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 | |
 Headquarters of Don Quijote inMeguro, Tokyo | |
Native name | 株式会社ドン・キホーテ |
|---|---|
| Company type | PublicK.K. (TYO:7532) |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | September 5, 1980 |
| Founder | Takao Yasuda |
| Headquarters | Meguro,Tokyo,Japan |
Number of locations | 322 stores (April 2019)[1] |
Area served | Japan,Singapore,China (Hong Kong andMacau),Thailand,Indonesia,Taiwan,Malaysia, and theUnited States (California,Hawaii, andGuam) |
| Products | Clothing, food, jewelry, housewares, tools, sporting goods and electronics |
| Revenue |  ¥1.94 trillion(2022)[2] |
| ¥105.26 billion(2022)[2] | |
| ¥66.17 billion(2022)[2] | |
| Total assets | ¥1.48 trillion(2022)[2] |
| Total equity | ¥461.54 billion(2022)[2] |
Number of employees | 4,391 (2010) |
| Parent | Pan Pacific International Holdings Corporation [ja][3] |
| Subsidiaries | Don Quijote America |
| Website | donki |
Don Quijote Co., Ltd. (株式会社ドン・キホーテ,kabushiki gaisha Don Kihōte), often referred to by its shortened nameDonki (ドンキ), is a Japanesediscount store chain. Donki stores provide a wide range of products, from basicgroceries toelectronics andclothing. They notably tend to stay open until early morning hours or even remain open24/7, and products are packed from ceiling to floor in a distinctmerchandising strategy.
As of 2021, it has over 160 locations throughoutJapan and three inHawaii. In addition, seventeen inSingapore, eleven inHong Kong, four inMalaysia, eight inThailand, seven inIndonesia, five inTaiwan, two inMacau, and one inGuam is branded asDon Don Donki.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
Founded by Takao Yasuda, Don Quijote opened its first store inSuginami, Tokyo in September 1980 under its original name, Just Co. Originally a retail store, Just Co. quickly switched towholesale in 1982.[4][5][10]
The company opened its first "Don Quijote" named store inFuchu, Tokyo in March 1989. With the name change, the store also changed its primary business from wholesale to retail. It was not until 1995, six years later, that Just Co. followed suit and it changed its corporate name to Don Quijote Co., Ltd as well. In June 1998, the company was listed on theTokyo Stock Exchange.[5][10]
As one of the leading discount stores in Japan, the end of theJapanese economic bubble didn't severely affect the company. Instead, the sudden economic uncertainty caused the Japanese public to become more thrifty and therefore helped to boost sales at its stores during the early 1990s.[citation needed]
In 2005, idol groupAKB48 opened its theater on the eighth floor of the Don Quijote Akihabara Outlet in Tokyo.[11] Also that year, aFerris wheel opened at the facade of the Don QuijoteDōtonbori branch inOsaka.[12]
In October 2007, Don Quijote purchased the ailingNagasakiya chain for 140 billion yen.[10] This store and 3 other group companies went defunct in Oct 2017 as creditors have pulled the plug on their combined 432 billion yen of debts.[13] Creditors continue to bankroll the rest of the group.
On June 28, 2017, PAQ, which operated Honolulu-basedTimes, Big Save and Shima, under the subsidiary QSI, Inc., announced that it had sold the 24 stores it owns in Hawaii to Honolulu-based Don Quijote (USA), using an executed stock purchase agreement with the sale closing in the 3rd quarter of 2017.[10] The deal will combine Times with three Don Quijote stores and two Marukai stores on Oahu. In a statement from Edwin Sawai, president of Don Quijote (USA) Co., Ltd. and Marukai Hawaii Co. Ltd., he said that “The opportunity to welcome the Times Supermarket family of stores and their employees to our ohana is exciting for us,” and added that “We are confident that we will successfully work together, share ideas and learn from each other's combined experiences to best serve Hawaii. For more than 68 years, Times Supermarket has been a local favorite and pillar of Hawaii's retail community. We look forward to continuing their history and success in the islands.”[14]
Don Quijote opened its first Southeast Asian store atOrchard Central,Singapore, on December 1, 2017.[15][16][17] These stores are branded "Don Don Donki" as the Don Quijote name was in use by a local restaurant.[18] Don Quijote subsequently opened a second store at the 100AM Mall inTanjong Pagar on June 14, 2018.[19] There are 17 Don Don Donki stores in Singapore:[20][21][22]
Singapore has the most Don Don Donki stores outside of thehome islands. Yasuda also lives in Singapore, specifically atSentosa.[4]
Don Don Donki also expanded to Hong Kong with five outlets: one at Mira Place 2 inTsim Sha Tsui, one at OP Mall inTsuen Wan, one at Pearl City inCauseway Bay, one at 100QRC inCentral and one at Monterey Place inTseung Kwan O.[27][28] The chain opened one more store at the Island Resort Mall inSiu Sai Wan in February 2021,[29] and at TMT Plaza inTuen Mun in July 2021.[30] The store at Amoy Plaza inJordan Valley opened in January 2022,[31] and another store opened at Fashion World inWhampoa Garden in August 2022. Don Don Donki opened itsMong Kok branch in 2024.
