Popular Showa Era Design Appliances and Tableware
Incorporating Digital Elements Targeting MZ Generation
In Japan, a retro craze known as the 'Showa Retro Boom' is sweeping the nation. Designs reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s 'Showa era' have become a guaranteed hit whenever they are released. Since the Showa era was a period of economic prosperity in Japan, this trend evokes nostalgia for past glories among the older generation, while sparking curiosity about an era they never experienced among the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), making it a marketing strategy that appeals across all age groups.
On the 10th, Japanese home appliance company Tiger announced that its 1970s design electric rice cooker, which began pre-orders in April to commemorate the company's 100th anniversary, reached 3,000 orders within two months of the reservation launch. This limited edition rice cooker features two designs?a small floral pattern and stripes?faithfully reproducing the original style, and offers only two functions: cooking and keeping warm.
'Showa Retro' rice cooker released by Japanese home appliance company Tiger. (Photo by Tiger website)
Not only rice cookers, but also products that did not exist during the Showa era, such as electric hot plates and electric kettles, have been reborn with retro designs, and these too are enjoying tremendous popularity. Clearly, the 'retro' sentiment guarantees success. A Tiger representative told a Japanese online media outlet, "Last month, as this series gained popularity on social networking services (SNS), visits to our official website increased more than fivefold compared to usual, receiving great response."
The notion that 'retro is tacky' has now become a thing of the past. Glass manufacturer Ishizuka Glass has been producing a 1970s design tableware series called 'Adelia Retro' since November 2018. This product line was reintroduced after a female employee in her 20s discovered that the company's tableware discontinued over 40 years ago was still popular on SNS. Young employees proposed reviving the designs and re-releasing the products, but at the first planning meeting, a superior rejected the idea, saying, "Isn't this too old?"
However, the young employees, noting that the company no longer had the original designs, launched a 'Reunion Challenge' on SNS, asking people who owned tableware from that era to share photos and other materials. Since its release, the retro line has sold 1.36 million units from November 2018 to June 2023.
The tableware series "Adelia Retro" re-released in a retro style by Ishizuka Yuri from Japan. (Photo by Ishizuka Yuri)
Companies targeting the MZ generation have also begun combining retro with new technologies. Fujifilm released the 'Instax Mini Link' series of Polaroid cameras linked to smartphones in July last year. Unlike previous models that only had shooting and instant printing functions, this series allows users to print photos taken on their smartphones like a printer and enjoy special effects using augmented reality (AR) through an application (app). Thanks to this fusion of digital and retro, the series has become popular among the MZ generation, with sales increasing by 30% compared to the previous year.
Japanese economic media Toyo Keizai added, "Although camera sales have declined due to the spread of smartphones, Polaroids, which embrace retro sensibilities, have thrived by coexisting with smartphones."
Experts analyze that this trend reflects both a longing for memories of the past and the human instinct to seek a 'starting point.'
Mayumi Sekizawa, Deputy Director of the National Museum of Japanese History, told the Sankei Shimbun, "The retro boom is a sentiment that creates joy in present life by longing for objects and memories of the past. In folklore studies, it is said that changes in social conditions become visible only after time has passed, not during the era itself. Looking back, the simplicity of old products that stand out has ironically become popular."
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