TOKYO — At Bangkok’s Central World mall on one September weekend, about 70 shoppers queued up in front of Japanese furniture retailer Nitori’s new store — its first in Thailand. At one point it was a 40-minute wait just to enter.
The store opened in late August as part of Nitori’s Asia-focused overseas expansion, which billionaire Chairman Akio Nitori sees as a chance to maintain a streak of sales growth that has lasted more than three decades.
