Thinking Japanese

In a recent column for the Financial Times, cultural observer Tyler Brûlé described five Japanese concepts that should be exported.

1. The ‘ice-type’ facial wipe
As the mercury creeps upwards with the arrival of summer, the “ice-type” facial wipe starts to appear in convenience stores and pharmacies across the country. Not to be confused with the basic face wipe, which simply cleanses, the menthol version is close to being an anaesthetic in tissue form and can instantly transform a sweaty, blushed complexion into a visage of chilly, collected calm. The best brand on the market is Osaka-based Mandom’s Gatsby range.

2. Muji – the real version
The Japanese retailer needs to stop watering down its international offer and deliver the same experience to shoppers in London and Paris that it does in Osaka and Tokyo. The world is waiting for Muji houses, a bigger bicycle range, restaurants and its Labo fashion collection.

3. Clever collaborations
Japanese consumers love a clever tie-up between established brands and smart creative talent. Good examples are retailer Beams doing a customised Subaru in hot orange and chocolate brown, or bagmaker Porter doing a “man bag” exclusively for ANA.

4. Travel etiquette
Japan could educate other countries in the fine art of getting passengers on to large and small aircraft without ever creating a queue in the boarding bridge. This is a facet of daily life that continues to amaze me and could save billions in delayed departure times and lost hours of productivity.

5. Bathroom culture
The Washlet (the automated, all- spraying, all-blow-drying, all-sound cancelling, all-deodorising toilet) is finally making inroads into new markets, but the world needs to embrace this concept faster. If it’s standard practice to wash your hands after going to bathroom, shouldn’t it also be part of the routine to wash the parts of your body that performed the function? Japan’s become so addicted that they’ll even feature on the two national carriers’ 787s when they eventually take to the skies.

The Annals of Luxury: A Peek Inside Vuitton

Exactly what is the difference between a $1,500 Louis Vuitton bag and and a Santee Alley knockoff?

If you thought we were going to say that you can't tell them apart, dream on!

Of course there's a big difference. Highly skilled craftsmanship and quality materials are just the start.

Take a look inside Vuitton's spotless 150-year-old workshops in Asnieres-sur-Seine, France, to see some of what else you're paying for. This is where Vuitton makes its custom orders. You don't see factories like this in China, do you?

(The video, from the French business newspaper Les Echos, is in French, but the head of Vuitton isn't saying anything you don't already know about his historic firm. The pictures are what's important.)

All of this comes at a price.

Still, is that $6,000 Birkin really worth it, given that Vuitton is charging you 12 or 13 times the cost of making it? Or to put it another way, the $995 Papillion that you covet was made for about $80.

(If General Motors had margins like that, they would be bailing us out. But this is another story.)

Vuitton isn't alone in claiming these giant markups. The same goes for other Rodeo Dr. brands.

The value of any luxury item lies in the eyes of the consumer. It has to do with the difference between wants vs. needs, as we have learned from years of sales training on two continents. And then there's the notion of "perceived value." If you think it's worth $6,000, it is.

Does the bag represent good value for the money? Of course, not! But then if you can afford it, you might not care. So go for it!

Just make sure to pay your bills and take care of all the little people in your life first, before blowing all of your cash on something you merely "want."