Word: akihabara
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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When a clerk at an appliance store does not know how to turn on the tape recorder he is trying to sell a customer, something seems terribly wrong. The mind flicks back to Tokyo again, to the electronics center called Akihabara, where every clerk is knowledgeable and unfailingly polite, eager to make a ( sale. In Japan some manufacturers even make house calls if a product breaks down...
Some two miles north of the glittering lights of Tokyo's Ginza district is a lesser-known commercial enclave that, in its way, is every bit as dazzling. Called Akihabara, it is a booming bazaar that spills over 20 blocks and is probably the world's most fiercely competitive market for electrical goods. In hundreds of sprawling stores and cubbyhole shops festooned with brightly colored banners proclaiming bargains, customers can buy almost any type of vacuum cleaner or videocassette recorder, refrigerator or radio, humidifier or home computer. Familiar brands such as Sony and Sharp are surrounded by scores...
...bedlam at Akihabara goes a long way toward explaining why Japan has conquered consumer electronics markets around the world. For Japanese companies, competition begins at home. To survive and prosper, they must turn out products with exceptionally low prices, outstanding quality and innovative features. If Japanese firms can outpace their local rivals, foreign competitors often prove to be pushovers. Says a top Japanese electronics executive: "Our target is not some other country; our target is ourselves...