Apple to open in Omotesando?

Recent murmurings of a new Apple store in the heart of Tokyo’s fashion district have been so insistent and from such a variety of sources, that there seems every chance that this one will turn out to be true. Apple is, for obvious reasons, concerned to keep its plans for stores, and even more so for new products, quiet but news of a new store is harder to keep secret given the diversity of 3rd parties involved who are not under NDA to Apple. Either way it seems likely that a new Apple store will open within the next few months in Omotesando, one of the most prestigious retail locations in Japan, rivaling Ginza. The location is said to be the site of the old J. Crew store, opposite the Zara flagship, and a short way down from the main exit to Harajuku station and one of the exits for Omotesando station (i.e. a lot of footfall). The site could not be more ideal for Apple. The other half of Omotesando leading up from Meiji Dori to Aoyama Dori is home to the world’s most prestigious luxury brands, ranging from the Louis Vuitton flagship to Gucci to the recently opened mansion like store of Ralph Lauren. The other half has few such luxury brands but is transforming into a popular location for the best international chains such as Zara and the UK chain, Accessorize. A luxury fashion brand would not fit well on this side of the street but the world’s leading life technology brand slots right in, complementing the luxury brands down the street and the top end fashionable brands in the rest of the area. An Apple store will enhance that side of the street, and the traffic fits precisely with Apple’s music and technology customer profile – visitors to the Omotesando area are some of Japan’s, and therefore the world’s, most fashion conscious consumers. At around 1,000 sqm the site is a good size for Apple’s recent store designs, and the glass stairs feature should overcome the site limitations. Such sites, in the most popular fashionable destination in Japan, are gold dust here, and rents are spiralling – the recently opened Omotesando Hills commands rents of some ¥200,000 per tsubo (3.3 sqm), and it is likely that any new tenants in the area are paying close to this. But getting hold of the location would be a coup for any brand and will further accelerate Apple’s already rapidly growing appeal in Japan.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Japan, JapanConsuming, Omotesando