BusinessWeek’s Ian Rowley writes that “iPod mania is alive and well in Japan—one of the most competitive consumer-electronics markets on the planet.” Apple’s ad campaigns, the launch of the Japanese iTunes Music Store, the opening of a brick-and-mortar store in Shibuya, and the iPod nano are all credited with the increased popularity in the country.
“Despite an array of well-entrenched Japanese rivals, such as Sony and Matsushita, the iPod had cornered 51.3% of the digital-music player market as of the end of 2005, up from about 32% in 2004, according to research firm BCN. Sony was a distant second with 16.2%, while Panasonic grabbed just 8.2% of the market,” Rowley reports. “For now, though, the iPod absolutely rules Japan’s digital-music player market—pretty amazing when you consider that Japan is home to some of the toughest competitors imaginable in the global consumer-electronics game.”
In addition to the BusinessWeek article, iLounge’s pictoral report from Tokyo, Japan is also available.
