Hooters Shows Why Deflation May Never Go Away: William Pesek

[Karmadillo]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-04/hooters-shows-why-deflation-may-never-go-away-william-pesek.html

Japan’s newest sensation is one of the world’s oldest: scantily clad women serving cheap booze.

Yes, Hooters Inc. has made its way to Tokyo. Normally when hundreds of Japanese men huddle in line it’s for a new iPhone or video game. These days, it’s to be served beer and chicken wings by waitresses in white tank tops and orange short-shorts. The American chain is gaining popularity in Japan.

It’s also an unlikely sign that deflation will be with Japan for a long, long time.

Anyone who still thinks falling prices are a cyclical phenomenon isn’t looking closely. It’s secular, and the sudden ubiquity of discount outfits shows how Japanese consumption has become a race to the bottom of the pricing spectrum.

Japan used to be an automated-teller machine for brands like Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Women thought little of plopping down $2,000 for the latest fashions from Milan and Paris. Men didn’t blink at paying $200 for a tie. That’s all fashion-industry history now. Sliding wages and rising job insecurity brought budget-shopping into vogue.

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[SpiralHawk]

1. Japan adopting Republicon Family Values !

Who knew?

I am shocked, shocked, shocked I tell you, at their degeneration.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. The "Precariat."

How appropriate a portmanteau word that is for the times. (Precarious + prolltariate, for those too laz to click the link).

[XOKCowboy]

3. God Bless America!

I once went to Yokohama. I got on a train at Narita that took me under Tokyo and right to Yokohama. My hotel was next to a huge mall. The afternoon I got into Japan I was having cafe au lait and beignets at a Cafe du Monde surrounded by Saks and Neiman Marcus. There was even a McDonalds right outside the hotel. I was so proud of my home country.

[thatsrightimirish]

4. I like hooters

Everyone seems to have a good time when I go. The last time I went there was with my mom and we had a great time. lol!

[mdmc]

5. ..