DEPARTMENT STORE
Seibu Ikebukuro main store at Toshima City
I n the heart of Tokyo ’ s Toshima City , not too far from the Shinjuku financial district , Seibu Ikebukuro Main Store has stood as the flagship of the Sogo & Seibu Co retail giant for more than 80 years .
About 70 million people pass through its doors annually in search of anything from luxury-label clothing to freshly prepared sushi , but in recent times it has struggled to remain profitable with Japan ’ s population shrinking , a lacklustre economy and the changing shopping behaviour of younger consumers . Late last year – after five consecutive years of losses – Sogo & Seibu parent Seven & I Holdings ( best known as the parent of the global 7-Eleven brand ) bowed to shareholder pressure and sold the business to US investment group Fortress . Since then , the new owners have set about reviewing the entire business model in an effort to restore profitability . Progress on the process is unclear , with the company discontinuing the release of monthly store sales data last March .
In June , however , plans were revealed for a reimagination of the giant store ’ s 10 floors and a move away from the traditional department store model segregated by different floors for men ’ s , women ’ s and children ’ s clothing .
“ Seibu Ikebukuro will welcome all customers visiting Ikebukuro in unifying spaces where friends , couples and families can shop and enjoy time together ,” the company announced in a statement . “ With a variety of world-class brand shops and a high-quality interior and exterior design , the store will create a new face for the Ikebukuro area .”
From next January , the 48,000sqm store will be reopened in stages , before a grand reopening is celebrated in summer . The primary focus points of the complex will be luxury , cosmetics and a basement deli section .
A new luxury precinct will bring together about 60 top international brands – again in mixed men ' s and women ' s shops – with a sales floor area 1.3 times larger than the existing footprint .
A cosmetics area will be home to about
60 domestic and international brands – including unisex brands that customers can shop for with their partners . That category will boast a footprint 1.7 times larger than the current cosmetics hall .
The basement deli section – considered the store ’ s main customer drawcard , attracting commuters using the adjacent railway station , where multiple suburban lines converge at Ikebukuro , the thirdlargest terminal station in the world – will feature about 180 stores , including new brands .
Mixing it up The most attention-grabbing aspect of the redevelopment is arguably the move away from gender-based apparel sections .
“ As lifestyles diversify , department stores are entering an era where they are required to evolve ,” a spokesperson for the company said , adding that the end result of the transformation would be “ tailored to customer needs while retaining the excellent services of traditional department stores ”.
Michael Baker , former head of research at the International Council of Shopping Centers , who now resides in Asia and is a correspondent for Inside Retail , reads the move as the store “ going with the flow ” recognising consumer trends and having many unisex specialty brands inside the department store envelope .
“ Department stores have been trying to emulate specialty stores for years because they know that is how people like to shop . Separate floors for gender and kids are a historical artefact of the huge size of the traditional department store ,” he explains .
“ Modern department stores are built small for a reason : the department store companies realised they had to edit way , way down and bring the different components closer together to compete with newer formats .”
He has seen the delineation of gender in stores elsewhere in the world in modern department stores that typically have smaller footprints , resulting in more compact display spaces .
“ The problem is that these older multi- ►
August 2024 www . insideretail . asia 33