Quality brings just rewards for Laox

According to statistics from the Japan National Tourism Organization, 40 percent of the country's visitors in April came from China, or 40,000 individuals.

During the first quarter of the year, individual tourist spending in Japan averaged 304,000 Japanese yen ($2,500), a 20.9 percent rise on 2014.

Luo said Laox is investing around $325 million over the next three years on expanding its operations, particularly in top Chinese tourism destinations in Japan.

The fluent Japanese speaker said the change in spending patterns of those visitors is a clear indication of what has happened in recent years in China, as the quality of life has improved.

"In the past, Chinese travelers preferred to buy luxury handbags and watches.

"But now they also want to buy high-quality daily necessities, such as cosmetics, even toilet seats and thermos bottles," said Luo, "which has strongly influenced what the company offers."

All Laox store assistants now have to speak Chinese or English, in fact, 40 percent of staff are now non-Japanese, some speaking multi-languages, according to Luo, including "one who can speak 20 languages".

In April, Suning opened Laox stores in Shanghai and Nanjing, offering products imported directly from Japan and the United States.

The overseas goods section on Suning's own e-commerce website, too, now features a Japanese products area offering exactly what customers can get at Laox stores in Japan, many of the items sold a bit cheaper than they are there.

The company said in the future, Chinese managers will have more influence on how things are run, in an effort to woo more middle-class Chinese buyers.

Jiang Yiyi, director of the China Tourism Academy's International Tourism Development Institute, said Laox's Chinese ownership, but Japanese branding, have been cleverly blurred in the eyes of its Chinese customers.

"These shoppers prefer made-in-Japan brands, but it's not only about quality, it's about what kind of service they are offered.

"I expect travel to Japan to hit an all-time high this year due to the continued depreciation of the yen against the yuan."

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