Do you know “Nippachi”?
We often hear the word, “Nippachi” on business in February.
“Nippachi” represents February (”ni” - two in Japanese) and August (”pachi, or hachi” - eight in Japanese), the worst months in a year for many industries in Japan. Traditionally, it is said that sales slow down in February because of several reasons such as another coldest month in a year, and no big events to boost the sales in Japan. It is also said that sales in August slow down because of “Obon” breaks in the middle of August.
Of course, there are some exceptions for “Nippachi.” One example is chocolate sales around Valentine’s Day. Retailers ranging from online shops to department stores have already started sales of chocolates for St. Valentine’s Day. Department stores sell chocolates priced at 10,000 yen (around US$120) per box!! Of course, the box is not a huge one. One box typically contains 20 - 30 pieces of chocolates. Despite of the high pricing, there are Japanese who buy such expensive chocolates (not me 
).
The phenomenon of St. Valentine’s Day is gone after February 14. Then, we are back to normal, “Nippachi.” So hard to wait for spring!
February 01 2011 | Japanese Business Custom | Comments Off
“We want to apologize for leaking your personal information…” This is the email message that I received from a Japanese company the other day. A couple of days ago, the company sent out an e-newsletter containing the email addresses of all recipients. The recipients were able to see the email addresses of others. Some showed full names and company email addresses, and my name was there. 