KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — Where can you find a Le Creuset pot for RM40 or a full mink winter coat for RM100? Pre-loved Japanese stores are the places to go to look for such bargains and shoppers in Malaysia are warming up to the idea of shopping for pre-loved items due to their reasonable prices in these challenging economic times.
One of the places to shop for everything under the sun is Jalan Jalan Japan (also known as JJJ) at Skypark One City in Subang Jaya. You will be overwhelmed as the one and a half storey shop boasts of 26,000 square feet that is crammed with RM1 toys, RM300 surfboards, RM5 handbags, RM10 Japanese lacquer bowls and so forth.
Expect to find about 20 categories of things sold here, all brought in from Japan. If you are lucky, you may find unused items as well, still in their original packaging.
“We checked many South-east Asian countries but Malaysia is the best country to be the headquarters for this project. Malaysia is one of the most advanced countries in this area and it’s located in the centre of Asia. It is the centre of everything.
“We feel that Malaysians have a good feeling towards Japanese culture. We found many Japanese-related shops like Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tarts, Daiso, Isetan and many more here,” said Daichi Shuzui, one of the directors of Bok Marketing, the company that started JJJ in November last year.
The name Bok is an amalgamation of the parent company Bookoff Corporation Limited and Koike, their partner company here. Koike is a trading company and has been in Malaysia for 25 years. Bookoff Corporation Limited is a Japanese chain involved in the reuse business that has 800 stores worldwide and has been around for 27 years.
“Japan is a very small country so our nation’s practice is that we love to reuse,” said Shuzui when asked why they ventured into the pre-loved business.
Fans of Japanese manga and anime will be ecstatic to find limited edition figurines and manga still in mint condition. Popular figurines like Kamen Rider, One Piece and Gundam sell very well at JJJ.
Other best-sellers include the yukata (summer kimono), outdoor goods and children’s products. JJJ also caters to the luxury items market where you can pick up an authentic vintage Chanel bag for RM2,800 that is a fraction of the original price. You can also find a Tiffany & Co wine glass set and Baccarat crystal ware.
For bargain hunters, JJJ has a promotion called #hargagiler where you get five per cent off your total bill if you post a photo while shopping in JJJ and use that hashtag in social media.
#TapauSab is an event that is held every last Saturday of the month where you just pay RM10 and you are given a shopping bag where you can fill up with as much of the pre-loved clothes you want. Past customers managed to fill up RM100 worth of goods so do look out for this special event every month.
The company has been reaching out to customers via social media. They have also put up banners around the area which attracted some customers like Jo who lives in Putra Heights. “I’m buying bags here because Selangor and Melaka don’t give plastic bags. My hometown is actually Melaka. I find JJJ very affordable and I come here at least twice a week. I also buy a lot of household items here because they are of good quality and still looks new,” she said.
She also noticed that some people come to JJJ and buy in bulk and wrap them in boxes. When she asked them what they were doing that for, they told her it was for reselling online.
There is also a lot of word-of-mouth recommendation that has attracted customers like Danny Lak and his wife, Iki Shin to JJJ. When interviewed, the family from Selayang was shopping for their three-year-old daughter.
“For personal stuff, we prefer to buy new. Strollers are okay,” said the couple who has been to the store two to three times already. Danny also picked up a few clothing items for himself and toys for their daughter.
Shuzui said he learned a lot about customers’ likes through requests and what sells the most. The first items JJJ sold were winter clothes which was a big surprise. “You can’t find a winter jacket that costs RM20 elsewhere, right?” said Daniel Lee, JJJ’s Assistant Store Manager.
That is why 21-year-old Nik Syariza Natasha, a UiTM student, is shopping for winter clothes at JJJ for her trip to Seoul after her father introduced the place to her. “I like it here because it is cheap. I have to thoroughly search for something I want. I saw some bags. I wanted to get shoes but I couldn’t find my size. I’ll definitely come again,” she said.
When they brought surfboards in, the staff said it was not possible to sell them in Malaysia. After they opened, they sold out all the surfboards and customers kept calling to find out when the next batch was coming in. Most of the surfers told the staff at JJJ that they surf in Kuantan and Terengganu.
Every other week, a 40-foot container from Japan will bring in a new shipment. After the process of sorting out, the stock will be brought to the store twice a week. “When they send it, we have to sort them out, do the cleaning and price the items so basically every day the store has new stuff. The condition is still new,” said Lee.
“We want to create a trend. In Japan also, we did with the Bookoff company. Before our company, reuse was not a trend. We started 27 years ago so in the future I think this will be a trend here too,” said Shuzui.
He also shared that they decided to call it Jalan Jalan Japan because it is a Malaysian-friendly name. The store also has a place for nursing babies and kids so that parents can shop peacefully without worrying about their kids running around.
“The next five years we plan to open 10 more shops in Malaysia in places like Johor, Melaka and Penang. Five stores will be within Klang Valley and another five stores will be outstation. We plan to keep the branding and Japanese culture. If we expand too fast, the quality might decrease,” said Koji Onozawa, one of the directors of Bok Marketing.
Another pre-loved Japanese store to check out is Bandoru Store that focuses on apparel and accessories. The store is located just off the Federal Highway and often attracts customers who drive pass.
