Canopy Covered Commercial Streets Of Japan And Its Opportunities

I have been watching YouTube videos which shows what Japanese life and culture is like. One of my favorite group of videos are the ones which show YouTubers videotape the different streets and places in Japan that they go to.

I especially like it when they go to small commercial districts where everyday commercial goods as well as street and restaurant foods are sold. In some of these places especially those located in the big cities, canopies cover these commercial streets.

There may be other installations or versions like these in other countries, but as far as I know, Japanese ones are some of the world’s most expansive and most well thought of. For example, the canopies are located high enough such that they don’t cramp out the lighting on the streets below them.

The canopies are also covered bright yellow and may even be made of materials which makes light pass thru them. In a way, the canopies protect the streets from the elements without being intrusive. We might say that they almost blend in.

Of course, the number one benefit or use of these canopies is to protect both the businesses and the consumers who are taking shelter in these canopies from the weather elements. When there is a bright sunshine, it protects both the products of the businesses and the consumers from heat.

When there is rain, especially when there is a heavy downpour like a storm, these canopies protect both the businesses and the consumers who are taking shelter in these canopies from the water.

When there is winter, especially when snow is falling, these canopies protect both the businesses and the consumers who are taking shelter in these canopies from the snow. It also prevents the streets from below the canopies from being deluged with snow.

One group of businesses that definitely benefits from these conditions are those businesses that sell weather protection goods like umbrella and raincoat sellers as well as the jacket and winter coat sellers.

But in general, all the businesses being covered by the canopies tend to benefit. Because the canopies make consumers feel more relaxed because they are protected from the weather elements, they have a natural tendency to hang out more and may buy more.

One of the most pronounced benefits of having these street wide canopies or even just a canopy for your own store is that in a certain way, it expands your business area. Let’s take for example a coffee shop.

Normally, a coffee shop would serve their customers inside their shop. If ever they are allowed by the local regulations, they can extend their business space to include the exterior of their shop.

But, this exterior space is useless if the weather elements are unfriendly. Like during the winter time when snow is falling or during a rainy season. The weather elements can prevent a business from extending their business space beyond their shop.

It may not be a coffee shop, but let’s say a clothing shop which are a regular fixture in many street shopping districts. With a canopy protecting the clothing shop, they can put their clothes outside their shop without fear that their clothes would be wet and become damaged.

This benefit from canopies is tremendous from all shop owners. It is a known fact the almost all shop owners lack display space. The more products a shop is able to display, the more is the probability that they would also sell and earn more.

With all the benefits of these street wide canopies for both the businesses and consumers under them, I’m surprised why I don’t see much of them. But their lack of popularity may actually be an opportunity for a building contractor in search of new avenues for business.

A building contractor or anyone with a similar working permit can approach the businesses in their area and propose the building of these street wide canopies or just a canopy for a lone shop.

The previous paragraphs which enumerates the many benefits of canopies both to the business owners and their potential customers can be used as a selling point especially around the issue of customer attention retention.

Selling street wide canopies or even just canopies for lone shops shouldn’t be a hard sell when it comes to the price. A canopy is not made with concrete so it’s not really that expensive to build. The sheet covering can be as cheap as any waterproof material.

As a simple selling point, bring an umbrella to your sales pitch and ask your potential customer to stand in the heat as well as use your umbrella to protect themselves from the heat. With this simple demonstration, they would clearly “feel” the benefit of a canopy.

If you are a building contractor or one who has a working permit to build street wide canopies and are now interested in soliciting businesses located in commercial streets, take note that there are customers more ideal than others.

One of the most obvious drawbacks of street wide canopies is that in their usefulness in protecting businesses/shops and their customers from the weather elements, they may also obstruct the scenic view that these commercial streets have, if they have one.

For example, if there is a commercial street that is located in the country of the USA and in the city of New York, a street wide canopy or even a canopy from a sole business may not benefit if their canopy obstructs a customer’s view of the Statue Of Liberty.

Your solution to this problem may be to place the canopy on top of the second floor of buildings to give your customers sufficient view of any scenic landmark near your commercial street or business.

But if the commercial district itself has building that are considered scenic landmarks, you may be obstructing your customer’s view of these scenic buildings. Therefore, a scenic landmark or building is your greatest hindrance.

But think where the world is heading especially with climate change, for example, the heat coming from the sun is getting more intense than ever. I remember when my mother had one of our apartments reconditioned.

It was a split level apartment. One in the ground and another on top of it. If we are outside of these apartments, the heat difference from the sun is clearly felt. If we were outside and in the ground level, the heat was bearable.

But when we go up to the terrace of the second floor apartment, the heat from the sun was unbearable and nearly scorching. This is the reason why my mother decided to install a canopy on the terrace.

I can only think of other people who are in a similar situation like us. Or think of people whose houses have lawns or front gardens. What happens if it rains? If they have an umbrella, they might just get slightly soaked, but nevertheless soaked to some degree.

If you are a building contractor or a person who has such a working permit to build canopies, you almost have a multitude of potential customers who need protecting from the weather elements.

Another business you can go into is to sell readymade/portable canopies. They’re not really a tight fit for most shops and businesses, but for many, especially those who want speedy resolution and are probably cost conscious, they would do.

If you look at these canopies being sold, they are not really hard to create. All you need is a lightweight frame like aluminum, any clothing material that is preferably waterproof, and some kind of weight or ropes to anchor the canopy to the ground.

In a way, just about anyone can offer custom made readymade/portable canopies. Canopies are not really a high tech product, but are essential products for many businesses and homes. This is especially true for countries were the weather is not ideal.

Of course, readymade/portable canopies are most visible in temporary business environments like fairs, concerts and so on. Readymade/portable canopies are even packaged in bags so that their users can simply fold them and carry them to their place of business.

It is also worth mentioning that businesses who sell readymade/portable canopies are also most likely to sell tents. In fact, there are canopies that could be converted to tents and vice versa.

Just like umbrellas who are low tech old products that almost every person has, canopies are also low tech old products that many homes and shops have. You might not have noticed this fact.

What so good about canopies from a business point of view is that you can offer it to just about any home or shop. Homes for example number in the billions. Even people who live in apartments can also have a need for canopies. This is how big your market could get.

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