MEDIA
How Diets are Developing
When survey firm Macromill, Inc. asked 1,030 men and women between the ages of 20 and 70 if their diets had undergone changes compared with two years ago, 60.8 % replied in the affirmative.
The most pronounced changes in their activities, as reported in the Nikkei Marketing Journal( 15 May) were, in descending order: modifying the items in one’ s menu( up by 56.3 %); moving about more in the course of daily activities( 54 %); performing light exercises at home( 48.4 %); and not snacking late at night( 44 %).
Interestingly, 49.5 % of respondents said they felt a sense of enjoyment from their efforts at dieting.“ More people are realising that they won’ t feel the effects from dieting unless they stick with it”, explained Masaki Furuya, head of the Japan Diet Health Association.
“ This shows how dieting has been evolving, with more people becoming aware of the right ways to [ diet ]”, he added.
And, in what is surely one of the most innovative recent consumer incentives, the all-female share house Beauty & Diet Esaka in Osaka’ s Suita City has begun offering reduced monthly rent to female tenants who can show they have lost weight, according to the 17 May issue of the same newspaper.
The basic rent is ¥ 45,000 and, for each kilogram lost, rent is reduced by ¥ 1,000. Lose five kilogrammes, and the tenant need only pay ¥ 40,000— at which point the limit kicks in.
There’ s also a disincentive against weight gain, as the same scale works in reverse, with penalties in increments of ¥ 1,000 per kilogramme( up to ¥ 50,000).
The new house, which was converted from a firm’ s dormitory for single workers, is currently at full capacity with all 26 rooms taken, mostly by working girls in their 20s as well as students.
The operator was quoted as saying that, while the entrants expressed interest in dieting, none specifically raised the point that they hoped to reduce their rent through weight loss.
An Osaka shared house charges less rent if you lose weight.
Lightweight and economical motorbikes, such as this Honda CRF250, are in demand.
Cheaper Models Drive Bike Boom
Motorbike sales have suddenly taken off, with some manufacturers reporting a three-fold, year-on-year rise in demand for lightweight 125 – 250cc models.
According to J-Cast News( 17 May), sales have been boosted by major model changes in 2012 that resulted in improved fuel consumption and lower sticker prices.
Sales of 125 – 250cc models rose 168.4 % YoY in February, and 162.3 % in March and 139.4 % in April by the same comparison. Meanwhile, Kawasaki report demand up 305.8 % YoY and Honda 189.0 % YoY.
All four major manufacturers reported boosted sales across the board.“ Even while sales were in decline, a strong latent demand remained. We have made moves to exploit this demand”, explained a Honda Motor Co., Inc spokesperson.
The key factor in stimulating new demand was reducing the cost of ownership. Until recently, for instance, few owners were said to have paid much attention to the fuel consumption figures of their two wheelers.
In the past, models that were exported to different world regions featured slightly different configurations. Now, extensive standardisation has made possible considerable price savings.
Further, Honda is hoping to appeal to younger buyers— whose interest in motorcycling in recent years has been declining— by pricing its newer small-displacement models of 110 – 125cc below ¥ 300,000.“ It is hoped that fathers’ enthusiasm for motorbikes will start to spill over into their children’ s age group”, said a spokesman for Baiku-Oh and Company, a chain that specialises in used models.
JUNE 2013 | BCCJ ACUMEN | 13