Japanese discount giant, Daiso, opens its second New Jersey store

In the US, we have stores like Dollar General and Dollar Tree, and in Japan they have Daiso. Daiso isn’t just in Japan, though; they have over 5,000 stores worldwide and now there are two of them here in New Jersey. The newest store opened this week in Little Ferry, joining the existing New Jersey location in Edgewater.

Daiso is known as a “100 yen” store, selling everything from stationery to electronics and home goods at a discount. In the store, items without a price tag are $1.50; everything else has a price tag given in yen with a conversion chart available. Many items are under $2.

According to the Daiso website: We pride ourselves on the quality, variety, and uniqueness of our wide-ranging product line, which includes everything from stationery, kitchen, cosmetics, home goods and many more. Get a taste of Japanese culture with our origami paper, calligraphy tools, obento products, sensu fans, and other traditional Japanese items.

Daiso’s Facebook page says that they are opening 10-20 store a month globally; over 2,200 of their stores are outside of Japan. “DAISO understands the growing need of cheaper products due to the rising living costs. It hopes to contribute to the advancement of the standard of living without having to pay more, but only for a very affordable cost.”

An article/review in Business Insider read more like a love letter to Daiso, praising its variety of items otherwise not available in the US and calling it a “game changer in your lifestyle.”

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.