Online shops are great but physical bricks n mortar shops are also great too as a place to not only take the product in hand (even though it may be just a box) but to also check out a curated selection of hobby items.
Physical stores are also a great place to hang out and meet new comrades too and I personally value what physical stores had done for me especially during an era without Internet when I first discovered Japanese culture.
Together with Jassim and Fatma from Qatar. I met them through Instagram and hooked up with them during my visit to Dubai while attending MEFCC.
Back in April, Jassim and Fatma was thinking of opening up a shop but didn't have contacts with wholesalers in Japan which would have meant that they would have to buy from online stores and then try to make a profit on top of that - this only means that the end user ends up paying way more than need be.
I set connected Jassim and Fatma with my contacts in Japan and am pleased to show you the photos of their newly opened store which they named Hobby Chan.
The store is located in Bin Omran at the Town Center (Gate 2), adjacent to Rawnaq. Opening hours are:-
Sunday to Thursday: From 9:00 – 11:00 Am / 4:00 – 9:00 PM
Friday: 4:00 – 9:00 PM
Saturday: Off
For folks who are not familiar, Sunday is the start of the week in the Middle East ^^
If you are interested in opening a shop and have cash flow to buy merchandise in cartons then I can connect you to the right folks who include wholesalers and depending on the amount you can buy I can also put you in contact with my clients who are the actual manufacturers.
This should be a win x win situation where I would ask you to distribute my products too and will obviously set you up with wholesale prices.
1 carton really depends on the product size. Some figures come in a carton of 12 pcs, larger figures could be 4 pcs per carton.
Moekana comes in a carton of 40 and so does Moekanji. Smart Doll does not come in cartons but I expect my distributors to be able to buy at least 5pcs per month of either Mirai or Kizuna.
Folks need to realize however that wholesalers (or manufacturers) are not interested in dealing with folks who can only buy 1 unit of something.
I understand however that not all retailers will have a fanbase of doll users which is why I do not ask folks to carry Smart Doll. Smart Doll at the moment is limited to 1 distributor per region where the distributor is expected to promote the Smart Doll brand in their region rather than just selling them.
If you are in the region and are interested in ordering Mirai or Kizuna then just contact Hobby Chan and they will sort you out.
Being the first anime/manga shop in the region, Hobby Chan have been getting quite a bit of press - check out a recent video report or the screenshots below.
I'll leave you with a wall of screenshots but if you are interested in opening shop or distributing Smart Doll them just let me know and I'll hook you up with my contacts ^^
If you are running anime conventions then you may want to monetize on figure sales too instead of just tickets and booth space - just lemme know!