BUYUSA.GOV -- U.S. Commercial Service

Japan Local time: 06:27 PM

Consumer Goods

Report Highlights

(for full report, please access our Market Research Library )

Precious Metal Jewelry
The estimated size of the jewelry market in Japan about US$10.16 billion in 2007.  After encouraging signs of recovery in 2005 after 14 consecutive years of market decline (1991-2005), economic factors, as well as continuing high prices for raw precious metals, led to a 5.8 percent decrease in retail sales in 2007.  Nonetheless, sales of imported brand jewelry have been increasing each year and are estimated to be about one fourth of all jewelry retail sales.  Recent sales of famous brand jewelry account for one third of all retail sales, and about 60 percent of all brand sales are international brands.  Both domestic and import brands with good name recognition among consumers are doing well in the market.  The United States has been the top supplier of silver and platinum jewelry and the largest supplier of precious metal jewelry products overall for the past several years.  Japan continues to be a highly competitive, but attractive, market for unique and fashionable jewelry products with a good brand image.

Native American Jewelry
Silver jewelry has been a popular fashion accessory for many years, and Native American (NA) silver jewelry has been particularly popular among men.  However, NA jewelry does not fall into the category of “mainstream” jewelry and so has a distinct, but limited, market potential.  NA silver jewelry by Navajo tribes was first brought into the market in early 1980s; today, NA products are available at various retail locations and are also found easily at various shopping sites on the Internet.  The number of the NA jewelry shops increased in the late 1990s to early 2000s, but NA style silver jewelry made by Japanese craftsmen is also available in the current market.  These NA and NA style jewelry retailers are currently competing with each other for this small, niche market. In addition, there is increasing number of imported and national designers whose silver jewelry is available today.  Silver jewelry will continue to be popular fashion item for male consumers in the future; however, the Native American jewelry market is not expected to grow dramatically.

Pet Products Market in Japan
The Japanese pet industry is expanding due to a recent pet boom in Japan.  Pet ownership is increasing, and the number of pets (dogs and cats) reached its highest level in Japan in 2007.  As the number of pets increases, pet products that meet the new and diverse needs of pet owners have been introduced.  The Japanese pet industry is expected to continue growing.  While low priced pet product imports from other Asian countries  are increasing, opportunities exist for high-quality, high-end, and unique U.S. pet products in the Japanese market. 

ASSOCIATIONS

TRADE SHOWS

CS JAPAN CONTACTS

Unit Chief: : Gregory Briscoe
Cosmetics & Toiletry Goods, Personal Care Products, Toys and Games, Furniture, DIY Products: Chris Yoshiyuki Ono
General Consumer Goods:
     Jewelry, Gifts, Native American Arts and Crafts, Hobbies: Junko Namba
     Pet Products, Fitness Equipment: Yumiko Okubo