Uniqlo to buy the Gap?
Amy Odell of NY Mag reports that Uniqlo owner Tadashi Yanai might buy the Gap:
Yanai is trying to turn Fast Retailing into the biggest clothing manufacturer and retailer in the world. The easiest way for him to do this by targeting the U.S. market is not to open a million new Uniqlo stores — that would be too much of a pain. So he plans to take a shortcut and simply buy a large chain. Insiders speculate that Gap is that chain.
[hat tip to Marxy]
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Categories: General Japan
Police mascot shot by gunman
On a T-shirt. And the police were not happy about it, as this news report shows:
Three men have been charged with trademark infringement for printing and selling the t-shirts back in 2006. The men had failed to obtain permission from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police before using an illustration of their mascot, Pipo-kun.
Although the shirts has originally been sold for 3,150 yen apiece at a store in Shinjuku, but sales were poor and after several price decreases the men actually ended up giving away some of the unsold shirts for free.
{democracy:237}
Categories: General Japan
‘Enjoy’ T-Shirts Recalled
About 6,000 Chinese-made t-shirts have been recalled because they can cause allergic reactions if not washed before use:
Tests by parties including a public health center in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, found formaldehyde in a yellow “Enjoy” T-shirt sold at Osaka-based clothing retailer Starvations. A 9-month-old girl from Amagasaki was also reported to have come out in a rash after wearing another T-shirt design. Three complaints over the T-shirts were reportedly received.
The formaldehyde is thought to have come from ink used for printing on the T-shirts, which were produced at a factory in China. Formaldehyde dissolves in water, and it can reportedly be washed out.
Categories: General Japan
Golden Dress
Anybody looking to buy a ludicrously expensive dress?
It may weigh you down, but it would be worth it. Japan’s largest bullion house on Thursday unveiled a shimmering gown adorned with hundreds of gold coins weighing a staggering 8 kg and valued at close to 30 million yen ($275,000).
Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewellery K.K. has created a dress using 325 Austrian gold coins issued to commemorate the Vienna Philharmonic, which it will display for a week at its store in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district.
Two men’s jackets also using gold coins, together valued at about 127 million yen, will also be shown.
The open-necked, mermaid-line gown, trimmed with fur and sporting one huge gold puff sleeve, was designed by students at Tokyo’s Bunka Fashion College, the alma mater of several leading Japanese designers including Kenzo Takada.
The bullion house does not plan to sell the gown, but it said it would entertain any serious offers.
Categories: Odd / Strange
