Aiming to shake off its image as an expensive members-only store, Japanese furniture retailer Otsuka Kagu Ltd. on Friday unveiled its renovated flagship store in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza shopping district, offering a more welcoming atmosphere.
The Tokyo-based company ran a kind of membership-based business that offered customers competitive prices when compared to its rivals. Before, customers were asked to provide their names in order to be able to browse items on sale inside the stores and become members when they purchased something. The stores would also have assistants guide them around the expansive floors.
Although the firm shifted away from the membership system several years ago, the impression that Otsuka Kagu stores are not geared for casual shopping still seems to be strong.
(Source: The Japan Times Online)