Tag: Tokyu

  • Tokyu department store leaves Thailand

    Tokyu department store leaves Thailand

    Japanese department-store chain Tokyu is to exit Thailand, the third Japanese retailer to withdraw from the country this year.

    Tokyu aims to close its last store at Bangkok’s MBK shopping center next January, ending 35 years of trading in the city. The retailer closed its second, newer store at Paradise Park last year.

    The department store has been struggling in the shopping center competition due to the launch of a series of new developments in Bangkok. However, the tourism depression resulting from Covid-19 proved a fatal blow to the company, forcing it to retreat home.

    The closure came suddenly, with the management of MBK saying just two weeks ago that the store would undergo a renovation after the lease agreement was extended for another nine years.

    Tokyu’s withdrawal follows the departure of Japan’s upmarket department store Isetan in September. That company pulled out of Thailand after 28 years of trading there, saying it was unable to continue to compete with other retailers.

    With Tokyu leaving Thailand, Takashimaya will become the only Japanese department-store chain left in the country.

    Another Japanese retailer, FamilyMart effectively withdrew this year after selling its stake to local partner Central Retail, effectively becoming a franchisor.

  • Tokyu Hands Singapore to open at Jewel Changi

    Tokyu Hands Singapore to open at Jewel Changi

    Tokyu Hands Singapore will open its fourth store – at Jewel Changi – next week.

    Set to open on the 17th, the Japanese homewares retailer’s newest store in the city will feature new corners offering a selection of products based upon the trading patterns of Tokyu Hands Singapore’s existing stores.

    Each corner will feature a mix of Japanese designs considered “cool” in Singapore.

    A new section Straight up Health will feature pelvis-correction products, with actual devices available for customers to try on.

    “Travel’s Best” is a new corner which provides a collection of products aimed at travellers, along with outdoor accessories. The area offers products designed to make travelling more enjoyable.

    The Tokyu Hands Singapore store opening will feature a Japanese calligraphy performance and workshop by Malik Bin Mazlan, and a Kokuyo Exhibition, introducing Kokuyo products for a limited time.

    The retailer’s already popular Love Writing corner is being expanded with a collection of writing instruments, notebooks with superior-quality paper, and a curated range of other stationery items.

    The Tokyu Hands Singapore Jewel Changi store’s design focuses on the Japanese concept of Kodawaru, which the company says is used to “express careful pursuit, cultivation, approaches, and sensitivity to things one likes”.

    Tokyu Hands Singapore has three other stores: in Jurong East, on Orchard Road and at Suntec City.