Isetan-Mitsukoshi unveiled its updated Men’s Annex last month.
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Recognising the declining relevance of the traditional gift-giving seasons in June and December as well as Valentine’s day, the annex now includes much more emphasis on luxury merchandise and custom-order apparel and accessories to appeal to wealthy Japanese and inbound tourists.
New luxury concessions include Celine and Gucci. In the last five years, luxury brand sales have increased 90% and the number of customers spending more than ¥300,000 a year has risen 35%. Isetan says that of its 2.6 million existing customers, the average age is 50, but hopes the updated store will attract more wealthy millennials.
Currently, the latter account for 20% of customers but Isetan expects to raise this to 23% in the short-term while increasing inbound customers from 9% to 16% of the total.
Custom-order sales floors for suits, shirts and footwear include tablets to help customers select design options – customers can also order custom-designed suitcases from Rimowa and Globetrotter.
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The annex turned over ¥44.2 billion in 2018 but Isetan expects sales to increase to ¥50 billion in 2020, overtaking the previous record of ¥47.6 billion set in 2007.
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)