General merchandise industry

An industry that produces "miscellaneous goods." For convenience, miscellaneous goods are collectively classified as goods in the processing sector intended for final consumption that cannot be included in other major commodity classifications. In addition to ceramics, footwear, accessories, and furniture, this includes toys, stationery, and musical instruments. As these goods are closely related to daily life, the materials used change with the times and they are easily influenced by fashion, making them difficult to statistically treat as an independent classification sector, and their scope does not necessarily match depending on the purpose of the survey, such as trade statistics or commercial statistics. However, regardless of its statistical position, the miscellaneous goods industry has played a major role in the development of the Japanese economy, not only in terms of the supply of daily necessities domestically, but also in terms of exports.

Since the Meiji period, miscellaneous goods manufacturing companies, mainly in the traditional furniture and ceramics industries, have selectively introduced Western technology based on traditional manufacturing methods, and around the time of the Russo-Japanese War, they accounted for 8-10% of total exports, playing a major role in acquiring foreign currency. Even after World War II, they maintained around 15% of total exports until the start of the high economic growth period, and continued to play an important role as an export industry. After that, the proportion of miscellaneous goods in exports decreased due to the increase in exports of heavy chemical industry products. In addition, newly industrializing regions in Asia such as Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong have developed labor-intensive light industries such as textiles, home appliances, and miscellaneous goods, and by the 1980s, they had completely overtaken Japan in exports to the American market. In terms of exports, Japan has been forced to upgrade and diversify its products, and domestically, reflecting the diversification of consumption levels, there has been a trend toward luxury and branding of products, especially furniture and interior goods. On the other hand, there is a growing polarization with businesses that supply extremely cheap products.

As the economy globalizes, and as a result of intensifying international competition, an increasing number of manufacturers, not only low-cost goods manufacturers but also luxury goods manufacturers, are locating their manufacturing bases overseas to reduce costs. Also, in order to avoid cost competition with emerging and developing countries, some companies are pursuing a path of maintaining competitiveness by specializing in the lifestyles and tastes of segmented consumers, or by branding and character merchandise. It has been pointed out that in general, companies are vulnerable to changes in the economic environment, such as changes in demand structure and exchange rate fluctuations, but we should positively evaluate the fact that domestic companies are able to maintain a certain share of the market thanks to their technological and marketing capabilities amid diversifying lifestyles.

[Shinichi Tonomura and Masakazu Nagae]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

「雑貨」を生産する工業。最終消費を目的とする加工部門の商品群のうち、他の主要品目分類に含みえないものを便宜上一括して雑貨として分類している。陶磁器、履き物、装身具、家具のほか、玩具(がんぐ)、文具、楽器などがこれに含まれる。日常生活と密着した商品だけに、時代とともに素材も変化し、流行の影響も受けやすく、独立した分類部門として統計的に処理することが困難で、貿易統計、商業統計など調査目的によってその範囲はかならずしも一致しない。しかし統計上の位置とは別に、雑貨工業は、国内における日用品の供給面だけでなく、輸出面でも日本経済の発展に大きな役割を演じてきた。

　明治以降、在来の家具・陶磁器業を中心とする雑貨製造企業は、伝統的製法を土台に西洋技術を選択的に導入しながら、日露戦争前後には輸出総額の8～10％を占め、外貨獲得上大きな役割を果たしたのである。第二次世界大戦後も高度経済成長開始期まで輸出総額の15％前後を維持し、輸出産業として重要な位置を占め続けた。その後、重化学工業製品の輸出が増大したため、輸出額に占める雑貨の割合は低下した。また韓国、台湾、シンガポール、香港(ホンコン)などアジア新興工業地域は、繊維、家電のほか、雑貨などの労働集約型軽工業を発展させ、アメリカ市場への輸出では、1980年代までに日本を完全に追い越すに至っている。日本は、輸出面では製品の高級化、多様化を迫られ、国内でも消費水準の多様化を反映して、家具、インテリアを先頭に商品の高級志向、ブランド化が進められている。一方で、極端に安価な商品を供給する業態との二極化が進行している。

　経済のグローバル化のなかで、国際競争激化の影響を受けて、コスト削減のために製造拠点を海外に置くものが、低価格品メーカーのみならず、高級品メーカーのなかでも増加しつつある。また新興国・途上国とのコスト競争を回避するため、細分化した消費者のライフスタイルや嗜好(しこう)に特化したり、ブランド化やキャラクター商品化によって競争力維持を追求する路線も存在する。一般に需要構造の変化や為替変動など経済環境の変化に弱い面があるという指摘もみられるが、ライフスタイルの多様化のなかで、技術力とマーケティング力を背景に国内企業が一定のシェアを維持している点を積極的に評価すべきであろう。

［殿村晋一・永江雅和］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例