by Anni Lam

The Japan home concept store Francfranc Design For Life, which promotes new idea for Tokyo-style living, yesterday formally announced the opening of its new store in Nova City, Taipa, located near Crown casino.
Following its successful overseas expansion to Hong Kong and Taipei, the third destination that the Japanese brand wanted to reside in was Macau.
When asked why they chose Macau as their third destination, the CEO of the BALS corporation, Fumio Takashima told the Macau Daily Times that it was because of the booming economy of Macau and that he wanted to introduce the leisurely Japanese lifestyle to Macau people, especially to the foreign expatriates.
Mr Takashima said that they had plans to expand the store to the Macau peninsula if the customer reactions were positive. Currently it was a matter of testing out the market's response to the new living style decorations.
However, the future destination might not be in Asian countries but rather expanding to the Western hemisphere including Europe and the United States.
Likewise, designing and decorating consultations are also freely provided by their stores, said Mr Takashima.
Occupying an area of over 3,000 square feet, the Fancfranc Design For Life outlet in Macau blends Francfranc and BALS Toyko together operating under BALS Corporation, in order to cater to different customer preferences and tastes. 
Aiming to provide “casual & stylish” lifestyle choices is the philosophy of Francfranc, which addresses the needs of urban living through bright colours and simplicity, as well as streamlined designs embodied in the products to give modern homes a refreshing, inspiring look.
On the other hand, BALS Tokyo provides renowned Japanese home accessories which signify an extension of the creativity Tokyo is well know for.
Apart from some home accessories it designs on its own, the group also assembles the products of international design experts, such as Matti Klenell, Yasumichi Morita, Gabriele Pexxino.
The BALS Corporation was founded in 1990, later officially establishing its first home-furnishing store Francfranc Design For Life in 1992 in Tokyo.
It presently operates over a hundred outlets in fashion hotspots across Japan, including Shinjuku, Shibuya, Yokohama ,Osaka, Fukuoka and Hokkaido, and  two overseas stores have also officially opened in Hong Kong and Taiwan.