Isetan's new concept in Kuala Lumpur: 'The Japan Store'

For those who haven't come across it, Isetan is a Japanese department store with branches worldwide. There used to be one in London, even (I'm not sure if there is still? I think there are plans to relaunch one there). Like its other half, Mitsukoshi, Isetan is a regular department store, but selling quality Japanese products as well as global brands. 

Click on photos for slide show

So I was quite surprised to visit the old one in Kuala Lumpur's Lot10 mall recently. This Isetan has had a major refit, and rebrand! Labelled 'The Japan Store' the new version shopping experience was a bit of a treat to walk around. Each storey of the building was named and themed, concessions were situated in artsy pods reminiscent of The Serpentine Gallery's summer pavilion commissions. There were hipster cafes, breakout and work areas. Products were arranged and curated more like an art gallery than a department store. On the top level are Japanese restaurants, and the basement food hall is now a very Japan affair, with exclusively high-end Japanese foods, eateries, drinks and liquor. It was like walking into a nicely designed store IN Tokyo. (And I have to say, after a dearth of anything affordable and fresh/unfried in KL, I was delighted to find a healthy Japan-style salad bar there too!) 

Interestingly, there is more than one Isetan in KL, and the others are still regular department stores. So this one is a specific flagship, and I would guess set up to differentiate the brand from the plethora of identikit mall anchors around the city. The Lot10 store itself is in an odd location - it sits back, on the edge of Bukit Bintang's retail strip, in what is by Asian standards an 'old' mall (generally viewed as 'less desirable' over here). A new MRT has just opened nearby-ish, but the real draw of this area seems to be the outsized, dull and flashy Pavilion Mall complex at the other end. Perhaps this is why Isetan chose to refurb this particular branch? To give people a reason to walk the extra metres for a uniquely Japanese experience - rather than just bypass Isetan entirely while heading to the flash? The other large (and far more prominent) stores in the Lot10 mall are Zara and H&M, however. Which surely pull in not-so-style-conscious youngsters with limited cash. So I don't think this ready-made footfall would be of much use to Isetan! 

My query is whether this fab new concept store actually sells anything. Or perhaps high-sales are not its primary objective?? (Can this be the case in retail? Could retail space be so cheap in KL as to support an almost pure 'branding exercise'?) The new store is beautiful and classy, but the items scarce, and pricey. It was nearly empty when I visited (on a Thursday late afternoon). Even the cafes were quiet. Japanese products and style are more respected and fashionable in SE Asia than in Europe, for example. But I'm not sure with the same groups who would also have the incomes to regularly shop at this store. Japanese expats - with both the cash and inclination to frequent it - would be an obvious market. But there is only a tiny number of them in Kuala Lumpur, especially compared to somewhere like Singapore, where there is no 'Japan Store' flagship like this. So, I'm still curious as to 'why Lot10, KL'? 

Anyway, if you're visiting KL's Bukit Bintang area, it's worth a look. 

Operating #RefuseTheStraw in Asia: Week 1

Yep, I'm giving this a go. Even though the main campaign is aimed at Europe and N America. 

Plastic bottles and bags are a worry, ecologically. But had you ever thought of the humble straw... and the damage it can do en masse?

Straws are such insignificant things, and tbh we often don't think about or (more importantly) need them when we use them. But they also play an unpleasant role in polluting our oceans and food-chains. As the placard says, a plastic straw takes 200 years to break down. And before it does, the plastic clogs up our oceans, can get ingested (often fatally) by sea creatures. When it finally disintegrates - even worse - it becomes tiny toxic particles, which permeate our oceans and their residents. (That's alongside all the bags and bottles which are doing the same things.)

Perhaps not so insignificant, after all?

So I'm going to try to stop using them. Or at least drastically cut down. SE Asia (where I am living now) is really not very good on care for the environment. Compared to Europe, anyway. I know the affluent EU traditionally has some of the world's best scores for being eco-friendly, and kids have grown up being educated about it for some decades. But it's sometimes shocking to see the use and misuse (and mis-disposal, and complete lack of care) regarding plastic over here in Asia. The situations for a lot of developing, or nearly-developed countries is quite different. I know that there are potentially more pressing things economically for a lot of SE Asian countries. Plus a whole raft of other hurdles such as education, corruption etc to jump before even embarking on this slow journey of change. But actually, I have a sneaky feeling that eco care has become important for everyone now, regardless. If the planet gets screwed, then frankly we're all stuffed!

I'm not an eco warrior, and I have no intention of preaching to anyone. This is just my own effort whilst living in the tropics. Let's see how it goes!

#RefuseTheStraw Week 1 
Obstacle 1. This guy! 

This is the traditional way of serving takeaway drinks in SE Asia. It has been for as long as I can remember (a few decades!) And it's fast, simple and cost-effective. And it's a double-whammy on plastic! OK, for RM$15 (£2.70) you can go to Starbucks for a pristine paper cup of latte. But most locals (and me) will still opt for the RM$1.80 (32p) hawker version! How does one drink this on the hoof without a straw???

Obstacle 2. Nobody knows what I'm on about. 
It's standard practice in SE Asia (including at several Western-style cafe chains) to give you a straw with any cold drink. That's how its served. And we tend to drink a fair amount of cold stuff in the tropics. You can ask for no straw, but it confuses staff and can slow down a long queue. In my case, I requested no straw, but the drink arrived at our table as usual - with a straw! I can not use it, but that rather defeats the object. Also, for the more basic roadside outlets, I have a suspicion that straws (rather than drinking from the lip of the cup) are used for hygiene. More investigation and work required on these aspects!

Success 1! Pacific Coffee Company in Kuala Lumpur
If you are able to pay the prices of a Western-style coffee chain, it's a bit easier to #RefuseTheStraw. Your iced drink comes in a clean throwaway cup (perfectly hygienic to drink from) and you pick up your own straw if you want it. So there's one score on the straw! The hitch here is that the cup itself was plastic. So I'm not sure how much good my efforts did..

***

Why I'm doing it - plus two cases
As I've mentioned before, my (still relatively light!) direct concern for the environment was catalysed when I started to SCUBA dive the outstanding reefs and seas of SE Asia. It is such a privilege to be able to witness (responsibly) the incredible life - a throbbing metropolis even! - underneath our seas. Not to mention the idyllic palm-fringed beaches which are natural throughout the region.

But you'll also see some of the most disgusting ruination of these places by plastic pollution. And when you go underwater - reefs, and animals, choked by it. It's careless, large-scale pollution which I've never seen the likes of on British beaches.

A Business Case
On the most practical level, if you happen to be a developing nation, the beaches and reefs are all huge draws for tourism. They're the free-gift that SE Asia has received!

What happens when the wildlife starts to die off, or migrate elsewhere? Or the beaches become polluted and unappealing? The tourism will also migrate elsewhere. Taking care helps to protect long term local economies, as well as the long term health of our seas.

An Emotive Case 
Here are the waters of a) The pristine natural beach and waves of uninhabited island, and protected dive site, Sipadan in East Malaysia, which I visited last year. And b) nearby inhabited, and not protected Semporna on the mainland. Man makes a huge difference, and look how much of the waste is plastic! :(

a) Sipadan

b) Semporna

Related on this Blog:

Bags of Fun! Eco Practices East and West 

Pic of polluted Semporna: TripAdvisor