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Parco Kumamoto and Utsunomiya to close

Parco

Parco has confirmed it will close its Kumamoto and Utsunomiya buildings. The Utsunomiya SC will close at the end of May and Parco Kumamoto in February next year. Both SCs have been making a loss since 2015, and Parco will book a loss of ¥1.2 billion in 4Q2018 related to the closures.

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Parco Kumamoto, a 12,000 sqm mall with 60 tenants, saw sales fall 22.8% to ¥2.96 billion in 1-3Q2018. Parco Kumamoto was opened in 1986 and although it was in a good location – in the centre of the shopping district and next door to Tsuruya Department Store – trade is shifting to the station area due to new developments there, including a rebuild of the station due in 2021.

The Utsunomiya store saw sales fall nearly 30% in 1-3Q2018 as well. Like the Kumamoto building, Parco Utsunomiya suffers from a shift of shopping traffic due to the closure of numerous department stores including Seibu and Robinsons. Sales are reported to have fallen from ¥10 billion in 2004 to ¥3 billion last year.

As reported in JC1902, Parco is in the process of reviewing all of its buildings, investing in those that merit it and closing others, while investing in new buildings such as Parco_ya in Ueno.

SEE ALSO : Japan shopping centre sales recover in 2017-18

In 2016, Parco closed its Chiba store and then Parco Otsu the following year.

Michael CaustonMichael 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)