Department store

Department store

A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

s in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

are referred to as hyakkaten (百貨店) or depāto (デパート), an abbreviation of the English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 term.

History

The first "modern-style" department store in Japan was Mitsukoshi

Mitsukoshi

is an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Mitsukoshi Ltd. has amalgamated with Isetan Co.,Ltd ,and changed company name to Isetan Mitsukoshi Ltd.- History :...

, founded in 1904, which has its root as a kimono

Kimono

The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...

 store called Echigoya from 1673. When the roots are considered, however, Matsuzakaya

Matsuzakaya

is a major Japanese department store chain operated by Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores, a subsidiary of J. Front Retailing. When the chain was an independent company, , it had its headquarters in Naka-ku, Nagoya.- History :...

 has an even longer history, dated from 1611. The kimono store changed to a department store in 1910. In 1924, Matsuzakaya store in Ginza

Ginza

is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.It is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. Ginza is recognized as one of the most...

 allowed street shoes to be worn indoors, something innovative at the time. http://www.matsuzakaya.co.jp/corporate/history/honshi/index.shtml These former kimono shop department stores dominated the market in its earlier history. They sold, or rather displayed, luxurious products, which contributed to their sophisticated atmospheres. Another origin of the Japanese department store is from railway companies. There have been many private railway

Private railway

A private railroad is a railroad run by a private corporation, as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector.-Japan:In Japan, refers to a railway line owned and operated by private sector. Although Japan Railways Group companies are private entities, they are not considered private railways...

 operators in the nation and, from the 1920s, they started to build department stores directly linked to their lines' termini. Seibu

Seibu Department Stores

is a Japanese department store. The first store to trade under the name opened its doors in 1949. Seibu is typical of Japanese department stores with a wide variety of stores doing business on several floors. The company is now a subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd..-Japan:The Seibu...

 and Hankyu are the typical examples of this type.

Characteristics

Since the 1980s Japanese department stores have been facing fierce competition from supermarket

Supermarket

A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...

s and convenience store

Convenience store

A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...

s, gradually losing their presence. Still, depāto are bastions of several aspects of cultural conservatism in the country. Gift certificates for prestigious department stores are frequently given as formal presents in Japan.

Department stores in Japan generally offer a wide range of services and can include foreign exchange

Foreign exchange market

The foreign exchange market is a global, worldwide decentralized financial market for trading currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends...

, travel reservations, ticket sales for local concerts and other events.

Due to their roots, many Japanese department stores have sections devoted to kimono and Japanese traditional crafts

Japanese handicrafts

The many and varied traditional handicrafts of Japan are officially recognised and protected and, owing to the folk art movement, are much in demand. Some enjoy status as a meibutsu or regional specialty. Each craft demands a set of specialized skills...

, including pottery

Pottery

Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...

 and lacquerware

Lacquerware

Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. The lacquer is sometimes inlaid or carved. Lacquerware includes boxes, tableware, buttons and even coffins painted with lacquer in cultures mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere.-History:...

. The basement level usually has a grocery and food court, and on the roof may be garden and aquatic supplies, pets, and a children's play area.

Operating hours are usually from 10am to 8pm. Some close one day a week, often a weekday.

Kantō region

Kanto region

The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....

(fashion oriented) (fashion oriented) (from France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

) (from Sogo & Seibu

Sogo & Seibu

is a Japanese retail company that operates 4 retail franchises: Loft, Robinson Department Store, Sogo, and Seibu Department Stores. It is a subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings Co.....

)

• • 109
    109 (department store)
    is a department store in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan The store is operated by the Tokyu Malls Development , a company under the Tokyu Group.-History and description:...
    
    (Ichi-maru-kyū) (fashion oriented, Kantō region)

} (hobby oriented, nationwide)