From the 1980s, globalization has been quickly progressing in Asian urban retail markets. Presently, we can find many foreign retailers at Asian mega cities from various countries including Japan. The first retail internationalization in Asia after World War II was when Daimaru department stores entered Hong Kong in 1960. Since then, many Japanese retailers (mainly department stores and supermarkets) have moved into the Asian markets-peaking in the mid-1990s.
    However, there were many obstacles with respect to the entries, and many Japanese retailers have already withdrawn. Although many problems in management were recognized, the most serious factor was the mosaic characteristics of the Asian markets. The mobility of Asian consumer is very narrow in comparison with that of the Japanese consumers, and the Japanese retailers wielded unexpectedly strong market influence around each store. Moreover, the consumer-groups living in each mosaic were people having very different incomes and lifestyles. As a result, the concepts of stores and the merchandising strategy are often mismatched with the market.
    On the basis of such experiences of Japanese retailers in Asian markets, this article argues the context of markets by giving a specific meaning and value to the goods or store-formats.