Don Quijote (store)

Don Quijote Co., Ltd. (株式会社ドン・キホーテ, Kabushiki gaisha Don Kihōte) is a discount chain store that has over 160 locations throughout Japan, 8 in Singapore, 2 in Thailand, 2 in Hong Kong, and 2 in Hawaii.[4][5] It carries a wide range of products, from basic groceries to electronics and clothing. The store is well known in Japan and is often referred to by its shortened name Donki (ドンキ). Distinctly, Don Quijote tends to keep very late hours for Japanese retailing (to 3 or 5am, or even 24 hours) and it packs its goods from ceiling to floor in a distinct merchandising strategy.

For other uses, see Don Quixote (disambiguation).

Don Quijote Co., Ltd.
Native name
株式会社ドン・キホーテ
Public K.K. (TYO: 7532)
IndustryRetail
FoundedSeptember 5, 1980 (Tokyo, Japan)
HeadquartersMeguro, Tokyo
Number of locations
322 stores (April 2019)[1]
Area served
Japan, Singapore, Hawaii, Thailand, Hong Kong
ProductsClothing, food, jewelry, housewares, tools, sporting goods and electronics.
Revenue ¥487 billion / $5.74 billion (2010)[2]
¥21.1 billion / $251 million (2010)[2]
¥10.2 billion / $122 million (2010)[2]
Total assets ¥302 billion / $3.6 billion (2010)[2]
Total equity ¥106.8 billion / $1.3 billion (2010)[2]
Number of employees
4,391
ParentPan Pacific International Holdings Corporation[3]
Websitedonki.com (in Japanese)

History
The front of the Don Quijote building in Roppongi
Don Quijote in Akihabara
Don Quijote building in Shinjuku

Don Quijote opened its first store in Suginami, Tokyo in September 1980 under its original name, Just Co. Originally a retail store, Just Co. quickly switched to wholesale in 1982.[5][6]

The company opened its first "Don Quijote" named store in Fuchu, Tokyo in March 1989. With the name change, the store also changed its primary business from wholesale to retail. It was not until 1995, six years later, that Just Co. followed suit and it changed its corporate name to Don Quijote Co., Ltd as well. In June 1998, the company was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.[5][6]

As one of the few discount stores in Japan, the end of the Japanese economic bubble did not have disastrous effects for Don Quijote. Instead, the sudden economic uncertainty caused the Japanese public to become more thrifty and therefore helped to boost sales at its stores during the early 1990s.

In 2005, idol group AKB48 opened its theater on the eighth floor of the Don Quijote Akihabara Outlet in Tokyo.[7]

In October 2007, Don Quijote purchased ailing Nagasakiya for 140 billion yen.[6] This store and 3 other group companies went defunct in Oct 2017 as creditors have pulled the plug on their combined 432 billion yen of debts.[8] Creditors continue to bankroll the rest of the group.

On June 28, 2017, PAQ, which operated Honolulu-based Times, Big Save and Shima, under the subsidiary QSI, Inc., announced that it had sold the 24 stores it owns in Hawaii to Honolulu-based Don Quijote (USA), using an executed stock purchase agreement with the sale closing in the 3rd quarter of 2017.[6] The deal will combine Times with three Don Quijote stores and two Marukai stores on Oahu. In a statement from Edwin Sawai, president of Don Quijote (USA) Co., Ltd. and Marukai Hawaii Co. Ltd., he said that “The opportunity to welcome the Times Supermarket family of stores and their employees to our ohana is exciting for us,” and added that “We are confident that we will successfully work together, share ideas and learn from each other’s combined experiences to best serve Hawaii. For more than 68 years, Times Supermarket has been a local favorite and pillar of Hawaii’s retail community. We look forward to continuing their history and success in the islands.”[9]

Don Quijote opened its first East Asian store outside of Japan at Orchard Central, Singapore, on December 1, 2017.[10][11][12] These stores are branded "Don Don Donki", as the Don Quijote name is in use by a local restaurant.[13] Don Quijote then opened a second store at the 100AM Mall in Tanjong Pagar on June 14, 2017.[14] Don Quijote plans to have 5 stores in Singapore by the end of 2019 and 10 stores at the end of 2020.[15][16] A third store was opened at City Square Mall in Singapore on January 11, 2019 with a fourth at Novena Square in May 2019.[17][18] The fifth store in Singapore is located at Jewel Changi, under the Sweet Potato Factory concept. A store location was announced in June 2019 at Clarke Quay Central, increasing the total to six stores. Two more stores opened at Jem and JCube in November 2019 and January 2020 respectively.[19]

In Hong Kong, Don Quijote has two outlets, one at Mira Place 2 in Tsim Sha Tsui and one at OP Mall in Tsuen Wan.[20] These stores have also adopted the Don Don Donki branding.

