Hankyu Hanshin has outperformed the department store sector in the last few years and continues to invest to lock in its dominance of the Osaka market. It is now about to unveil a major new update to its Tokyo store, creating a more luxury Men’s Emporium.
SEE ALSO : Bottega Veneta bows Tokyo flagship
Hankyu Hanshin is overhauling its Men’s fashion emporium in Yurakucho with a much greater emphasis on imported brands. Over 70% of the space will be updated with a partial unveiling this month. This is the first major upgrade for the 11,000 sqm store since Hankyu converted the space from an underperforming department store in 2011.
The investment makes sense given the buoyancy of menswear and men’s accessory sales at Hankyu Hanshin recently. Last year, menswear sales were up 2.8% while womenswear continued to fall, down 4.6%. The Yurakucho building itself grew sales by 4.6% but even this good performance was outstripped by the Hankyu Men’s emporium in Osaka which rose nearly 7%.
One of the merits of the Men’s Emporium format is that it is more akin to a large select shop than a department store and, as a result, has a high ratio of customers in their 20s and 30s.
As with those recent updates in Osaka, the current refurbishment of the Yurakucho store will include a significant increase in space for luxury brands. Sales floors will now be arranged by lifestyle such as areas devoted to “international jet setters”, “adventurers”, entrepreneurs and creators. This will include new, directly managed in-stores, taking up as much of 25% of floor space.
SEE ALSO : Japan February sales up
Hankyu Hanshin continues to cement its position in the department store market. It posted 1H2018 sales up 1.3%, despite some temporary store closures in the summer and the impact on tourist footfall following the temporary closure of Kansai Airport, all of which caused an estimated 2.4 point drop in sales. Strong growth at Hankyu Umeda (up 5.1%) and the partial reopening of Hanshin Umeda helped offset these losses.
Michael Causton is the co-founder and partner at JapanConsuming, a specialist research firm on Japanese retail and consumer markets. Founded in 2000, JapanConsuming has become the leading provider of insights on Japanese retailers and consumer trends to retailers, brands, government agencies and investors. As well as a highly regarded monthly report on the market to help subscribers keep up to date with the latest trends and data. JapanConsuming produces in-depth reports on retail sectors, seminars on key trends and consulting on market strategies and future trends.
(Source: JapanConsuming)