The World's First Kit Kat Store, and Other Brand-Building Retail Endeavors

In the vein of Ghirardelli shops, candy maker Nestlé opened its first Kit Kat boutique in Tokyo’s Seibu Department Store on Jan. 17. Sure, leasing real estate is expensive, and yes, you can get a candy bar from a vending machine. But such retail outlets don’t aim just to sell sweets; they’re also designed to build the brand.

Kit Kat is already popular in Japan. It’s a good-luck charm for students: In Japanese, the name sounds like kitto katsu, which translates as “you will surely win.” The new store, which has a large counter and display space (modest compared with, say, an M&M’s World or Hershey’s Chocolate World), will offer limited-edition varieties created with Japanese chocolatier Yasumasa Takagi, like “Sublime Bitter,” “Special Sakura Green Tea,” and “Special Chilli,” according to a news release. “This is a completely novel approach and a complementary addition to the already existing Japanese Kit Kat product range,” said spokeswoman Melanie Kohli in an e-mail.