Japan Premium, Malaysia’s 1st D2C Japanese Skincare E-commerce Platform Sees 200% Sales Growth In 1 Year

Are You a Smart Consumer?

Consumers nowadays are given many choices. In addition to the conventional retail stores, the number of online shops have also increased in the past year, giving consumers more options when they shop. Despite that, many consumers in Malaysia tend to go for the big brands or smaller shops that sell branded goods. Unfortunately, due to this they often face problems, where cheap products tend to be of low quality and products with acceptable quality, are sold with a hefty price tag.

So, here are the real questions. Are they really paying for the quality of the product? Or for the brand? Do consumers really understand the quality and product cost of the goods they purchase?

Under such circumstances, the concept of D2C has gradually become a global trend. Direct to Consumers (D2C) means that products are being sent from brand owners directly to consumers. In this way, extra fees such as middleman markup and retail costs are eliminated in the process and there will be no hidden charges imposed on the selling price. 

Introducing Japan Premium, the Revolutionary D2C Concept Store

Even in Malaysia, this concept has been widely accepted by many smart consumers and it enables Japan Premium, an e-commerce store to record a 200% growth in just one year. Japan Premium is a Direct to Consumer Concept Premium Goods Store that serves to enrich customers’ quality of life by catering exclusive premium products at affordable and reasonable prices.  

Japan Premium was founded by Yoshi Kashima, a Japanese entrepreneur who’s currently residing in Malaysia. Yoshi’s story begins when he quit his high paying job as a B2C e-commerce consultant in Japan and moved to Malaysia to start his own business.

He founded Japan Premium in 2015 with the mission to provide premium quality products at no hidden costs. This makes Japan Premium the first e-commerce store in Malaysia that links Japanese manufacturers directly to consumers.

“We don’t believe that people should pay a fortune on products that are cheap to produce. Most of the branded products are merely expensive when it comes to selling them. With the intention of providing true quality goods to fellow Malaysians, I have decided to introduce the D2C business model that links Japanese brands directly to consumers,” said Japan Premium founder, Yoshi Kashima.

The Business Model that Eliminates Hidden Costs

“I want to make premium goods a part of fellow Malaysians’ lives. I wish to enrich the quality of life. Many locals tend to purchase cheap but low quality goods or even expensive branded goods with substandard quality. However, at Japan Premium we are committed to providing premium quality goods at reasonable prices,” said Yoshi Kashima.

Most of the products sold in branded stores are subjected to high mark up due to hidden fees such as rental costs and middleman charges when the product cost remains low. A lot of products available in the local market tend to be cheap but fragile. Some of the products also break easily despite the high selling price. Nevertheless, Japan Premium strives to cater high quality goods at fair prices. 

As Japan Premium is officially linked to reputable Japanese D2C brand owners with proven track record, there are no hidden charges imposed on the selling price. With the D2C model of Japan Premium, the average product cost is approximately 69% of the selling price, whereas with the traditional business model often seen with many other brands, the product cost usually only makes up 22% of the selling price. Product cost is a good indication of product quality. That’s how Japan Premium manages to enrich customers’ quality of life by catering quality products at affordable and reasonable prices. 

Tremendous Support from His Malaysian Wife Who Eventually Became Japan Premium’s Brand Ambassador

During Yoshi’s stay in Malaysia, he fell in love with Chin, a sweet Malaysian lady from Sabah and got married. Being married to a Japanese, Chin got to try many Japanese products that Yoshi brought from his hometown in Japan. She realized that many good quality products from Japan are not available in Malaysia. Therefore, Yoshi has selected a few products to sell at Japan Premium based on Chin’s feedback as a local consumer.

“After getting married, I had the opportunity to try out various products from Japan. I was genuinely surprised by the quality and effectiveness of the products. To my astonishment, the price of the products were also affordable. Since then, I found my trust in the Japanese product quality and decided to introduce more quality products from Japan to the Malaysian public. From then onwards, I have been curating products suitable for the Malaysian market from a consumer’s perspective,” said Chin, who is also Japan Premium’s brand ambassador.

Signing Contracts Directly with Japanese D2C Brands

Since the company’s inception, Yoshi has successfully signed contracts with approximately 100 D2C brands in Japan. Most of them being exclusive contracts, making Japan Premium the exclusive distributor of these brands in Malaysia. Although these brands might not be well known in Malaysia, they are certainly recognized and well acknowledged in Japan. They consist of award-winning products such as CHARLENE Real All In One, URURU in ONE Collagen Supplement and Takagi Shower Head which have been selected by the Monde Selection & Rakuten Rankings. Needless to say, the quality of these products is top notch.

Japan Premium mainly offers skincare products but since then more than 50 premium home and living products such as shower heads, towels and detergents have been made available for their customers. All these products are sold on their official website, Shopee and Lazada stores. 

Overwhelming Support from Fellow Malaysians

Rather than buying cheap but fragile products, more and more people feel the need to get quality goods in order to boost productivity while working from home. On top of catering quality products, Japan Premium focuses on providing comprehensive customer service and building good rapport which contributes to the increasing customer base. 

They highly value their customer’s satisfaction and ensure that every order is delivered promptly. In fact, Japan Premium has received countless positive reviews and feedback from happy customers. An increasing number of return customers have also been observed.

Future Plans and Strategic Vision

Japan Premium will continue introducing new quality products to the Malaysian market as well as rolling out additional member exclusive benefits for their loyal customers. It is also their vision to expand their service to the other ASEAN countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines to fill in the gap in the local market. 

Discover products on Japan Premium:

Japan Premium official website 

Shopee

Lazada

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