Japan’s department stores are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, with Seven & I Holdings Co. reportedly set to sell its struggling Sogo & Seibu chain. With revenue from department store locations declining, luxury brands were already moving toward operating their own locations even before Covid, Govaers added.
The rising rents apply only to a small strip of the most desirable, station-adjacent real estate in both neighborhoods, and Cushman & Wakefield’s Suga notes it’s only the locations coveted by foreign brands that are gaining. “Japanese brands can’t afford these locations,” he said.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.