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Tag: Yokohama

  • Nissan Streamlines Vehicle Engineering to Match Fast Chinese Product Cycles

    Nissan Streamlines Vehicle Engineering to Match Fast Chinese Product Cycles

    Nissan Motor is overhauling its engineering process in Yokohama to match Chinese rivals that now bring new vehicles to market in around two years.

    The Japanese carmaker plans to standardize powertrains, basic frameworks and software technologies across multiple vehicle models to lift operating profitability.

    Shared architecture and software

    Under the revised development approach, engineers will apply common modular components across different model segments rather than engineering separate platforms from scratch. Shared software architecture and unified powertrain systems are designed to strip out duplicate spending across regional model lines.

    Speed has become the decisive operating metric across Asia’s car industry. Chinese automakers have compressed product development schedules to roughly 24 months, forcing legacy manufacturers in Japan to abandon four-to-five-year vehicle gestation cycles or risk losing showroom share to quicker model refreshes.

    Pressure from two-year cycles

    The strategy shifts Nissan toward a shared development structure similar to emerging electric vehicle manufacturing playbooks. Faster design iteration lets automakers respond directly to price shifts, updating cabin software and battery configurations as supplier costs fall.

    For retailers and dealership networks across the Asia-Pacific region, shorter vehicle development timetables mean quicker inventory turnover and more frequent product updates. Managing standardized software stacks also lowers warranty servicing complexity across multi-market distribution networks.

    Nissan held to its full-year earnings forecast after reporting a first-quarter net profit, leaving investors watching how quickly the unified development platform translates into production-ready showroom models.

  • Zara’s Enhanced Shopping Experience: Grand Reopening of Flagship Store in Japan’s Yokohama District

    Zara’s Enhanced Shopping Experience: Grand Reopening of Flagship Store in Japan’s Yokohama District

    Zara, the renowned fashion retailer, has reopened its relocated Minatomirai Tokyu Square store in Yokohama, Japan. The store spans a generous 2000 square meters and features a design aesthetic that aligns with the company’s latest global vision.

    Moving Up

    The outlet has transitioned from its previous location on the first floor, to now occupy a more spacious area on the second level of the shopping center. Shoppers can access the store either directly from Minatomirai Station, which is conveniently situated within the mall, or from a designated street entrance.

    A New Interior Design

    The interior of the store is composed of a number of ’boutique-style’ rooms, each defined by structural beams and portal openings. The mall’s glazed facades and skylights allow natural light to fill the space. The contrast between the textured wall finishes and a black open ceiling adds to the contemporary feel of the store.

    Personalized Shopping Sections

    The women’s department of the store has a fluid layout featuring lighter tones for the main collections. Conversely, the selections aimed at a younger demographic are presented against darker backdrops with details in stainless steel.

    The men’s section echoes the same design principles but employs a segmented sequence of rooms. Dark tones, wood finishes, and black metal accents dominate this part of the store, setting a more defined, masculine atmosphere.

    Tech-Forward Shopping Experience

    Zara has integrated modern technology into the shopping experience, with the inclusion of interactive screens throughout the store. Customers can browse the store’s inventory in real-time, locate specific items within the store, and even utilize dedicated pick-up points for online orders made through Zara’s website or app.

    Questions & Answers

    Why has Zara moved its store to the second level of the Minatomirai Tokyu Square shopping center?
    The move to the second level was part of a strategy to provide a more spacious shopping environment for customers while also aligning with the latest global store design concept.

    How does the new store cater to different customer preferences?
    The new store features separate sections for men and women, each with distinct design elements and varying tones to cater to diverse tastes. There are also interactive screens to assist with browsing and purchasing items.

    What is the benefit of the interactive screens installed throughout the store?
    Interactive screens offer customers the ability to browse the store’s inventory in real-time, locate specific products in the store, and collect online orders placed through Zara’s website or app. This enhances the overall shopping experience by making it more efficient and user-friendly.

  • Forever 21 returns to Japan with new upscale image

    Forever 21 returns to Japan with new upscale image

    TOKYO — U.S. fast-fashion chain Forever 21 returned to Japan on Tuesday, more than three years after pulling out of the country, aiming to break away from its former mass-production image with items tailored to Japanese tastes and an emphasis on responsible environmental practices.

    The store started selling products online on Tuesday morning through an e-commerce site operated by Japanese apparel company Adastria. It also opened a limited-time pop-up store in Tokyo’s bustling Shibuya district on the same day.

    “I feel like their prices have gone up, but the fabric seems durable so I could probably wear them for a long time,” said a woman in her 20s who visited the pop-up store, where people were lining up before the 11:00 a.m. opening. She had viewed the products online, but visited the shop to check the quality of the fabric.

    The company plans to open its first permanent store in Osaka in April. It aims for 15 stores in the country by February 2028, with sales including online totaling 10 billion yen ($74.5 million).

    Forever 21 made a full-scale entry into Japan in 2009, operating about 20 stores at one point and leading the fast-fashion boom in the country. But the rise of online shopping and changes in consumer tastes cut into sales, leading the American parent company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2019.

    The retailer withdrew from Japan in October of that year. In 2022, Japanese trading house Itochu bought the rights for the brand in the Japanese market from a U.S. investment fund that acquired Forever 21 in 2020. Itochu signed a sublicense agreement with Adastria.

