Sales at department stores rose for the first time in 16 years in 2013 and by a solid percentage too. The uplift came from a splurge of high ticket consumption prior to the tax hike, investment in renovation and enlarging of city centre stores – not to mention much better management. Will it last? While […]
Tourism has helped boost city department store revenues by as much as 10-15%, but until now the only real benefit for foreign customers has been the consumption tax rebate – and even that was highly restricted until now. Isetan-Mitsukoshi will go one further next year, opening a dedicated duty-free store that will sell luxury brands […]
Isetan-Mitsukoshi is leading the charge to diversify into small format retailing and raise the ratio of private brand product in department stores (see Focus, Page 13), but other department store groups are also working hard to catch up. Daimaru-Matsuzakaya has just unveiled two shoe brands and Tokyu has created an accessories specialty chain. A further […]
FY2013 retail results were heavily influenced by both renewed consumer confidence and increased spending spurred by the pending tax increase, but they also represent a new benchmark for the industry. Whereas a decade ago, the high performing retailers stood out as the exceptions, last year the opposite was true, with just a small number of […]
Despite fears of a downturn following the consumption tax increase in April, sales in many sectors remain strong. Although sales of high end art and jewellery sales were frenzied in March and remain weak as a result, department stores are reporting strong sales in luxury brands even now. Having jumped 20% year on year in […]
Isetan-MItsukoshi enjoyed a significant jump in turnover last year and is optimistic about the future – a future where the department store moniker will be increasingly inappropriate. It is already well advanced in rolling out small store chains, but its latest initiative to create a specialty women’s fashion chain is the project with the most […]
Marui is often classified as a department store because most of the brands in its buildings are contracted on a concession basis, just like a traditional department store, even though many of the tenants are specialty chains. This definition also makes sense given Marui’s low level of profit, partly the result of this same operating […]
Retail sales fell in April as expected, and by marginally more than in 1997, but the industry still performed well and the extreme decline feared by many did not happen. Indeed, many chains were reporting that sales were back to levels seen in 2013 by the end of the month and others were already back […]
2013 was a good year for retailing, and the results for the 12 months to December mirror the early financial year results now appearing. Department stores did particularly well, with the higher end stores far outperforming suburban and regional stores. Department stores and most major supermarket chains posted excellent sales in calendar year 2013. Overall […]
Isetan-Mitsukoshi has already proven its capacity to think beyond department stores through a series of small format concepts, and it will launch two more in the next year. These are helping the department store group reach new customers and better serve its core target too. Given the scale of investment, calling Isetan a department store […]
Japan has the lowest levels of inbound tourism among advanced economies, but this is about to change thanks to lavish marketing, the growing affluence of neighbouring populations, Japan’s increasing soft power, and the Olympics in 2020. The benefits to retailers and brands will be immense. At a Japan Shopping Centre conference in Yokohama recently, there […]
Build a store and the customer will come. But what if the store is a virtual one online? Given its clear aim to develop Japan’s first store-to-web omnichannel, Seven & I has taken the first step by entirely reorganising its advertising and promotion strategy. It will increase the volume of online advertising 10 fold in […]
In 2012 department store same store sales rose for the first time in 16 years, but this was partly because of a rebound from the impact of the 2011 earthquake. The uptick in overall sales this year, however, shows both the strength of premium markets at the moment, as well as a decline in store […]
From the 1960s right up until 2007, METI conducted its Census of Commerce, regularly updating the world on the minutiae of the distribution sector – and making a case for protection of small, largely uncompetitive players who supported the ruling party. That motivation has now been largely overtaken by political reality and the Census has […]
