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▼ Mitsukoshi Roma Closure Highlights Continuing Decline Of Japanese Department Stores Overseas
- Category:Shopping
Overseas outlets of long-established Japanese department stores have closed their doors one after another.
Competition from shopping malls and volume retailers has reduced customer numbers at department stores such as Mitsukoshi and Tokyu Department Store, and the coronavirus pandemic has only added to the headwinds.
The situation remains dire for the remaining 29 Japanese department stores around the world.
Mitsukoshi Roma, the last Japanese-affiliated department store in Europe, shuttered on July 10, ending its 46-year history. The store had suspended operations amid the pandemic and decided to close as the outlook of a recovery in tourist numbers — a key customer base — appeared bleak.
Mitsukoshi Roma opened in central Rome in 1975 and was popular with Japanese customers and other Asian tourists.
The store posted sales of about ¥4.3 billion in 1996, but the figure dropped to about ¥300 million last year.
“We received kind words from our customers when they learned we were closing,” said Mitsukoshi Roma manager Tsutomu Dairaku, “and realized that our store remained an important memory of people’s travels.”
Mayumi Ueno, a translator who has lived in Rome for 37 years, regretted the store’s closing.
“It sold not only Italian brands but also original products, which were useful for Japanese locals to buy as gifts,” Ueno said.
Tokyu Department Store closed its Bangkok outlet, its last one overseas, at the end of January.
“The closure was mainly due to an increase in the number of commercial facilities in the neighborhood and the impact of the coronavirus,” a store official said.
Volume retailer Don Don Donki plans to take over the space, indicating fierce competition among Japanese retailers.
Isetan closed one of its outlets in Singapore in March and its outlet in Bangkok in August last year.
The number of overseas Japanese department stores peaked in the early 1990s with 81 outlets in 13 countries and regions, starting with Mitsukoshi, which opened a store in Seoul in 1906, according to Prof. Motoo Kawabata of Kwansei Gakuin University’s school of business administration.
The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s and the bursting of Japan’s bubble economy triggered the shuttering of many overseas outlets. Only 29 stores remain as of July 30.
The decline in customers comes as tourists shift from package tours to individually tailored trips, which has reduced the number of group travelers. Strong advances by local retail stores and major brands’ drifting away from department stores can also be attributed to the decrease in customer numbers.
“Japanese department stores used to be important for Japanese expatriates and tourists, but their advantage has declined in recent years,” Kawabata said. “With the spread of the coronavirus, there may be further contraction.”
Competition from shopping malls and volume retailers has reduced customer numbers at department stores such as Mitsukoshi and Tokyu Department Store, and the coronavirus pandemic has only added to the headwinds.
The situation remains dire for the remaining 29 Japanese department stores around the world.
Mitsukoshi Roma, the last Japanese-affiliated department store in Europe, shuttered on July 10, ending its 46-year history. The store had suspended operations amid the pandemic and decided to close as the outlook of a recovery in tourist numbers — a key customer base — appeared bleak.
Mitsukoshi Roma opened in central Rome in 1975 and was popular with Japanese customers and other Asian tourists.
The store posted sales of about ¥4.3 billion in 1996, but the figure dropped to about ¥300 million last year.
“We received kind words from our customers when they learned we were closing,” said Mitsukoshi Roma manager Tsutomu Dairaku, “and realized that our store remained an important memory of people’s travels.”
Mayumi Ueno, a translator who has lived in Rome for 37 years, regretted the store’s closing.
“It sold not only Italian brands but also original products, which were useful for Japanese locals to buy as gifts,” Ueno said.
Tokyu Department Store closed its Bangkok outlet, its last one overseas, at the end of January.
“The closure was mainly due to an increase in the number of commercial facilities in the neighborhood and the impact of the coronavirus,” a store official said.
Volume retailer Don Don Donki plans to take over the space, indicating fierce competition among Japanese retailers.
Isetan closed one of its outlets in Singapore in March and its outlet in Bangkok in August last year.
The number of overseas Japanese department stores peaked in the early 1990s with 81 outlets in 13 countries and regions, starting with Mitsukoshi, which opened a store in Seoul in 1906, according to Prof. Motoo Kawabata of Kwansei Gakuin University’s school of business administration.
The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s and the bursting of Japan’s bubble economy triggered the shuttering of many overseas outlets. Only 29 stores remain as of July 30.
The decline in customers comes as tourists shift from package tours to individually tailored trips, which has reduced the number of group travelers. Strong advances by local retail stores and major brands’ drifting away from department stores can also be attributed to the decrease in customer numbers.
“Japanese department stores used to be important for Japanese expatriates and tourists, but their advantage has declined in recent years,” Kawabata said. “With the spread of the coronavirus, there may be further contraction.”
- August 5, 2021
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