Japanese female consumers than the world famous Sony, McDonald’s, and Toyota.