Innovative Japanese lifestyle store Tokyu Hands is testing the Malaysian market through a pop-up store in Kuala Lumpur.

Open for two weeks until February 3, the pop-up store at Tokyo Street in the Pavilion shopping centre in downtown Kuala Lumpur is introducing more than 500 lifestyle products to Malaysia. The items range from household, stationery, skincare and cosmetics products to items that are particularly Japanese.

Tokyu Hands GM Shinji Fujikawa says the company wants to explore the retail market and understand consumer trends in Malaysia, reports The Star.

“This will be a great platform to build our brand.”

Store manager Takuya Furumaki says it is also a good opportunity for the brand to gauge the viability of its products.

“As Malaysians are quite familiar with Japanese culture, we are confident our products will do well.”

Tokyu Hands opened its first store in Shibuya, Tokyo, in 1976. It now has 40 stores throughout Japan, plus a presence in Singapore and Taiwan.

At the pop-up store’s launch, guests learned more about some of its stock through demonstrations and presentations featuring the most popular or useful items favoured by Japanese buyers, according to Tokyu Hands International Business Division buyer Marie Kusumoto.

Pavilion Kuala Lumpur marketing director Kung Suan Ai says that shoppers at Tokyu Hands do not just buy a product.

“You buy into an experience that enriches your life.”