[4][5][6][7][8][9] Founded by Takao Yasuda, Don Quijote opened its first store in Suginami, Tokyo in September 1980 under its original name, Just Co.

[5][10] As one of the leading discount stores in Japan, the end of the Japanese economic bubble didn't severely affect the company.

Instead, the sudden economic uncertainty caused the Japanese public to become more thrifty and therefore helped to boost sales at its stores during the early 1990s.

[citation needed] In 2005, idol group AKB48 opened its theater on the eighth floor of the Don Quijote Akihabara Outlet in Tokyo.

[10] This store and 3 other group companies went defunct in Oct 2017 as creditors have pulled the plug on their combined 432 billion yen of debts.

On June 28, 2017, PAQ, which operated Honolulu-based Times, Big Save and Shima, under the subsidiary QSI, Inc., announced that it had sold the 24 stores it owns in Hawaii to Honolulu-based Don Quijote (USA), using an executed stock purchase agreement with the sale closing in the 3rd quarter of 2017.

In a statement from Edwin Sawai, president of Don Quijote (USA) Co., Ltd. and Marukai Hawaii Co. Ltd., he said that “The opportunity to welcome the Times Supermarket family of stores and their employees to our ohana is exciting for us,” and added that “We are confident that we will successfully work together, share ideas and learn from each other's combined experiences to best serve Hawaii.

We look forward to continuing their history and success in the islands.”[14] Don Quijote opened its first Southeast Asian store at Orchard Central, Singapore, on December 1, 2017.

[4] Don Don Donki also expanded to Hong Kong with five outlets: one at Mira Place 2 in Tsim Sha Tsui, one at OP Mall in Tsuen Wan, one at Pearl City in Causeway Bay, one at 100QRC in Central and one at Monterey Place in Tseung Kwan O.

[27][28] The chain opened one more store at the Island Resort Mall in Siu Sai Wan in February 2021,[29] and at TMT Plaza in Tuen Mun in July 2021.

A third store was set to open in 2022 at Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport mall located at Bukit Bintang City Centre.

Introduced in 1998, he is depicted as a blue penguin wearing a Santa hat and the Katakana character "do" (ド) on his stomach.

[51] In December 2022, Don Quijote invited controversy when it announced Donpen would be replaced by an anthropomorphic depiction of the Katakana character "do" named Dojou-chan.

These quotes could be referring to the fact that the song has been specifically designed to be catchy and stick around in your head so that it constantly reminds you of the store.

In August 2024, American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars collaborated with the store chain, appearing in the latest commercial ad.

Besides the commercial, the Mars-Don Quijote collaboration included several exclusive goods released for a limited time in September.

Three store employees, Morio Oshima, 39, Mai Koishi, 20, and Maiko Sekiguchi, 19, died in the first arson incident.

Don Quijote received harsh criticism at the time for poor store layout that made it difficult to find exits.

[68] In 2005, Don Quijote began building a "half-pipe" roller coaster on the roof of its eight-storey Roppongi store.

Roppongi is a heavily populated area in the core of Tokyo, and many residents and businesses were upset with the idea of having a roller coaster in their neighborhood because of the spectacle, noise and crowds it would likely create.

[71] There is a Don Quijote store scene in TONIKAWA: Over the Moon to You when Nasa and Tsukasa went shopping in its second episode of its first season.