A Clever Way to Drive Regional Prosperity – Tokyo “Antenna” Shops

Japan is proud of its regional cuisine. It’s customary when going on a domestic trip, to bring back gifts for family or friends from the local areas’ regional produce. But with Japan’s declining population and the continuing shift from the regional areas to the big cities, some regional areas are facing more difficult economic conditions.  So it is interesting to see them taking the fight to the big cities under the guise of the “antenna” shop.

Antenna shops are retail stores, often operated by manufacturers and used to test market consumers’ reaction to the manufacturers’ product, detect new consumer attitudes or sell “campaign” style small run prototype products for evaluation. In the case of Japan’s regional areas such as Kyushu or Hokkaido for example, they have opened up antenna stores in central Tokyo selling the local regional produce. These vibrant and busy retail outlets, with modest floor area, sell a variety of regional products, some of which you would normally only be able to purchase in the local area. Teamed with tourism promotion targeting the local regional area, these antenna shops are located in very high passenger traffic  areas around Tokyo station.

With Australia’s boasting its clean green food image, there might be scope for Australian regional areas’ producers, to set up similar antennas shops in the major Australian cities aimed at both domestic and international tourists alike.