For Yodobashi, that has meant moving heavily into electronics retailing, a business with razor-thin margins.

ECONOMIST: Japan��s camera man

Yodobashi plans to build a 40-storey office block and a nine-storey commercial building on the plot.

ECONOMIST: Japan��s camera man

Yodobashi plans to go deeper into hock to develop an enormous site in the centre of Osaka.

ECONOMIST: Japan��s camera man

Yodobashi Camera sells everything from next generation cell phones to cameras that aren't yet available outside Japan.

CNN: Tokyo: Where to shop

But the real reason seems to be that Yodobashi's business is changing in a way that should set off alarm bells among the camera makers.

ECONOMIST: Japan��s camera man

Yodobashi is still sitting on a pile of cash and is determined to remain in private hands (contrary to rumours about selling a stake to foreign investors).

ECONOMIST: Japan��s camera man

He says the Japanese electronics retailer Yodobashi used to take 3 days to calculate the effectiveness of promotional campaigns, but that with HANA they can complete the task in under 3 seconds, allowing rapid changes in strategy on a daily basis.

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