Bic Camera Catches Akiba Fever

[Mulboyne]

Japan Times: Bic Camera to turn Sofmap into subsidiary for 2 billion yen
Bic Camera Co. will acquire an absolute majority of outstanding voting shares in Sofmap...By obtaining the new shares, Bic Camera will have a 61.56 percent stake in Sofmap, up from 14.47 percent...Sofmap President Katsuji Sakuramoto said at the same news conference the company has been suffering from sluggish sales in recent years due to falling product prices and competition from rivals, but it aims to make "a V-shaped recovery"...more...

[IkemenTommy]

I wonder if they allow the usage of Bic Points there..

[Caustic Saint]

Of course their sales have been sluggish. Why would anybody buy stuff from Sofmap and get 1% on their points card when you can go to Bic or Yodobashi and get 10-20% points?

The only reason to go to Sofmap is to buy used games. But not to sell them. You're better off selling stuff back to Trader.

Bic can also use a presence in Akiba, but the scattered Sofmap shops aren't much compared to the mega-sized Yodobashi. (Which I find to be a better place to shop than any Bic location I've been in.)

[Mulboyne]

Bic can also use a presence in Akiba, but the scattered Sofmap shops aren't much compared to the mega-sized Yodobashi. (Which I find to be a better place to shop than any Bic location I've been in.)

What seems to work for you about Yodobashi over the others? I don't have an opinion worth anything but I'm curious what tips the balance for you.

[Kuang_Grade]

I'll agree with Caustic that Sofmap's used game prices are usually pretty good (and the selection at store 0 in Akihabara is usually quite deep, esp on older systems like Dreamcast and PS1), but I would add they often have a couple good to OK deals on some new/unused games they are clearing out....And while the selection isn't usually as good as other Sofmap stores, I do like the Sofmap down in Ginza next to Yurakucho Station...it is large enough that you can actually move about freely when it has more than 8 people in it.

[Caustic Saint]

Bic can also use a presence in Akiba, but the scattered Sofmap shops aren't much compared to the mega-sized Yodobashi. (Which I find to be a better place to shop than any Bic location I've been in.)

What seems to work for you about Yodobashi over the others? I don't have an opinion worth anything but I'm curious what tips the balance for you.

The mega-Yodobashi is just a really nice store. (Sure, some of that's due to it being the newest place to shop.) It's not as cramped as most Bic stores (the Bics in Shibuya are particularly bad, though the main shops in Shinjuku and Ikebukuro aren't) and the aisles are nice and wide. I've also found that while most of the prices are comparable between Bic and Yodobashi, you can sometimes get more points at Yodobashi.

It also doesn't hurt that Yodobashi (in Akiba) is more convenient to my home than any Bic location.

[IkemenTommy]

I just hate having to carry around 5 different point cards.. one for Bic, one for Yodobashi.. one for Yamada.. etc so I am going to stick with one.. Biccamera. Though Yodobashi did make a nice blow with the Akiba shop. They have nice shop in Yokohama too.

[themark]

The Yodobashi in Akiba also seems to be a less "noise polluted" shopping experience (so far, anyways). I've noted an absence of hawkers and blaring audio in that store. A rarity in Akiba (or Tokyo in general).

The Bic store in Shibuya near 109 is a death trap. I'd rather hang out in Don-Qui

[Greji]

I just hate having to carry around 5 different point cards.. one for Bic, one for Yodobashi.. one for Yamada.. etc so I am going to stick with one.. Biccamera. Though Yodobashi did make a nice blow with the Akiba shop. They have nice shop in Yokohama too.

Just shoplift, than you don't need any cards, just large enough pockets to slip the TV into them.

[fatslug]

Just shoplift, than you don't need any cards, just large enough pockets to slip the TV into them.

I bet you do too !

Im over that thieving stage now........

[Greji]

[quote="fatslug"]I bet you do too !

Im over that thieving stage now........ ]

Naaa, I just have my girl slip a plasma in her blouse every once in awhile!

[Mulboyne]

Reuters: Bic Camera restates earnings, put on TSE watch list

Japanese electronics retailer Bic Camera said it had overstated its profits by 4.2 billion yen over the past five years, prompting the Tokyo Stock Exchange to put it on a watchlist for possible delisting. Bic Camera, which sells flat TVs, digital cameras and other electronics through its network of around 30 stores, said it restated past financial reports after a review of how it accounted for a sale of assets nearly seven years ago. The company sold the assets to a special purpose company (SPC) and originally booked the proceeds as profit. Bic Camera said in a statement that it has since determined it should not book the proceeds because as a group, its stake in the SPC was effectively above 5 percent at the time of the sale. In such cases, accounting rules dictate that the asset sale proceeds should not be booked by a company as profit. After restating its earnings, the company said it posted a 2.1 billion yen net loss for the year ended in August 2008, down from a 4.1 billion yen net profit reported previously.

[Behan]

[Mulboyne]

BS11 Digital, a unit of Bic Camera, has announced that it will stop broadcasting. It has been constantly in the red and is one of the immediate victims of Bic Camera's announcement that it has to restate it's accounts.

[omae mona]

Ah, I never understood quite what the connection was between Bic and BS11 until now. All I knew was that Bic has been selling special limited edition television sets (I forgot who the manufacturer was) with a special 3D feature that could only be used to watch a special daily 30-minute 3-dimensional TV show on BS11. Why anybody would buy a special TV for this one show was always a bit beyond me...