Seven & I is determined to make its GMS and department store businesses more profitable. It has already invested in upgrading key department stores, while converting others to hybrid SC operations, and last month announced the closure of 20% of Ito-Yokado stores. Key to future profit will be the rapidly expanding range of brands sold […]
After sales at department stores rose for the first time in 16 years in FY2013, most forecasts suggested those gains would be wiped out by the collapse in spending post-tax hike. This didn’t happen for most major stores in most big cities, even while regional stores continued their decline. The surge in tourism helped, but […]
Seven & I has been busy recently. As well as launching a new home fashion chain (see page 7) and making Barney’s Japan a full subsidiary, it has found time to negotiate a deal with Jean Paul Gaultier for a new apparel line to be sold through both Sogo Seibu and Ito-Yokado. After so many […]
