Japanese retailer Daiso has launched its first directly operated Canada store in downtown Vancouver.

Taking over a former bookstore space, the debut Daiso Canada spans 4700sqft and features a selection of 12,000 products, ranging from seasonal items, stationery and cosmetics to homewares – mostly imported from Japan.

JLL Canada will be responsible for Daiso’s further expansion in the country, identifying sites for further stores.

This is the second time the Japanese retailer has entered Canada. It first launched in 2003 through a franchise agreement with Fairchild Group, however, in 2019, the store was taken over by Japanese variety store Oomomo.

Daiso now operates more than 3000 stores in its home country and 5000 internationally.

The company’s business model is the so-called ‘100-yen shop’ concept where all products are priced similarly.