Bic Camera
is a consumer electronics retailer chain in Japan. Currently, it has 45 stores in 17 prefectures. Bic Camera has a 50% ownership of former rival store Kojima and full ownership of computer store chain Sofmap.

As of 2023, Bic Camera is the second largest electronics and home appliance retailer, behind Yamada Denki.

History
In 1968,  founded  in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. Four years later, the camera sales department was separated from the company and renamed . In 1978, Bic Color was renamed Bic Camera, with their first store opening in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Originally specializing in selling cameras at discount prices, Bic Camera expanded to selling home appliances, personal computers, alcoholic beverages, golf equipment, bedding, luxury brand products, bicycles, and toys.

In 1994, Bic Camera spun-off its PC section to . Following a decline in PC sales, this subsidiary was absorbed back into the company in 2000. In 1995, Bic Camera displayed banners protesting France's nuclear weapons testing in the South Pacific. Nippon BS Broadcasting Corp. was established in 1999, with Bic Camera as its majority shareholder.

As part of its expansion, Bic Camera purchased Sogo's Yūrakuchō building in 2001. Throughout the 2000s, Bic Camera opened locations connected to JR stations across the country. In 2005, Bic Camera moved its headquarters from Nishi-Ikebukuro to Takada. A year later, the company purchased Sofmap in February and had itself listed in the JASDAQ Securities Exchange on August 10. In September, Bic Camera purchased a 3.2% stake in Tokyo Broadcasting System. On October 5, 2007, Bic Camera acquired a 9.33% share of rival Best Denki and increased its stake to 14.95%. On June 10, 2008, the company was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and had itself delisted from JASDAQ on August 29. In 2009, Bic Camera was fined 1.3 million by the TSE for falsifying its earnings after its shares lost half its value early that year. As a result, Arai stepped down as chairman and the company was delisted from the TSE. Sofmap was delisted on January 26, 2010 after becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Bic Camera. In June 2010, Bic Camera absorbed rival Sakuraya.

On June 26, 2012, Bic Camera purchased 50% of rival store chain . As a result of the Kojima acquisition, Best Denki split from Bic Camera and was fully acquired by Yamada Denki on July 13. On September 1, Arai was reinstated as chairman. On September 27, Bic Camera signed a partnership with clothing giant Uniqlo to convert the Shinjuku East Store to . The partnership ended on June 19, 2022 and the store reverted into a Bic Camera branch the next day. 

In April 2016, Bic Camera opened its first  branch at Haneda Airport. Air Bic Camera also has locations at Narita International Airport, Chubu Centrair International Airport, and Naha Airport, as well as two branches in Odaiba. On December 19, Bic Camera partnered with Rakuten to launch . In 2018, Bic Camera reported record profits and a 50% increase in shares as a result of a rise in Chinese tourists and the store chain's acceptance of Alipay and WeChat.

On February 7, 2020, Bic Camera opened its Nihonbashi Kaden branch in partnership with Mitsukoshi.

On March 5, 2021, Bic Camera opened its Kumamoto branch next to Kumamoto Station. In June 2021, the company was ranked 132nd on the Global Powers of Retailing's Top 250 list. In 2022, new branches were opened in Takatsuki and Chiba. In addition, Bic Camera partnered with the JR East to have its own section on the "JRE Mall" online store.

On May 7, 2023, Bic Camera closed its Kyoto branch, with its assets transferred to the Takatsuki branch.

Stores
Bic Camera has stores in the following locations:

Tokyo
 Ikebukuro
 Main store
 Camera/PC building
 Bic Camera Select
 West Exit
 Bic Camera Outlet x Sofmap Ikebukuro East Exit
 Photo studio
 Shinjuku
 West Exit (Odakyu HALC)
 East Exit (formerly Bicqlo; former Sakuraya store)
 East Exit Station Square
 Yūrakuchō (former Sogo department store)
 Shibuya
 East store
 Hachikoguchi
 Akihabara
 Nihonbashi (partnered with Mitsukoshi)
 Akasaka
 Haneda Airport (Air Bic Camera)
 Odaiba (Air Bic Camera at DiverCity Tokyo Plaza and Aqua City)
 Tokyo Skytree (Air Bic Camera)
 Tachikawa
 Chōfu
 Hachiōji
 Machida (Bic Camera x Sofmap)
 Seiseki-sakuragaoka Station (Kojima x Bic Camera; former Sakuraya store)

Kanagawa
 Yokohama
 West store
 Shin-Yokohama
 Vivre Shop (Bic Camera Outlet x Sofmap)
 Ito-Yokado Tama Plaza
 Kawasaki
 Fujisawa
 Sagamihara (former Sakuraya store)

Chiba Prefecture
 Chiba
 Kashiwa
 Funabashi (former Sakuraya store)
 Narita International Airport (Air Bic Camera)

Saitama Prefecture
 Ōmiya
 Tokorozawa

Gunma Prefecture
 Takasaki

Ibaraki Prefecture
 Mito

Hokkaido
 Sapporo

Niigata Prefecture
 Niigata

Nagano Prefecture
 Matsumoto (partnered with Aeon Mall)

Shizuoka Prefecture
 Hamamatsu

Aichi Prefecture
 Nagoya
 Nagoya Station West store
 Nagoya Station JR Gate Tower
 Tōgō
 Chubu Centrair International Airport (Air Bic Camera)

Osaka
 Namba
 Main store
 Bic Camera Outlet x Sofmap
 Abeno
 Yao
 Ario Yao
 Bic Camera Toys
 Takatsuki

Okayama Prefecture
 Okayama

Hiroshima Prefecture
 Hiroshima

Kyushu
 Fukuoka
 Tenjin Store #1
 Tenjin Store #2
 Kumamoto
 Kagoshima

Okinawa
 Naha Airport (Air Bic Camera)

Former stores
 Roppongi Station, Tokyo (Bic Camera Select; closed 2022)
 Harajuku, Tokyo (Bic Camera Select; closed 2022)
 Machida, Tokyo (Tokyo Odakyu department store; closed 2022)
 Kyoto (Kyōto Station; closed 2023)

Commercials and jingles

Bic Camera's theme song 
Bic Camera has its own jingle titled , which is used in TV commercials and broadcast within the stores. The jingle's melody is loosely based on the enka song , which, in turn, traces its roots to the American hymn "Shall We Gather at the River?". The song's original lyrics for the main branch in Ikebukuro reference the Ikebukuro Station, the Seibu Ikebukuro Line by the east exit and the Tōbu Tōjō Line by the west exit. The lyrics are changed for specific branches such as BICQLO.

New Bic Camera theme song 
In July 2023, Bic Camera launched a new jingle, featuring new lyrics that add the Yamanote Line, the Shōnan–Shinjuku Line, the Saikyō Line, the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line, the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, and the Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line among the eight lines connecting to Ikebukuro, reflecting the district's massive growth as a shopping destination.

References

External links

Japanese brands
Japanese companies established in 1968
Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
Consumer electronics retailers of Japan
Photographic retailers
Photography companies of Japan
Retail companies based in Tokyo
Retail companies established in 1968