How to Enter Japanese Retail Stores: Electronics Retailers, Lifestyle Stores and Convenience Stores

Short answer: Some Japanese retailers publish a route for new product proposals: Yamada Denki, Loft, Hands and the Don Quijote group (PPIH) all have official proposal pages, and Bic Camera lists one too. They generally accept only finished products that can be sold in Japan, mostly from makers, wholesalers and trading companies, and they don't promise to reply. For other chains, including the major convenience store companies, we found no public new-supplier route. In practice, many overseas brands enter Japanese retail through a distributor, importer or wholesaler, often after building proof through crowdfunding, online sales, pop-ups and media coverage. Requirements vary by retailer, category and partner, and there's no single standard retail contract.

This guide is about the entry process. For an overview of what each type of store is like, see Japan Offline Retail Channels for Consumer Product Brands.

Two routes into a store

Direct proposal. Some retailers accept proposals through an online form. This can work, but it usually assumes you can act like a Japanese supplier: Japanese materials, invoicing, delivery, stock, returns and support.

Through a partner. A Japanese distributor, importer or wholesaler handles import, compliance documentation, stock, logistics, invoicing and after-sales support, and brings existing buyer relationships. Many overseas brands work through local partners for exactly these reasons. Partner terms (exclusivity, territory, pricing, marketing commitments, exit) vary and should be reviewed carefully.

Whichever route you choose, the preparation is the same, because a partner will ask for it before pitching you to buyers.

What retailers publish: proposal routes we could verify

We checked each retailer's official website on 6 October 2026. Where we couldn't find or open a public route, we say so rather than guess.

Electronics retailers

Yamada Denki publishes a new product proposal page for companies (makers, wholesalers and trading companies) that want to start trading. Its stated conditions: products must be commercialised and sellable at Yamada Denki; you choose the product category and submit a form; staff review it and contact you by email, which can take time (Yamada Denki, in Japanese).

Bic Camera lists a new product proposal page (新商品のご提案受付) on its corporate site. We couldn't open it for verification at the time of writing, so check the current conditions directly on Bic Camera's corporate website.

Yodobashi Camera and Edion: we didn't find a public new-supplier proposal page we could verify. Edion's public business page is a corporate sales window for businesses buying from Edion, not a supplier route. For these chains, the practical route is usually a distributor or wholesaler that already supplies them.

Lifestyle and variety stores

Loft publishes a product proposal page. It accepts commercialised products that comply with the law and are safe; it doesn't help with product development; it accepts proposals only through its online form (not by phone) and asks you not to send samples unprompted. After the form, you post product and company materials; selection then runs in two stages, and Loft says the whole process takes one to two months (Loft, in Japanese).

Hands publishes a new product proposal page for companies (makers, wholesalers and trading companies). It accepts commercialised products only, proposals only online, and no proposals from individuals. It contacts you by email only if it wants further materials or a meeting, usually within about two weeks (Hands, in Japanese).

Tsutaya Electrics+ in Futakotamagawa, a showroom-style store for new technology products, has an exhibitor contact link on its store page (Tsutaya Electrics+, in Japanese).

Discount and mass retail

PPIH (the Don Quijote group) publishes a new business page for makers, wholesalers and trading companies, covering non-food and food categories. It says it will contact you by email within 10 days if it wants to discuss further, and that it doesn't reply to every proposal (PPIH, in Japanese).

Convenience stores

Seven-Eleven, FamilyMart and Lawson are extremely powerful channels, and among the hardest for an overseas consumer brand to enter. On their public websites we found customer service contacts, property and franchise enquiries, and (at Lawson) a hotline for existing business partners, but no public route for new product proposals from new suppliers.

What this usually means in practice:

• Convenience store ranges are tightly curated, space is very limited, and products rotate quickly.
• Products generally need proven demand, packaging designed for that shelf, a price that fits the store, and supply that can keep up nationwide.
• Access is typically through established suppliers, wholesalers or partners already working with the chain's category buyers.
• PR alone doesn't open this door. Japanese packaging, compliance, supply stability and a strong partner are prerequisites.

Department stores and specialty stores

Department stores often work with brands through seasonal fairs, events and pop-up spaces before (or instead of) permanent counters. Specialty stores, such as outdoor, audio, design and hobby shops, often decide more independently and can be a credible first retail partner. We didn't survey their proposal routes individually; contact them through their corporate websites or through a partner who knows the category.

What retailers and partners look for

Note the pattern in the published conditions above: commercialised products only. Retailers aren't looking for prototypes or ideas. They want something they can put on a shelf now, sell, and support.

Materials to prepare

A realistic sequence

Timelines vary by retailer, category and partner, and there's no reliable public "average". Loft's published one-to-two-month selection process is one data point, and it covers selection only, not the time to first shipment.

How PR helps, and where it stops

Media coverage helps in three concrete ways. A coverage report is independent evidence that Japanese media responded to the product. The Japanese product story written for media becomes the language of the proposal, the shelf card and the sales-staff briefing. And demand created by coverage can show up as online sales and searches, which buyers notice.

But buyers decide what they stock. PR doesn't replace pricing, margins, supply, packaging, compliance or support, and no one can honestly guarantee placement. For more on preparing for buyer and partner meetings, see How to Approach Japanese Electronics Retailers and Sales Partners.

Common mistakes

• Proposing a prototype. Published conditions ask for commercialised products.
• Skipping Japanese materials. Forms, product sheets and samples are reviewed in Japanese.
• Going straight for the biggest chains. Specialty stores, showrooms and pop-ups often build the proof that bigger chains want.
• Treating convenience stores as a launch channel. They're usually a later-stage goal, reached through partners.
• Following up too hard. Several retailers say plainly they won't reply to every proposal.

Where Gloture fits

Gloture is a product PR company. We don't submit proposals on your behalf, distribute products, hold stock or guarantee retailer meetings or placement. We help overseas brands build the story and the evidence that make retail and partner conversations easier: a Japanese product story, a press release, outreach to Japanese media, a Modern-G feature and a coverage report. Gloture's Japan PR projects start from a PR budget of ¥300,000.