Magazine B: Tsutaya
PUBLICATION AVAILABLE AT
Magazine B
PUBLICATION INFORMATION
Issue: No. 37
Publisher: Brand Balance
Dimensions: 9.5”x6.5”
Pages: 132
This issue of Magazine B revolves around the Japanese book store chain, Tsutaya, and showcases how this chain is revolutionizing the way books are sold in today’s ever-increasing digital market.
Disclaimer: If you’ve never read an issue of Magazine B, then I highly suggest you do. In order to fully describe the content of this issue, I need to step back a bit and describe the premise of Magazine B. This publication is a single issue publication where each issue revolves around one specific brand while intertwining a narrative that documents how the brand has revolutionized their industry, as well as how they continue to revolutionize it. Instead of following the traditional approach of most magazines, this publication is not a collection of various articles. Instead, it is an entire exposé with various types of information like interviews, compilations, galleries, and information graphics that weave the narrative from each section to the next. There is a loose sense of featured and reoccurring articles through various sections of each issue, in that every issue includes interviews and various types of categorical information. But for the most part, the information is curated and written to best fit the content of the issue.
The content in the Tsutaya issue is a collection of interviews with various industry leaders like Hiroshi Kubo, And Takayuki, Manaba Mizuno, and Muneaki Masuda, the brand elements of Tsutaya that makes it unique, a mini exposé on the “Premium Age”, and information regarding the past, present, and future of Tsutaya. Within all of this information, the reader is submersed into the world of Tsutaya, discovering why customers love Tsutaya, how Tsutaya has made an impact in Japan, and how the company is thriving in a market where most of their sales no longer occur in brick and mortar stores; something that is strange with bookstores in this online-consumerist economy.
I am completely infatuated with this issue. I have never read anything regarding a brand as fantastic as this. The writing is impeccable, the accounts are phenomenal, and the ideology that is discussed throughout is realistic and practical. That being said, I did have some slight issues regarding some aspects of the narrative. There are certain points where I felt lost and confused because some of the sections strayed a bit too far away from the story. For example, there is a section after the first few interviews that begins to discuss the, “Premium Age”, but begins to showcase compilations of certain books and records that various key people enjoy. These individuals are renown CEOs, professors, and designers that are members of this, “Premium Age”, but it’s not immediately apparent how they relate to Tsutaya.
I was also confused when various brands across the world that cater to this demographic were being spotlighted. Reflecting on it, I understand now that this was included to help the reader gain a better perspective of the sorts of things this demographic enjoys. But with only a few, biased accounts, I don’t think it is an accurate depiction. The people who contributed to this section were all older Korean and Japanese men, and although they are a part of this demographic, they are not the only players in it. It’s safe to say that I think more women could have been invited to contribute to this section. Also, the brands that were mentioned throughout this issue are Eurasian-centric, so I found myself confused as to their significance and relevance to the topic at hand. I did enjoy reading about them, and since they are only a paragraph long, I didn’t mind learning about them.
Taking this all into account, this issue did do an outstanding job at helping me understand the brand. While reading this issue, I felt like I was sitting in the Daikanyama Tsutaya store right in Tokyo, reading this while sipping on a cup of coffee amongst the shelves, despite actually sitting at my desk. This issue excels at building a contextual understanding for the Tsutaya brand as well. By documenting its roots as a video and music rental store, to then transforming into a book store, and then into modifying itself to sell home goods as well, it put into perspective that even today, anything can still go in regards to brand and marketing strategies. It is about selling the lifestyle regardless of how a company does it, as long as it is successful.
Although this is the first issue of Magazine B I’ve read, I can already tell I am going to love reading more. Their ability to tell the narrative of a brand while intertwining a marketing strategy into it is a phenomenal concept. It feels almost like a fable. The writers are drawing readers in with the brand, and while they narrate it’s story, they are able to tie in an educational principle that leaves the reader in a much better place than when they began. The principle of this issue is that regardless of online markets that have dominated an industry [in this case, Amazon dominating the book selling industry], it is still feasible for brick and mortar stores to still succeed as long as they can adapt to fit consumers’ desires.
I also greatly appreciate the design of this publication. This issue utilizes two grids that are used interchangeably depending on the content of each section. Interviews tend to use a three column grid in order to maximize writing space, while other sections utilize a two column grid in order to maximize photo space. The typography and layout are clean and minimally designed. Even the smallest details taken into consideration; there are hanging punctuations, no paragraph/page breaks, and rarely any widows or orphans. Type hierarchy is minimal yet effective. Going back to photography, every single photo is beautiful in terms of composition, lighting, and color. Each photo is effective at portraying not only the Tsutaya brand, but the overall narrative as well. I think all of the photography would serve as fantastic inspiration for those who are interested in taking better photographs for social media since a lot of them feel like they would be great to show off locations, objects, and communicating overall lifestyle.
Overall, I would highly recommend trying to pick up a copy of this publication. I think all lovers of books, branding, and marketing would highly enjoy this issue because it intertwines all of these concepts into one single publication. I have yet to find any other publication, or book for that matter, that is as knowledgeable, inspirational, and resourceful as this single issue. I think it would also serve as a tremendous design inspiration for those who enjoy contemporary minimal, yet powerful design and lifestyle photography. Each issue is approximately $25.00 USD on Amazon, which unfortunately, is a lot of money for a publication. But, considering the amount of time spent on research, photography, design, printing, shipping, and probably tariffs, I think the money is worth it. This is not a magazine that readers will read once and then chuck into the recycling. This will be living on the shelf for a long while.
Thank you so much for making it this far! If you enjoyed the review (or if you didn’t), leave a comment and keep the conversation going! Feel free to also follow me on Instagram @Bibliografik! If there are any books/publications/bookish things you want me to check out, let me know!
Have a great day!