Hankyu Hanshin has outperformed the department store sector in the last few years and continues to invest to lock in its dominance of the Osaka market. It is now about to unveil a major new update to its Tokyo store, creating a more luxury Men’s Emporium.
Hankyu Hanshin is overhauling its Men’s fashion emporium in Yurakucho with a much greater emphasis on imported brands. Over 70% of the space will be updated with a partial unveiling this month. This is the first major upgrade for the 11,000 sqm store since Hankyu converted the space from an underperforming department store in 2011.
The investment makes sense given the buoyancy of menswear and men’s accessory sales at Hankyu Hanshin recently. Last year, menswear sales were up 2.8% while womenswear continued to fall, down 4.6%. The Yurakucho building itself grew sales by 4.6% but even this good performance was outstripped by the Hankyu Men’s emporium in Osaka which rose nearly 7%.
One of the merits of the Men’s Emporium format is that it is more akin to a large select shop than a department store and, as a result, has a high ratio of customers in their 20s and 30s.
As with those recent updates in Osaka, the current refurbishment of the Yurakucho store will include a significant increase in space for luxury brands. Sales floors will now be arranged by lifestyle such as areas devoted to “international jet setters”, “adventurers”, entrepreneurs and creators. This will include new, directly managed in-stores, taking up as much of 25% of floor space.
