Daiso - Japanese Household Goods — Attraction in Monterey Park

Used to be my home store. I love Daiso. I used to go to Daiso every week. Everytime, I would buy something. Whenever I drive by any Daiso, I would go in and check things out. When I visited Japan, I would make sure I stopped by a Daiso and its sister stores. This is how much I love Daiso.

Recent months, I noticed my home store has changed. The first time I noticed the change, it was a nice day. I walked towards the store but the store was dimmed. I thought the store was closed. I walked towards the door and checked to see if the store is doing inventory check or what not. There, I found no notice and there were a few customers in it. I went in. The lights were half lit which is way dimmer than usual. The atmosphere was creepy and unpleasant. The moment I stepped in, it already seemed more chaotic than before. I started walking around and found there were overly stocked shelves and towers of boxes along the shelves. Certain parts of the area looked like it was robbed. Very unpleasant. When I checked out, I asked a staff what happened. They told me management change, things should get better soon.

I gave it time, yet, I still stop by once a week or so. Today, I can’t anymore. It never did improve. The chaotic, unwelcome vibe was stronger than before. I don’t want this store to close because I am certain, at this rate, this store will closed because even I being its biggest fan would want to avoid it.

It is a Daiso, it’s not a ran down old dollar tree. I can’t find the nice Japanese tidiness in it. The store has been emptier than before by lots. Today is a Saturday. The store has overstocked shelves and boxes on each aisle, but there’s barely any customers in it. From outside the store really looks like it not opened. The cash wrap looks like it’s being packed up and ready to move out.

I don’t know what kind of manager this store has but I know this manager is running this store to the ground. I don’t understand any logic of this store manager position being filled. This store is smaller than the other Daiso stores but they ordered so much to be shelved yet very understaffed. The staff's hours have been cut from 40 to 20. A lot of old faces that I am familiar with have quit. If anything I found this staff member is trying their best to savage the situation. Yet, the management is...

Daisooooo When I first heard of Daiso as a Japanese equivalent to a 99 cent store, I expected it to be much smaller. It's a big store, but the aisles are so narrow, garhh

The first time I went there, a glass shelf in the back of the store somehow broke and shattered all over the floor... Surprisingly (but thankfully) no one was standing underneath or too close to it.

This store is full of cute things, useful and not, and pretty cheap at $1.50 each for most items. I got orange kitchen items to match my orange pots :D , laundry bags, plastic containers, kitchen stuff, cleaning stuff, organizing stuff, toiletry stuff... and random stuff like a freakin haircut cape that has lifted edges to catch hair... ahhaha!

All sales are final! And there's a $10 minimum to use...

This is the first time i come here and i really liked all the items they had to offer here. If you are into Japanese items, you'll definitely want to make a stop here, specially if you got into this stuff due to anime like i did 😅. Everything from small hand towels, bath slippers, ear cleaning tools, snacks, drinks etc they have here at a pretty reasonable price. I wish i had more time to browse the store but this visit was limited on time however, Next time i come back ill take some pictures and share them here. This is a nice store to do some shopping. On the plus side underground parking is free for about 3 hours or so which gives you time to shop around...