Kenji Hall
Novel ideas
As the big media store chains disappear, Japan’s most successful book, music and magazine seller has opened a project that challenges everyone. We visit the floors of a refreshed retail landscape.
At your service
Monocle brings its taste for global cuisine, impeccable coffee and serene interiors to the Japanese capital with the first Monocle Café.
Inventory No. 48
On Monocle’s wish list this month are crockery where the clay is the star, eco detergents that really work and waste bins you’ll actually want to handle.
Quick on the draw
The CEO of Japan’s largest entertainment store chain has a peculiar management style. He never gives orders and encourages failure, yet Muneaki Masuda has built a hugely successful business.
Low riders, high ideals
With huge windows and a low cruising altitude, you can gape in wonder at the pristine Costa Rican landscape below. Why bother reading the inflight magazine?
Fashion
New clothing and accessory ranges, collaborations, designers and retailers, from Vigevano to Melbourne.
Monocle travel guide
This month Monocle visits a new luxury retail behemoth in Milan, a Yemeni coffee outlet in Tokyo and a Copenhagen restaurant serving New Nordic food at affordable prices.
The digital scramble
In the rush to go digital, US media giants abandoned their core values, says a veteran journalist. Elsewhere, old-fashioned values are thriving and we meet the players with successful business models.