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The chain currently consists of six stores in Thailand, the first store in Thailand opened on February 22, 2019 in theThonglor area ofBangkok.[32] one inSeacon Square (opened October 1, 2021),[33] one at theMBK Center (opened December 21, 2021),[34] one inSeacon Bangkae (opened June 20, 2022),[35] one at J-Park Sriracha Nihon Mura inSi Racha, Chonburi. (opened September 9, 2022),[36] and one in Thaniya Plaza onSi Lom Road. (opened January 23, 2023),[37] with one at The Market Shopping Mall inRatchaprasong closed on September 4, 2022.[38]
Don Don Donki currently consists of seven outlets inIndonesia, primarily inJakarta. On 4 March 2020, Don Don Donki opened its first store atCentral Park Mall amid thecoronavirus pandemic inGrogol Petamburan,West Jakarta. A second store was opened on 6 September 2020 atPlaza Indonesia, and the first Don Don Donki outlet inCentral Jakarta. It permanently closed on 16 August 2024. The third and largest 24 hour Don Don Donki store opened on 14 March 2022 atKuningan City with three floors including a Sen Sen Sushi restaurant. On 24 May 2023, the fourth Don Don Donki store was opened atPondok Indah Mall 2. On 7 October 2023, a fifth store was opened at Central Market inPIK. However, it closed on 17 November 2024. Don Don Donki opened its sixth store with two floors on 25 June 2024 atKota Kasablanka. The seventh outlet opened atPlaza Senayan on 17 August 2024 during theIndependence Day event. Don Don Donki opened its PIK Avenue branch on 9 November 2024 with anOkinawa theme to replace the Central Market PIK branch. Don Don Donki also opened itsÆON Mall BSD City branch atGading Serpong,Tangerang on 14 November 2024 with aHokkaido theme, and its first Don Don Donki branch outside Jakarta.
On 19 January 2021, the first Don Don Donki store inTaiwan was opened in theXimending Shopping District,Taipei amid the coronavirus pandemic. The three-floor outlet is open 24 hours a day and is located nearXimen metro station. It attracted more than 500 people who lined up in front of the outlet before its grand opening.[39][40]
On 20 January 2022, the second Don Don Donki store in Taiwan opened in the Zhongxiao Xinsheng business district of Taipei. The second store is an underground single-floor store with an area of about 1,540 square meters (16,500 square feet). The store is located in close proximity to theZhongxiao Xinsheng metro station. The Zhongxiao Xinsheng store will also open alongside four different kinds of booths selling Japanese foods; including MOCHI-MOCHI (selling freshly made mochi), Inari Sushi Tamaya (selling Inari sushi), Kondo (selling Japanese Wagyu beef skewers), and Color Food and Fitness (sellingdaifuku made with seasonal Japanese fruits).[41]
On 22 August 2023, the third Don Don Donki store in Taiwan opened inCitylink Nangang in Taipei.[42]
On 9 November 2023, the fourth Don Don Donki store in Taiwan opened inTiger City inTaichung, with a total area of about 1,800 square meters (20,000 square feet), which was the largest Don Don Donki in Taiwan to date.[43]
On 7 December 2023, the fifth Don Don Donki store in Taiwan opened in Talee Department Store inKaohsiung. It's currently the largest Taiwanese Don Don Donki with the area of nearly 3,000 square meters (32,000 square feet). The opening attracted nearly 2000 shoppers. This store contains three exclusive areas:Outdoor for outdoor products,Donki Sake for Japanese sake andCocokawaii forkawaii items.[44]
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On 19 March 2021, the first Don Don Donki store inMalaysia was opened inLot 10 ofBukit Bintang,Kuala Lumpur, branded as "Jonetz by Don Don Donki".[6] A second store was opened on 9 December 2021 at Tropicana Gardens Mall in thePetaling Jaya district ofSelangor; it was also the biggest outlet inSoutheast Asia, spanning 42,243 sq ft across two levels of the mall.[45] It closed permanently on 31 May 2023. A third store was set to open in 2022 at Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport mall located atBukit Bintang City Centre. However, the third store opened inSunway Pyramid instead on 28 October 2022. The fourth store that opened was inMid Valley Megamall on 31 January 2024. The fifth store was opened in NU Sentral on 14 June 2024. The company also planned to open up 11 new outlets by June 2024.[46]
Don Don Donki opened its first store inMacau on 9 September 2021, atFai Chi Kei.[47] Don Don Donki also opened its store inStudio City located on theCotai Strip inMacau on 2 February 2024.
