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Approaching Japanese shops — what works and what gets ignored
Japan has an unusually dense network of small, sharply curated retailers with real buying power and a genuine appetite for imported craft. They are also, from the outside, almost impossible to reach — not because they are closed, but because most approaches fail on the first email.
What the buyer is actually assessing
A Japanese shop buyer opening a cold email from a foreign maker is answering four questions, in this order:
- Does this fit what I already sell? Not "is it good" — is it coherent with the shelf.
- Can this person actually supply? Consistently, on time, at volume, for years.
- Will my customers understand it? Can the story be told in one line in Japanese.
- How much work is this going to be for me? Language, customs, payment, communication lag.
Most approaches answer only the first question, and answer it badly. The fourth question is the one that quietly kills deals, and almost nobody addresses it.
What to send
Short. Specific. Visual. In practice:
- Three to five images, embedded or on a fast-loading link. Not a 40MB attachment.
- Two or three sentences on what you make and what is distinctive about the process.
- A specific reason for approaching them. Name something they already stock and say how your work relates to it. This single element separates read emails from deleted ones.
- Wholesale price and retail price, in yen. Buyers cannot evaluate anything without numbers.
- Minimum order and lead time. Realistic ones.
- A line addressing logistics. "I can ship DDP with duty and consumption tax prepaid, so the goods arrive with nothing for you to arrange." This answers question four and very few makers think to include it.
What gets ignored
- "Dear Sir/Madam". Obvious mass mailing.
- A long philosophy of practice. Send it later, if asked.
- No prices. The buyer will not ask; they will move on.
- Heavy attachments. Frequently blocked, rarely opened.
- Machine-translated Japanese. Worse than English. Clear English is respected; bad Japanese reads as careless.
- No clear ask. Wholesale? Consignment? A trial order? Say which.
Wholesale or consignment
Both are normal in Japanese craft retail.
Wholesale — the shop buys outright, typically at around half of retail. Cleaner for you, and payment is certain. Harder to secure from an unknown foreign supplier because the shop carries all the inventory risk.
Consignment — the shop takes stock and pays on sale, keeping a percentage. Riskier for you, but it substantially lowers the barrier to a first order. For an untested relationship it is frequently the sensible trade, and many Japanese shops prefer to start this way.
Offering consignment for a first season, converting to wholesale once it sells, is a proposal that gets taken seriously.
Get the logistics off their desk
This is the highest-leverage thing you can do, and it is almost always overlooked.
A Japanese shop that has never imported directly will look at your email and see paperwork: customs, duty, consumption tax, an importer of record, a courier they have no account with. That mental cost is frequently what tips a "maybe" into no reply.
Ship DDP — delivered duty paid — so everything lands cleared, with nothing for them to handle. It costs you more per shipment and it materially increases the chance of a first order. Say so explicitly in the first email.
Packaging is part of the product
In Japan, packaging is read as a statement about how much you respect both the object and the recipient. Work arriving in scuffed cardboard with a printed label undoes a great deal of what the object itself says.
This does not mean expensive. It means considered: appropriate material, clean finish, and something that can be given as a gift without rewrapping. Gift-giving is a substantial share of Japanese craft retail.
Then be reliable
The first order is not the achievement. The second is.
Deliver on the date you quoted, respond to emails within a day or two, and flag problems early rather than hoping they resolve. Japanese trade practice treats a stated date as a commitment, and communication silence as a warning sign. Makers who are simply predictable outperform more talented ones who are not.
We identify shops whose existing range fits your work, make the approach in Japanese in the right register, and handle the commercial conversation including the terms that do not translate literally.
Questions people ask
Short, direct answers to the questions this reliably raises.
What should I include when approaching a Japanese shop?
Three to five images on a fast link, two or three sentences on your process, a specific reason for approaching that shop naming something they already stock, wholesale and retail prices in yen, realistic minimum order and lead time, and a line confirming you can ship DDP with duty and tax prepaid. That last point removes the administrative burden that most often causes a non-reply.
Should I offer wholesale or consignment in Japan?
Both are normal in Japanese craft retail. Wholesale at around half of retail is cleaner and payment is certain, but harder to secure from an unknown foreign supplier who carries none of the inventory risk. Consignment lowers the barrier substantially for a first order. Offering consignment for a first season and converting to wholesale once it sells is a proposal that gets taken seriously.
Why do Japanese shops not reply to my emails?
Usually because the email fails on one of four questions: whether the work fits the existing range, whether you can supply reliably, whether the story can be told in one line to their customers, and how much administrative work it creates for them. The fourth question quietly kills most deals and almost nobody addresses it.
Should I write to Japanese buyers in Japanese?
Only if it is properly translated. Machine-translated Japanese is worse than clear English — English is respected, but bad Japanese reads as careless. If you can have material professionally translated once, do so; otherwise write clearly in English.
How important is packaging for the Japanese market?
Very. Packaging is read as a statement about how much you respect both the object and the recipient, and work arriving in scuffed cardboard undoes much of what the object says. It does not need to be expensive, but it should be considered and giftable without rewrapping, since gift-giving is a substantial share of Japanese craft retail.