Theme song

Don Quijote is known for the distinctive song that plays in its stores. The song is called "Miracle Shopping" (ミラクルショッピング, Mirakurushoppingu) sung by Maimi Tanaka (田中マイミ, Tanaka Maimi), a Don Quijote store employee.[21] "Miracle Shopping" was released as a maxi single in 1999.[22] An English version has also been released.

Incidents
A street view of the Roppongi roller coaster that sits atop Don Quijote.

Arson

In December 2004, four stores in the Kantō area were damaged or destroyed by arson attacks. Three store employees, Morio Oshima, 39, Mai Koishi, 20, and Maiko Sekiguchi, 19, died in the first arson incident. In 2007, Noriko Watanabe, 49, was found guilty of setting the fires and sentenced to life imprisonment. Don Quijote received harsh criticism at the time for poor store layout that made it difficult to find exits.[23]

Roller coaster

In 2005, Don Quijote began building a "half-pipe" roller coaster on the roof of its eight-story Roppongi store. Roppongi is a heavily populated area in the core of Tokyo, and many residents and businesses were upset with the idea of having a roller coaster in their neighborhood because of the spectacle, noise and crowds it would likely create. The project was completed in 2006 but due to increasing pressure from concerned groups in the area was never operated. As of 2019, the structure has been removed.[24]

Osaka stabbing incident

On January 4, 2020, a woman was arrested for attacking a Chinese tourist at a Don Quijote branch in Umeda, Osaka. Miki Matsuoka, 34, of Takamatsu, Kagawa, slashed and stabbed the tourist on a staircase in the store. While being questioned, she stated that she had "bought a kitchen knife to kill someone" and she did not like the attitude of the tourist.[25][26][27]

Overseas assets

Don Quijote purchased the Marukai Japanese chain stores in the United States in 2013, splitting it into Marukai and Tokyo Central Markets chains.[28][6]

References
  1. "月次売上高速報 (Monthly Sales Report Highlights)". ppi-hd.co.jp (in Japanese). Pan Pacific International Holdings Corporation. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  2. "Shared Research report - Don Quijote". Archived from the original on 2011-10-11. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
  3. Du, Lisa. "The Cult Japanese Retailer Making Billions Breaking All the Rules". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  4. "Don Quijote founder and his ties to Singapore". AsiaOne. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  5. "(Donki) Corporate History". Archived from the original on 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
  6. "(PPIH) Corporate History" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2019-05-25. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  7. "Girl idol group about mass exposure, fans". The Japan Times Inc. The Japan Times. August 24, 2010. Archived from the original on August 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  8. "Collapse of debt-ridden Nagasakiya signals the end of a tradition - IOL Business Report".
  9. "Don Quijote acquires Hawaii-based Times Supermarkets" from Pacific Business Journal (June 28, 2017)
  10. "Japan's Donki to open first Southeast Asian store in Singapore". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  11. Varma, Ankita (2017-11-30). "Don Don Donki store opening at Orchard Central on Friday". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  12. "Japan's Donki to launch second outlet in Singapore, first store set for Dec 1 opening". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  13. "Japan's Don Don Donki targets 10 stores in Singapore by 2020". CNA. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  14. Ng, Charmaine (2018-06-05). "Don Don Donki opening second outlet at 100AM in Tanjong Pagar on June 14". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  15. "Japan's Don Don Donki targets 10 stores in Singapore by 2020". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  16. "Don Quijote rides high on rule-breaking reputation". Asahi Shimbun. August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  17. "Japanese discount chain Don Don Donki opens third and largest outlet at City Square Mall". The Straits Times. January 10, 2019.
  18. "Don Don Donki's fourth outlet to open in May at Novena's Square 2". The Straits Times. March 20, 2019.
  19. "Don Don Donki opening 6th outlet soon at Clarke Quay Central".
  20. "Japanese discount megastore Don Quijote opens second store in Hong Kong to meet growing demand by fans". InvestHK - Government Department of Foreign Direct Investment. 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  21. Takachandesu (12 January 2008). "ドンキ・ホーテのテーマ♪ミラクルショッピング" – via YouTube.
  22. "田中マイミのプロフィール".
  23. "Don Quijote store arsonist gets life for three deaths". The Japan Times. 2007-03-24. Archived from the original on 2008-11-06. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
  24. "Google Street View". Google Maps. 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  25. "Woman arrested for attempted murder after slashing tourist in Osaka shop". Japan Today. 2020-01-06. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  26. Ryall, Julian (2020-01-06). "Chinese tourist stabbed in head in Osaka Don Quijote discount store". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  27. Tan, Ashley (2020-01-06). "Chinese tourist stabbed in head by Japanese woman at Osaka Don Quijote store as she 'didn't like her attitude'". Mothership SG. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  28. "All 11 Marukai Stores to Be Sold". www.rafu.com.

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