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Japanese retailers in Southeast Asia: strong local partners, shopping malls, and aiming for comprehensive internationalization

Japanese retailers have a long and mixed history in Southeast Asia with a period of expansion in the 1980s and 1990s being followed by a long period of decline and stagnation. Recently, some Japanese retailers have renewed their interest in Southeast Asia. Based on an overview of the major retail trends in Southeast Asia and identification of those Japanese retailers that are currently expanding in the region, this article develops propositions about the underlying factors and processes. It argues that the interest in Southeast Asia, while being mostly justified by retailers through reference to the growing middle-class populations in host countries, is as much based on developments in Japan itself, such as the saturation and stagnation of markets and the emergence of exportable, flexible, and comprehensive business models. Japanese retailers are intensifying activities at a time when strong domestic companies with retail interests have established themselves in host countries and therefore partnerships with them seem to fulfill more than the need to comply with investment regulations or deal with complex environments. Shopping malls play a role as locations for specialty stores but are also transplanted from Japan. Companies are making efforts toward more comprehensive internationalization and this involves human resources in headquarters in Japan as well as working together with other Japanese companies, thus satisfying the need for local embeddedness but at the same time maintaining corporate identity and advantages.