Japanese retailer Daiso opening first Colorado store Saturday in Fort Collins

FORT COLLINS — The first Colorado outpost of Daiso, a Japanese chain of discount retailers that sells low-cost “Japanese-inspired” home decor, beauty products, food items and stationery, is set to open Saturday in Fort Collins. 

A week after the Pavilion Shopping Center location at 4300 S. College Ave. opens, a second Daiso is scheduled to open in Aurora.

Daiso, a 48-year-old Hiroshima, Japan-based chain, styles itself as equivalent to an American “dollar store.”

“We are beyond excited to bring Daiso to Colorado for the first time,” Jack Williams, chief retail operations officer for Daiso USA, said in a prepared statement. “Both Fort Collins and Aurora are fantastic communities, and we’ve seen growing demand for our distinctive and value-driven offerings. We can’t wait to introduce our brand to these new customers.”

Daiso — pronounced DYE-soh — has more than 6,000 outlets worldwide. It opened its first U.S. store in 2005 at Alderwood Mall in the Seattle suburb of Lynnwood, Washington, and has expanded to more than 150 locations in the United States.

The popular chain has not been without controversy. Broomfield-based Crocs Inc. (Nasdaq: CROX) sued Daiso in a California District Court, accusing it of violating copyright trademarks and contending that its “Casual Sandals for Men” and “Lined Casual Clog” are virtual copies of Crocs’ classic foam clogs. And in 2017, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission forced Daiso to recall 165 products in Australia including beauty products with allergy-causing ingredients that were not clearly labeled in English and toys that could pose a choking hazard.

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