It was reported that CoCo Ichibanya’s parent company is considering a sale, prompting widespread online reactions about its pricing and accessibility to ordinary consumers. The article also explains the company’s founding history and the background to suburbanisation.
Daily Shincho’s report that CoCo Ichibanya is considering a sale has prompted widespread online reactions, including “CoCo Ichi is too expensive” and “Ordinary people can’t afford it.”
The article points out that sales are at a record high while operating profit is declining, but reportedly does not discuss the company’s capital structure or future prospects in detail.
The article states that the company was founded in 1978 and that its first store opened in Nishibiwajima-cho, rather than in a busy commercial district of Nagoya. The founder reportedly recalled the location at the time as “an extremely poor location surrounded by rice paddies.”
The article explains that Japan’s suburbanisation from the 1960s onward established the era’s sense of “a nation of middle-class households” as part of the landscape of everyday life.