The name Bandoru is a Japanese romanisation of the word “bundle” which is used to describe a flea market sale. Started by 34-year-old Mohd Wafi bin Mohd Shari (Wafi) who decided to rebrand and change the concept of a typical “bundle” store, Bandoru Store is more accessible to everybody.
“When I was studying, I didn’t have much money so as an alternative, I bought from ‘bundle’ stores. At that time branded items from Japan that came in did not have much value, there were many loose pieces so you had to go through everything.
“You also needed to clean them because some were dirty. So for that you need more work but you get to dress like someone who is well off,” said Wafi who used to work as a property valuer. His uncle is also in the “bundle” business.
Like Jalan Jalan Japan, all the products here are brought in from Japan. Before they are sent over, the products are cleaned using a special, safe chemical to get rid of any dirt. Sometimes you can even find brand new items but they are off-season.
Bandoru Store’s selection includes men and women’s apparel, children’s wear, hats, bags and shoes. The pricing starts from RM5 onwards to a couple of hundreds for rarer items. They are targeting the mass market — a middle ground instead of going luxury or like a typical “bundle” shop.
“Whenever people want to shop, they go for H&M and Uniqlo. We want to be an option for those who want something different, unique and value for money. We also carry H&M and Uniqlo preloved clothes from Japan but the designs are different,” said Wafi.
“If you want to get a winter jacket from Uniqlo, it’s usually above RM200 but at Bandoru Store it is RM30 only. For a North Face jacket it is about RM1,000 but here you can get it for RM100. If you have RM600, you can buy one or two winter jackets from Zara but with that amount of money you can buy winter clothes at Bandoru Store for the whole family,” he added.
One shopper who was happy with her finds in Bandoru Store is Nurul Adibah, 24. She often drove pass it on the way home to Shah Alam. “This is my first time here in Bandoru Store. I find that the items here are more premium than a regular ‘bundle’ store.
“Here you can find branded rare items that are no longer in production. For example, this corduroy jacket by Gap. I find that Bandoru Store’s stuff is nice, good quality and well selected. Some ‘bundle’ shops I’ve been before, the clothes cannot be worn because of the condition. Here, you can find wearable items.”
It was the second visit to Bandoru Store for Stephanie Chua, 22, who was seen shopping here for rare Uniqlo T-shirts at Bandoru Store with her Belgian boyfriend, Tim Poppeliers, 34. “This is my first time buying pre-loved and the quality is very good. I plan to get some T-shirts for my friends in Indonesia,” said Poppeliers.
Starting Bandoru Store was not easy because Wafi had to think of how to “conquer” this business and expand it. He decided to go to the source, the shipping area in Port Klang. “Every item comes from Japan. Every season, the clothes will change, they will not keep them. Because they are a first world country, if they keep the clothes, there will be an environmental problem because they get dirty and it’s hard to dispose of them,” said Wafi.
He shared that because of this, clothes are sent to Third World countries. Malaysia is one of the countries that accepts the clothes because the clothes are still fashionable. Because Japan has four seasons, they constantly change clothes so there is a surplus of clothes in Japan.
“They send to Malaysia for transit only. They process and sort it out here. They can’t sort it out in Japan because that’s too expensive. They have a warehouse in Port Klang where they are sorted out. After that, they export to Pakistan, China and other Third World countries,” explained Wafi.
New stock comes in two or three times a week. They’ve got a couple of promotions including White Day and Red Week. White Day is when they clear everything from the store and put in new stock while Red Week is a sale period. There is also a membership card for discounts and preview sales.
Bandoru Store also collaborates with local fashion designers such as Ziaf Damahom to upcycle the materials from Japan. For instance, Ziaf redesigned a kimono and turned it into a dress. Currently in-store there is a collection of winter clothes that are curated by Ziaf.
Bandoru Store also has plans to collaborate with Ziaf for the upcoming Raya season. “Our collaboration with him will start this Raya. So whatever that’s fashionable he will select, meaning what suits the taste of a fashion designer. He goes for fashion events, including the H&M and Kenzo collaboration so he will inform us what’s in trend. For example if it’s fashion from the 80s or 90s, Banduro Store will then bring in the real deal from Japan — clothes that are really from that era,” said Wafi.
Bandoru Store has also opened up a studio for fashion designers in Klang. It is also a concept store where they showcase haute couture fashion. Wafi explains that as a lot of production houses and artistes loan clothes from Bandoru Store, the studio would be more ideal for the celebrities to visit and choose their clothes.
There are plans to expand Bandoru Store to Johor and Sabah as these areas have a lot of potential based on the surveys conducted. Wafi said he plans to create the market for Japanese pre-loved shops that focuses on quality products and not just blindly follow high street stores. In the future, he plans to venture into online business as well.
Jalan Jalan Japan
1A Skypark One City
Jalan USJ 25/1
Subang Jaya
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JalanJalanJapan.Malaysia/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jalanjalanjapanmy/
Bandoru Store
Selangor PT7
Federal Highway, Batu 3
Shah Alam
Website: http://www.bandoru.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bandorustore/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bandorumalaysia/
