Seibu Ikebukuro department store to boost upscale brand lineup

Sogo & Seibu said Thursday it will strengthen the lineup of luxury brand items, cosmetics and food products at its flagship Seibu Ikebukuro department store in Tokyo when its renovation is completed next year.
The Japanese company aims to have the Seibu Ikebukuro store offer added value such as an extraordinary sense of excitement and shopping for special occasions, Sogo & Seibu representative director Jin Ryu said.
The store plans to reopen renovated areas in stages from the beginning of next year before the full opening as early as summer.
While the store is set to halve the floor space for its department store division, it will expand its sales area for upscale brand items by 1.3 times to accommodate some 60 shops.
The renovated store will feature about 60 cosmetics brands, while enhancing its basement food floor.
The store will also feature an outlet of electronics retailer Yodobashi Camera. Ryu said that the store aims to make good use of Yodobashi’s ability to attract foreign visitors as well as male and family customers.
In September last year, U.S. investment fund Fortress Investment Group acquired Sogo & Seibu from Japanese retailer Seven & I Holdings.
The fund sold the real estate of the Ikebukuro store to Yodobashi Holdings, with which it cooperated in the negotiations to buy Sogo & Seibu.
Sogo & Seibu’s labor union drew attention by carrying out the first strike in the department store industry in 61 years, due to concerns about possible job losses.