JC is a family operation. Four Jone brothers - Francis, Ray Tin-chi, Chris Tin-ki and Alan Tin-lun - satisfy Hong Kong's burgeoning kidult community, but they're only doing what comes naturally.

All are tech devotees and keen followers of Japanese pop culture, and the store shelves reflect the brothers' interests.

Chock-a-block with the hottest gadgets and lifestyle products, mostly from Japan, the four outlets have attracted customers since the first store opened 10 years ago to bring in Tamagotchi, the electronic pet that was extremely popular in the late 1990s.

'We've always been fun-loving and nothing amused us more than those new and exciting toys,' says Francis. 'When we started out, they labelled us yuppies. These days, it's kidults. This used to be a slightly derogatory term hinting at our immaturity, but no more. It's hip now. Anyway, we're simply just grown-ups who are young at heart.'

Being young at heart doesn't come cheap: gadgets at JC Shop usually cost a lot more than regular models. Few would pay HK$2,980 for a vacuum cleaner, says Paul Lin Che-yeung, a podcaster and self-professed kidult who occasionally browses in the stores. 'The variety of products there is extraordinary, but they're not for practical people like me. Their prices are out of my range. I can't afford to make a wrong purchase and regret it later.'

But then the sensible types aren't the customers the brothers aim to please. 'We're not competing with regular electronic shops, which sell practical and durable goods,' says Alan. 'We're targeting people who splurge on 'in' products, those who change their mobile phones several times a year ... They're only concerned about getting the right product, rather than money.'

Their clientele includes high-flying professionals, celebrities such as Chow Yun-fat, and, increasingly, wealthy people from the mainland. 'Once a mainlander came in and rolled out these piles of cash to buy the whole Hello Kitty collection,' Alan says. Eager to tap the rising demand for luxury kidult products among such customers, the brothers plan to open their first mainland store, in Guangzhou, next year.

JC Shop stocks more than 500 products and 80 per cent are Japanese brands, with the remainder from Europe, the US and Hong Kong.

'The Japanese are very good at reinventing traditional products with new elements, like digitalising a vinyl record player,' says Francis. 'And they know how to incorporate technology into daily life and make living easier.'

Beautiful packaging is part of the appeal of the Japanese products, but functionality counts too. 'People are greedy and want something that's multifunctional, such as a digital camera that can also tape TV shows and serve as a webcam,' says Alan.

Francis and Alan are long-time business partners, although earlier ventures, a Japanese restaurant and a travel agency, failed. Undaunted, the brothers opened the JC Shop in a shopping mall in Western District in 1997 with HK$20,000 in capital.

'We still wanted to have our business,' says Francis. 'We have too many ideas and employers think we're troublemakers. We're easily frustrated while working for others ... We were thinking that as long as 1 per cent of the population were kidults, we'd survive.'

The other brothers joined the company later in roles that matched their experience, with Ray in charge of marketing and Chris in staff training and store decor.

JC Shop has grown into a multimillion-dollar business with a lucrative wholesale arm, its own line of fashion accessories such as handbags and watches, and skin-care and health products.

As the first to import Tamagotchi into Hong Kong, the Jone brothers have realised the importance of staying at the forefront of their niche market. To keep up with the latest developments, they avidly read magazines and newspapers, and attend as many toy and technology fairs as possible. 'You have to be an information junkie because our clients are demanding and very good at catching up on trends,' says Alan. 'They'd come to our store, asking, 'Do you have this?' They don't come again if you let them down.'

Lin agrees. 'The shop is a success partly because people can be well informed about trendy products, and they know they can examine the item when they visit,' he says.

The brothers import directly from Japanese suppliers to ensure that the latest products are in their stores before they become available elsewhere - as they did last year with horse-riding exercise machines.

'When it comes to selecting the merchandise, speed is everything,' says Francis. 'You have to be able to exercise good judgment and make quick decisions before other [retailers] take the offer. That's how we survive. It's exciting because it's like speculating on the stock market. But we know what our customers want because we're kidults too.'

They fill the stores with whimsical items such as the dream generator (HK$1,280), a device with a picture frame, voice recorder, timer and fragrance dispenser that claims to able to induce specific dreams. And the merchandise is taken off the shelves once regular retailers start stocking them.

'We're not interested in the mainstream market because that means we'd be up against much tougher competition and we'd be less motivated to find new products,' says Francis.

To customers such as Lin, the hip factor of the chain's merchandise seems to have slipped lately. But he concedes that, if the items are 'too radical', nobody would buy them. 'Finding a balance is important.'

Having stumbled in the past, the brothers say they've learned to offset risky bets with more conventional items. 'We've got to take it one step at a time. We're among the small- and medium-sized enterprises and need to fend for ourselves,' says Francis. 'Picking a wrong location for a store could cost us dearly, for example.'

That's not to say the Jones are reining in their ambitions. Their long-term goal is to open a multi-level department store such as Tokyu Hands, a Japanese retailer that focuses on hobbies, home improvement and lifestyle products.

Working so closely in business can test family relationships and the Jones have their share of squabbles. 'We've had fights. We've always tried our best to separate [business and personal] issues and yet we always find ourselves talking about business,' says Francis.

'But we don't mind that at all,' Alan says. 'It's great to be able to do what we love. Although running our own business can be taxing, I'm glad that I can give it a try while I'm young. I'd regret it when I got older if I didn't.'