Daiso Japan warns against imitation
Daiso Industries Co. Ltd. has urged consumers to go to their stores to get authentic Daiso products in the Philippines as they warned of other establishments bearing a cunningly similar concept with Daiso Japan.
“Authenticity is king when it comes to getting the right products with the best value for money. This goes true for Daiso merchandise, the trademark associated with high quality but affordable items that range from kawaii (cute) to household and office goods,” said Koji Nishigaya, General Manager for East Asian District from Daiso Industries Co. Ltd.
Nishigaya issued this statement as the company has warned that there have been some masquerading as Daiso Japan.
“As the authentic purveyor of the Daiso brand in the country, Daiso Japan stores should not be confused with any other establishments bearing a cunningly similar concept,” he added.
Consumers can find these authentic Daiso products in the Philippines only at Daiso Japan’s 43 stores nationwide.
The iconic global brand is owned by Daiso Industries Co. Ltd., of Japan since 1977. The company was founded by Hirotake Yano who first introduced in 1972 the “Yano Shoten” concept, a street vending shop dealing with 100 yen products. With headquarters in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, the company grew exponentially over the years. In Japan alone, Daiso has over 2,400 stores and a strong presence in at least 30 countries.
In August of 2008, Daiso Industries Co., Ltd. Founder and President Hirotake Yano, Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. Vice Chairman and Deputy CEO Lance Gokongwei and COO Robina Gokongwei-Pe, signed a distribution agreement authorizing Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., to sell authentic and original Daiso Japan products and to use the Daiso Japan concept store.
The issue has been brought up years ago by Daiso Industries Co., Ltd when it filed a complaint with the Intellectual Property Office against Japan Home Center (JHC) in 2009.
The Supreme Court has since issued a final ruling on the matter in June this year, preventing JHC from using the trademark Daiso and thus affirming an earlier decision by the Court of Appeals that JHC registered the trademark Daiso and its Japanese equivalent with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in bad faith in 2005.