If you’re willing to commit to the Japanese market—and many U.S. catalogers have, including Patagonia and Hanna Andersson—Japan can be very rewarding. The problems a cataloger may face will be different, but good planning and execution will solve most of them.
The most common obstacle for mailers to Japan is obtaining good lists. Quality lists are few and far between, and most catalogers find they have exhausted the best lists within the first year of mailing. Developing other marketing channels early on is a good way to avoid a lack of quality lists to mail later. One channel proving successful in Japan is the Internet, and many U.S. catalogers are initially testing the waters via the Web. The e-commerce market in Japan is poised to take off, so now is the time to launch a Japanese Web site.