After breaking ground in February 2020, Don Don Donki was expected to open onGuam in the village ofTamuning under the name Village of Donki in September 2021.[48] It opened on 25 April 2024.[49][50]
The official character mascot of Don Quijote is called Donpen (ドンペン). Introduced in 1998, he is depicted as a blue penguin wearing aSanta hat and theKatakana character "do" (ド) on his stomach. For the international Don Don Donki branches, the "do" is replaced with the letter D. The company also has a female equivalent known as Donko (ドンコ), who is colored pink with a heart on her stomach.[51]
In December 2022, Don Quijote invited controversy when it announced Donpen would be replaced by ananthropomorphic depiction of the Katakana character "do" named Dojou-chan.[52] The decision was reversed days later after an outpouring of support for the mascot on social media.[53][54]
Don Quijote's theme song is "Miracle Shopping [ja]", sung byMaimi Tanaka [ja], a former Don Quijote store employee.[55] The song was later released as amaxi single in 1999 byGrace Notes Records [ja].[56]
Overseas markets use English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Thai versions of the theme song (depending on the country the store is located in) with the "Don Don Donki" name.[57]
The song has been described as "Catchy but annoying" and "highly repetitious but smartly done so". These quotes could be referring to the fact that the song has been specifically designed to be catchy and stick around in your head so that it constantly reminds you of the store.[58]
The song's popularity is somewhat high. It has more than a million plays onSpotify. The song's popularity has made it the subject of remakes and alternative versions, includinglo-fi remixes[59]and a remix in which someone edited clips ofDonald Trump[60] to make it seem like he is singing the song.
In August 2024, American singer-songwriterBruno Mars collaborated with the store chain, appearing in the latest commercial ad. Mars, dancers Miyu, Haruka, Miyuri and Miku, and the store's mascot Donpen, dance around the Mega Don Quijote store situated inShibuya, while picking up articles from the store's "People Brand 'Jōnetsu kakaku'" brand. Mars wrote the jingle and produced the commercial for the "Donki Ikuyo" (ドンキイクヨ, lit. "Let's Go to Donki") campaign. Besides the commercial, the Mars-Don Quijote collaboration included several exclusive goods released for a limited time in September.[61][62][63][64][65] Mars shared the commercial in a reel on hisInstagram account.[66]
In December 2004, four stores in theKantō area were damaged or destroyed byarson attacks. Three store employees, Morio Oshima, 39, Mai Koishi, 20, and Maiko Sekiguchi, 19, died in the first arson incident. In 2007, Noriko Watanabe, 49, was found guilty of setting the fires and sentenced tolife imprisonment. Don Quijote received harsh criticism at the time for poor store layout that made it difficult to find exits.[67]
In 2005, Don Quijote began building a "half-pipe"roller coaster on the roof of its eight-storeyRoppongi store. Roppongi is a heavily populated area in the core of Tokyo, and many residents and businesses were upset with the idea of having a roller coaster in their neighborhood because of the spectacle, noise and crowds it would likely create. The project was completed in 2006 but due to increasing pressure from concerned groups in the area it was never operated. As of 2019, the structure had been removed.[citation needed]
Don Quijote purchased theMarukai Japanesechain stores in the United States in 2013, splitting it into Marukai and Tokyo Central Markets chains.[68][10]
Don Quijote stores are included as in-game shops in theYakuza video game series.[69] In 2009, Sega partnered with the store to advertise the release ofYakuza 3.[70]
There is a Don Quijote store scene inTONIKAWA: Over the Moon to You when Nasa and Tsukasa went shopping in its second episode of its first season.
創業社長から店内ソングの依頼があり、「ミラクルショッピング」の作詞作曲歌も担当。[...] その後、子会社の代表取締役社長を経験したのち起業。
之後亦有廣東話版，有人覺得廣東話版更洗腦，要求輪流播放不同語言的版本。
35°39′44.73″N139°44′5.11″E / 35.6624250°N 139.7347528°E /35.6624250; 139.7347528
