Japan’s largest department store welcomes first shoppers

Parts of the largest department store in Japan have opened for business in Japan’s tallest office building, the 300 metre tall Abeno Harukas commercial complex in Osaka. Kintetsu Department Store Co. has opened up major parts of its new flagship store ahead of its full opening next spring.

The company hopes the 100,000sqm Abeno Harukas Kintetsu Main Store will help it achieve record sales in the next fiscal year. The strategy for achieving this relies on the success of the entire complex. The new store offers more of everything, with sales areas for key departments expanding 50%-100%.

There is also an increased focus on attracting more female customers. The Tower Wing building, which opens next spring, will have about 100 specialty shops. Meanwhile, the department store will also have large rest areas to help Kintetsu boost the average time spent shopping per customer from 70 minutes to 120 minutes.