    About 80% of the company’s new collection was developed by Adastria for Japanese consumers, with the average price of items set around 4,000 yen. Forever 21 aims to position itself as a brand that offers both affordable prices and high fashion sense, focusing on women in their teens to 30s.

    The company is taking environmentally friendly initiatives such as improving inventory control, collecting used clothing and reducing the amount of water used during denim processing, hoping to move on from fast fashion’s image of producing, selling and disposing of mass quantities of clothing.

    The Tokyo pop-up store is open until Sunday, and most items on display must be purchased online. In March, another pop-up shop will open at a mall in Yokohama, south of Tokyo.

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  • Yokohama Begins Tyre Production After Phase Two Expansion

    Yokohama Begins Tyre Production After Phase Two Expansion

    Yokohama India has begun manufacturing tires after the completion of its second phase of expansion. The company began its manufacturing operations in India in 2014 with an annual capacity of 0.7 million and now it has gone up to 1.6 million tires per year. The company has also strengthened its standard operating practices in a bid to facilitate smooth progress of production lines at the factory. Yokohama entered the Indian market in 2007 and achieved the 1 millionth tire production mark in 2016.

    Anil Gupta, Vice Chairman Yokohama India said, “In response to the increasing demand for Yokohama Tyres in India and keeping in mind the projected market growth, we decided to double our domestic manufacturing capacities. Incidentally, it has happened at an opportune time as restrictions on the import of tires have been announced by the government. This decision is in line with the government’s clarion call for “Atmanirbhar Bharat” – from the drawing board to the dealer shops, the new Phase-2 facility is fully equipped to meet Indian market needs.

    With technological expertise from its parent company in Japan, Yokohama now manufactures its extremely popular Geolandar A/T along with Geolandar SUV tire and the BluEarth-RV02 tire at the new facility. The company says it has several new tire models on the anvil, ready to be launched in the near future.

    The company says that the expansion will also help increase employment opportunities at the Bahadurgarh plant. At present, the plant has 500 employees and with the increase in production, the plant will require an additional 200 people. The Yokohama Club Network or YCN is a specialized sales network that aims to provide a good experience to customers at the point of purchase and India has these dealerships as well. Yokohama is the original equipment supplier to automotive brands like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Nissan, Honda, Suzuki, Toyota, and Mitsubishi as well.

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  • Lego Mosaic Maker opened first store in Yokohama

    Lego Mosaic Maker opened first store in Yokohama

    Danish toy producer Lego has opened a store in Yokohama Landmark Plaza this week, introducing “Lego Mosaic Maker” to Japan. One of only five in the world, the Lego Mosaic Maker is a machine that can reproduce your face in mosaic feature with Lego blocks.

    Visitors enter a booth and take a photo of their face, creating a kit that can make the mosaic in around 10 minutes and which can be offered as a gift for family or friends.

    Use of the mosaic maker is by advance reservation only for a fee of ¥10,455 (US$93). Other special promotions are available in-store.

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  • Batam to continue cooperation with Yokohama

    Batam to continue cooperation with Yokohama

    The Batam city government said it will continue cooperation, which began last year, with the Japanese city of Yokohama.

    Batam city mayor Muhammad Rudi said the cooperation would be continued as the cooperation has been a success thanks to assistance from the Yokohama city administration.

    “The assistance includes how Batam could reduce carbon gas emission and economize on power. At the airport and government hospital, power consumption could be saves by 30 percent,” Rudi cited.

    He said Batam also hopes that the Yokohama city administration to provide assistance in the form of technology needed for Batam development.

    “In seeking to reduce carbon gas emissions, denuded forests are a problem, therefore wee need more assistance to cope with the problem,” he said.

    “We are grateful with the equipment but we also need technology to use the technology products,” he said.

    Director of the Development Cooperation Department of Yokohama, Toru Hashimoto said Batam is the fourth city in ASEAN with which Yokohama cooperates.

    The three other cities are Da Nang of Vietnam, Bangkok of Thailand, and Cebu of the Philippines.

    Through the cooperation, Batam is expected to grow to be like Yokohama to become a smart city, Toru said.

    “Batam and Yokohama are equally good. In November we will have a seminar on Asia Smart City in Yokohama. We hope the mayor and deputy mayor would attend the seminar,” he said.

  • Yokohama at new Indonesia auto show

    Yokohama at new Indonesia auto show

    Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. is gearing up to participate in the new Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show 2015.

    The event is scheduled for Aug. 20‒30 in South Tangerang, in Indonesia’s BSD City. Yokohama said it will be represented at the show by its Indonesian sales agent, PT Yhi Indonesia, which twice previously represented the tire maker at the separate Indonesia International Motor Show. Gaikindo is the Association of Indonesia Automotive Industries, and this is its first auto show, according to Yokohama.

    In keeping with the theme of “Delivering the Future,” Yokohama said its booth will feature displays that “appeal to the high driving and environmental performance” provided by its tires’ latest technologies.xa

    Considering the huge demand for eco cars and SUVs in Indonesia, the tire maker said it will display its fuel-efficient BluEarth tires suitable for use with eco cars and the company’s Geolandar line of SUV tires, as well as its flagship Advan brand.

    In addition, the booth will include a panel of Chelsea FC soccer players promoting the tire maker’s partnership, announced earlier this month, with England’s Premier League football club.

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