Increasing oil prices and the gashapon industry
Zakzak reports that the increasing oil prices recently are starting to hurt the 30 billion yen gachagacha/gashapon industry as rising costs for the production of the plastic containers to keep the gashapon in are starting to thin their profits.
Even the biggest gashapon maker Bandai who has about 65% market share has changed the 65mm containers that they’ve always used to 50mm containers since April this year so as to save costs.
Yujin which is under the other major gashapon maker Takara Tomy who owns 35% market share is also considering switching from their usual containers that use a combination of both soft and hard plastics to using containers made of only soft plastics to save in costs.
The gashapon market had been expanding at every year hitting a peak of 33.5 billion yen in 2005, but shrank to 30.5 billion yen in 2006, and with the problems of increasing oil prices also adding to the problem, gashapon makers have no choice but find ways to cut costs.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
PRETTY SOON THE MOTHERFUCKERS WILL BE COMING IN ZIPLOCK BAGGIES
May 12th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Maybe they could ask people to return the empty eggs as a favor? Surely they’d get some of them back. Most people open them up right in front of the machines or stores anyway.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
I’m sure this is not the only industry being hit by it…. the prices of is just absurbe right now, I don’t like in Japan but here the price is up to 2,4$ per L.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
From what I remember, the high oil prices are also affecting the prices of the figurines.
Damn real world economics mixing with my anime. ;_;
May 13th, 2008 at 12:26 am
And people thought it wouldnt affect us….
May 13th, 2008 at 3:51 am
truefax. I hope they don’t increase the prices here. *sigh*
May 13th, 2008 at 4:31 am
I miss the more relaxed NOYFB.
Anyways…. gashapon may soon become rare and more expensive…. unless….
Unirelli’s idea is the abst answer anyone can think of. Took Al Gore to say it, and I think’s it’s about time we started recycling those things.
May 13th, 2008 at 4:53 am
They already do ask people to return them - any decent gashapon places will have bins for people to throw their casing into them right next to the machines.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
NO BLOOD FOR CAPSULE TOYS
May 14th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I bet returning my capsules here in the Netherlands won’t help the producers in Japan, since i bought my gashapons there on vacation.