Japanese supermarket sells beer cans dented in earthquake by branding them ‘heroes’

PETALING JAYA, Feb 25 — A supermarket in Fukushima, Japan has sold off beer damaged by the recent earthquake by branding them as “heroes.”

According to an NHK report, the 7.1 magnitude earthquake, which struck the Tohoku region on February 13, caused a ceiling in the Happy Food RE Fanz supermarket in Date to collapse and rattle its merchandise off the shelves.

Around 40 cans of beer were dented as a result.

While this typically would have meant that the beers would be destined for the discounted goods bin, store clerk Yohei Sato decided to give the cans a second chance by calling them the “heroes” of the earthquake.

He shared photos of a handwritten sign he put up next to the battered items along with a cute drawing of a bruised-up beer can that had “survived” the earthquake.

“These are the heroes who bravely stood up to the earthquake.

“I don’t want them to be treated like fallen and damaged products that sell at a discount.

“Please take them with you and let them live out their lives as delicious alcohol,” read the sign, based on translations by SoraNews24.

The cans were sold at their normal price and Sato’s gimmick appears to have worked as shoppers snapped up the “heroic” beers.

Sato later told SoraNews24 that he managed to sell all the damaged beer cans within a matter of days.

“Thanks to everyone, they sold out earlier.

“It’s the customers who bought them who are the real heroes to our store,” said Sato.

Sato also told NHK that he views the alcoholic beverage in the store as his “children” and felt dismayed at the thought of people passing them up simply because the cans were dented.

“The alcohol is more like my children than products.

“It makes me happy to see people put the dented cans in their baskets, knowing that they will go out and be enjoyed,” he said.

Some social media users praised Sato’s ingenious stunt and said it was a smart method to give damaged goods a new lease of life.

However, others also voiced concern that this would encourage other businesses to sell defective and possibly unusable goods by creating a flashy backstory for them.

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