Inditex rolls out new stores, Zara Home breaking records

Inditex Japan now has four of its Spanish parent’s brands operating here, and based on plans for the rest of this year, looks like entering a new phase of expansion, creating one of the largest foreign retail businesses in Japan. Stradivarius’s launch in Japan in January and Zara Home’s new flagship in Aoyama were met with such success that Inditex must surely be considering other house brands for this market.

Inditex continues to roll out new stores for all its brands currently in Japan. These now include Zara, Bershka, Zara Home and most recently Stradivarius. There’s no word on further Inditex brands entering Japan at present, but the success of recent openings has been so overwhelming that Massimo Dutti and others may follow sooner rather than later.

For Zara, additional stores are expected in Musashi Kosugi and Lalaport Izumi this October, and for Bershka new locations in Utsunomiya, Lalaport Izumi and Aeon Kakamigahara in Gifu. The Barcelona brand Stradivarius, which just launched in Japan this year to immediate and popular acclaim, is expected to open a flagship store in the upcoming Parco-developed Zerogate building in Nagoya this Autumn. It is also expected to open in Aeon Kakamigahara and Lalaport Izumi, as well as a high profile store in Shinsaibashi in Osaka.

Meanwhile Zara Home will open in Lalaport Izumi and Aeon’s important Okayama SC, as well as taking over a section of the street level of the main Meitetsu Department Store in Nagoya, a former Louis Vuitton location. The recently opened Zara Home flagship store in Omotesando was the most successful launch of the brand anywhere in the world, and the store continues to be the best performing store globally two months into operation. Although Inditex plans a careful rollout, Japan’s increased interest in home interiors means Zara Home has an especially bright future and there is every likelihood it will become the second biggest Inditex brand in Japan over the long-term.

All four Inditex brands are slated for opening at the upcoming Lalaport Izumi, the latest SC from Mitsui. This will be one of Mitsui’s most important openings in recent years, what it calls a regional shopping centre, covering a large swathe of the Osaka region. The SC has been designed for both daily use by local residents as well as weekend visits from all across Osaka Prefecture and beyond, with 220 tenants within 60,000 sqm of tenant space, and a 700 seat food court

Meanwhile, Zara, Bershka and Stradivarius will headline the reopening of Pieri SC in Moriyama, Shiga. Pieri Moriyama is one of the largest SCs in Shiga Prefecture with 55,000 sqm of sales space and just under 200 tenants – its location next to the toll road that crosses Lake Biwa gives easy access from both sides of the lake in central Japan. After interim management failed to secure promised new tenants, however, late last year Milestone TM and Samty took over, investing in a complete overhaul of the SC – closing the property entirely in February this year. It expects to reopen part of the SC this Autumn, with full completion of the renewal in Spring 2015. Popular tenants like Zara and Stradivarius will be key in combating competition from Aeon.