The economics of this fascinate me. There is absolutely no way selling paper copies of a single book (even/especially if it changes daily: what happens to unsold stock?) can cover the costs of ground floor retail store rental in the Ginza plus apparently engaging boutique branding agencies to do in depth explorations of a logo complete with a custom typeface.
For reference, a standard bunko paperback in Japan costs on the order of ¥600 (US$4), maybe 2-3x that if you splash out on the hardcover.
This strikes me more as an art project than a commercial endeavour. It can obviously be both. I've worked with a friend on a similar boutique concept, and one of the driving factors in its possible success is scarcity economics, or the deliberate limiticy of products that drives intrigue, percieved value, and experience. These are all things that brand designers work tirelessly on (either to embody or avoid, branding is a very bizarre world in which many approaches work in many markets). I would wager a good bit that this probably lost money in isolation, but it being part of the design firms portfolio, it probably adds more value than it cost in credibility and brand identity/authenticity for themselves.
decimalenough · · focus · HN ↗
For reference, a standard bunko paperback in Japan costs on the order of ¥600 (US$4), maybe 2-3x that if you splash out on the hardcover.
shit_game · · focus · HN ↗