The Mystery of the Annual Queue
Japanese people love queues. After a food or restaurant is featured in the media, a line often forms at the store.
Recently, around 8:00 AM, I was walking past a department store in a station building when I noticed a huge line.
At least from what I could see, the line was over 1,000 people long.
Looking at the people at the front of the line, many were carrying small chairs and sleeping bags.
I have no interest in queues, but even as I walked, more and more people were joining the line.
After having breakfast at a restaurant on the 15th floor of the building, there was a huge line in front of the escalator to the 15th floor.
When I got down to the first floor, the line there had grown to several thousand people.
What do you think this line is for?
You’ll find it hard to believe, but it was a line for Valentine’s Day chocolates on February 14th.
According to the staff, the people at the front of the line had been lining up since around 3:00 AM.
This time of year in Japan is at its coldest, with occasional snow.
To me, it’s just chocolate.
I don’t watch TV, so I didn’t know this, but apparently the media reports every day that a special chocolate created in collaboration with a famous pastry chef is being sold exclusively at this department store.
What’s even more surprising is that it’s not just women who are lining up, but people of all ages and genders.
Apparently, there’s a chocolate that costs $33 a piece.
Just one piece!
And the average purchase amount per person is apparently $200 a piece.
I’m sure people have different values.
However, I personally think that spending this much money and effort on chocolate is unusual.
Japanese people are also very sensitive to the word “limited edition.”
I study business and marketing alongside my day job, so I find the chocolate industry and the media’s sales strategies incredible.
