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Today I went to a large shopping mall in a regional city of Japan (not a big one by any means - that's an important side note).
And I just can't understand what I saw.
Let me preface this by saying that I very rarely go to shopping malls. If I go there, it's usually only for grocery shopping. I prefer smaller standalone supermarkets so I often go months without going to a shopping mall. I never understood the appeal of shopping malls and I hate shopping in person.
So back to that shopping mall in Japan... Since it was a rainy day and we needed to go grocery shopping, we decided to check out the entire shopping mall for some sightseeing. And for those who have never been to an Asian shopping mall, Asians are CRAZY about shopping malls.
There's NO region in the world that comes anywhere close to how Asians perfected the concept of a shopping mall. They're designed in such a way that people can easily spend entire days there. They're more akin to a theme park than just simple shopping.
But Asian ingenuity aside, what I saw in this shopping mall blew my mind. There were hundreds of stores selling in total millions upon millions of items.
There were:
And it went on and on and on and on to the point I just couldn't believe that one single place could hold so many stores and so many items - and it's not even a city anyone outside of Japan ever heard about.
And my brain just can't process this: who the F*ck buys all of this bullshit?
If it's for sale, I assume that it's all somehow being sold. Otherwise the stores wouldn't exist or wouldn't carry so many items. 95% of what I saw served either no purpose (decoration or "funny" or "cute" products), was BS marketing, invented a need when it makes little to no sense, or was selling the same items everyone already has dozens of at home and doesn't need more (stuff like mugs, plates, glasses, etc.).
I bet that all of this stuff held in all of these stores could probably sustain an entire city for several years. Yet it's all regularly rotated for each season and somehow sold.
And this was just ONE shopping mall in a regional city, not even a big one. And that's in a country that has supposedly been in deep, deep financial crisis for about 30-35 years.
How is this possible that such bullshit stores exist and most likely make money?
I just don't get it. I very rarely spend any money on physical items so maybe I'm just completely detached from reality.
Does an average person really buy dozens of clothes a year? Dozens of home decoration items? Dozens of beauty products, jewelry, hair accessories?
It's not like I don't spend money (though I mostly spend money on food, travel, education, and sports) or hate that there's so much choice but I just don't understand consumerism like that.
I left thinking that perhaps I just can't be an entrepreneur anymore if I can't understand consumerism (and in fact, if it actually makes me angry to see that). I most certainly wouldn't want to contribute to producing even more crap like that. My inner minimalist just squirms at the thought of all the waste this produces for zero positive impact.
So... yeah... help me understand the world or... hate me for being anti-consumerist.
And I just can't understand what I saw.
Let me preface this by saying that I very rarely go to shopping malls. If I go there, it's usually only for grocery shopping. I prefer smaller standalone supermarkets so I often go months without going to a shopping mall. I never understood the appeal of shopping malls and I hate shopping in person.
So back to that shopping mall in Japan... Since it was a rainy day and we needed to go grocery shopping, we decided to check out the entire shopping mall for some sightseeing. And for those who have never been to an Asian shopping mall, Asians are CRAZY about shopping malls.
There's NO region in the world that comes anywhere close to how Asians perfected the concept of a shopping mall. They're designed in such a way that people can easily spend entire days there. They're more akin to a theme park than just simple shopping.
But Asian ingenuity aside, what I saw in this shopping mall blew my mind. There were hundreds of stores selling in total millions upon millions of items.
There were:
- entire stores dedicated to "cute" home decoration (one completely useless item after another),
- entire stores selling all kinds of random things branded under dozens of different trademarks (both globally well-known like Pokemon or Disney as well as local ones),
- entire stores with ethnic gadgets and clothes (and that's in Japan - who the F*ck in Japan wants to buy an African floral pattern traditional loose tunic?),
- entire stores with thousands of jewelry pieces,
- entire stores with hair accessories,
- entire beauty stores with thousands of cosmetic and beauty products,
- entire stores with "cute" toys for kids and adults,
- entire stores just with pillows,
- entire stores just with stationery,
- entire stores with coffee and accessories,
- entire stores with F*ck knows what (I don't speak Japanese and I couldn't even tell what it was),
- endless stores with similarly looking clothes and shoes,
- stores with the most ridiculous pet accessories ever (seriously, I saw a F*cking HELMET for a dog and it wasn't a joke but a real product - picture below),
- bookstores with thousands upon thousands of books, comics, etc.
And it went on and on and on and on to the point I just couldn't believe that one single place could hold so many stores and so many items - and it's not even a city anyone outside of Japan ever heard about.
And my brain just can't process this: who the F*ck buys all of this bullshit?
If it's for sale, I assume that it's all somehow being sold. Otherwise the stores wouldn't exist or wouldn't carry so many items. 95% of what I saw served either no purpose (decoration or "funny" or "cute" products), was BS marketing, invented a need when it makes little to no sense, or was selling the same items everyone already has dozens of at home and doesn't need more (stuff like mugs, plates, glasses, etc.).
I bet that all of this stuff held in all of these stores could probably sustain an entire city for several years. Yet it's all regularly rotated for each season and somehow sold.
And this was just ONE shopping mall in a regional city, not even a big one. And that's in a country that has supposedly been in deep, deep financial crisis for about 30-35 years.
How is this possible that such bullshit stores exist and most likely make money?
I just don't get it. I very rarely spend any money on physical items so maybe I'm just completely detached from reality.
Does an average person really buy dozens of clothes a year? Dozens of home decoration items? Dozens of beauty products, jewelry, hair accessories?
It's not like I don't spend money (though I mostly spend money on food, travel, education, and sports) or hate that there's so much choice but I just don't understand consumerism like that.
I left thinking that perhaps I just can't be an entrepreneur anymore if I can't understand consumerism (and in fact, if it actually makes me angry to see that). I most certainly wouldn't want to contribute to producing even more crap like that. My inner minimalist just squirms at the thought of all the waste this produces for zero positive impact.
So... yeah... help me understand the world or... hate me for being anti-consumerist.
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