Department stores are targeting working women by creating a more refined atmosphere. (Jiji)

Beginning late last year and continuing into this spring, all of Japan's major department-store chains undertook major renovations of their stores. The companies had become aware of a shift in consumption patterns, with the role of trend leader shifting to the 25 to 35-year-old children of baby boomers born after World War II, and they worked to get an appropriate selection of merchandise and to remodel the stores in an effort to target this demographic.

Taking Charge
The strategies followed by these stores are similar: finding products both in Japan and overseas that fit with an original concept. Department stores once relied heavily on the "store-in-store" model, in which makers of famous brand goods operated outlets within the larger department store, but now they are picking and choosing products from different makers and grouping them together in an effort to appeal to consumers. For example, whereas women's clothes and women's shoes were once sold separately, now they can be found together in different areas of the store, each area catering to a particular "look" or clientele.

Isetan (site is Japanese only), for example, spent ¥3 billion ($24 million at ¥125 to the dollar) renovating the second, third, and fourth floors of its flagship store in Shinjuku, strengthening its women's clothing department. On the fourth floor is a "Jewelry and Watch World" in which customers can find a collection of top-brand accessories. Isetan celebrated a grand reopening on March 7, and its strategy of sending buyers overseas to purchase high-quality merchandise seems to be paying off: Sales at the Shinjuku store for March were up 4.7% over the year before.

Targeting Consumers
Mitsukoshi (site is Japanese only), meanwhile, constructed a new sales area in its Ginza shop geared toward working women in their thirties, unveiling it to the public on March 12. Mitsukoshi is also exercising control over all the merchandise from the time its buyers purchase the goods until the products are sold to customers. Many customers are drawn to a corner called "New York Runway," which has the atmosphere of a shop in New York's Soho district, an area popular with young people. A favorite of many is Paper Denim and Cloth, a line of distressed-denim clothes.

The flagship store of the Tokyu Department Store Co. (site is Japanese only) is located in Shibuya, and it intends to take advantage of its proximity to upscale neighborhoods. Renovations based on a concept of high-quality, upmarket merchandise were undertaken, and the store reopened on March 1. Tokyu strengthened its stock of perishable food items, a department-store staple, by inviting in the prestigious Kinokuniya supermarket chain. The image of a department store is largely dependent on its food products, so Tokyu hopes that the presence of this prestigious supermarket will help attract customers. Tokyu has also brought in British tableware-maker Wedgwood, which occupies a space of 330 square meters in the store, making this Wedgwood's largest outlet in Japan.

Foreign Brands Selling Well
The Shibuya branch of Seibu Department Stores (site is Japanese only) began a three-year renovation plan in the fall of 2001 with the goal of stocking goods that customers cannot find anywhere else. While Seibu is using its own buyers to select and purchase high-quality goods for the store, it realizes that identifying the products and the number to be sold ahead of the competition is indispensable to winning over consumers. Sales for the month of March showed a 7.7% increase over the previous year.

Matsuya, which is located in the Ginza district, has been succeeding by carrying more upmarket goods. On the first floor of the store now is a corner featuring a number of top-class foreign brands, such as Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Christian Dior, and Celine. Placing all of these brand goods together is a strategy that seems to be working: Sales in March showed double-digit growth over a year before. With the booming sales at these department stores, observers may wonder whatever happened to the economic recession.