Isetan set for 8 to 10 stores on mainland

JAPANESE retail conglomerate Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd plans to more than double the number of Isetan department stores on the Chinese mainland within five years as it taps the rapidly growing high-end consumption among Chinese.
Japan's leading retailer aims to have eight to 10 Isetan stores on the mainland by 2015, Koichi Sagae, managing director of Isetan (China) Holdings Co told Shanghai Daily in an exclusive interview. It now has stores in Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang and Chengdu.
Sagae said China now accounts for 3 percent of the group's total revenue and it hopes to double the proportion within five years by accelerating store expansion.
First-tier cities would remain the company's first choice and a second Tianjin branch will open next spring while another store in Shanghai is planned in 2012.
"We have seen the business in our existing four stores grow rapidly over the past two years and that shows the growing population of higher-end consumers," Sagae noted.
He said Shanghai Meilongzhen Isetan Department Store's revenues urged by an annual 130 percent in the second quarter after it completed a store makeover during the global financial crisis, reflecting that retail sales on the mainland recovered more quickly than Japan.
Isetan Mitukoshi has identified Asian markets as its top priority for overseas expansion and is eying the mainland due to its rising economy and government's efforts to spur domestic consumption. Its ambition is also echoed by other rivals.
Qatar Holding, the new owner of the iconic UK department store Harrods, also plans a new shop in Shanghai.