Isetan

Isetan (株式会社伊勢丹) is a Japanese department store based in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, Japan. The company has multiple branches throughout the world including Bangkok, Singapore, Shanghai, Jinan, and Kuala Lumpur and at one time had branches in both London and Venice.

Company Description

Isetan has been formally incorporated since 1886, but has attempted in recent decades to market its products to a younger audience so as to tap into the vast potential of Japanese youth culture. Each store sells a wide variety of apparel, food, household items, and personal items while Isetan as a corporation is also responsible for real estate and travel agencies.

The Shinjuku flagship store, despite being one of 10 stores in Japan, makes up for half of the company’s sales in all department stores. In addition, Isetan was one of the earliest Japanese retail companies to open shop in other Asian countries, opening its Taiwan, China, and Thailand shops in the 1970s. Today, Isetan is a subsidiary of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, resultant of the merger between the two companies in early 2008.

Company History

Isetan traces its roots back to the formation of the Iseya Tanji Kimono Store in Kanda, Tokyo in November of 1886. The store remained a Tokyo staple until the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1924, after which Iseya Tanji Kimono was reformatted into a department store style operation. Later, in September of 1930, Isetan Co., Ltd was formed and its flagship store, which is still open today, was opened in Shinjuku three years later in September of 1933.

The company maintained its Shinjuku operation throughout the war years and began expanding again in the 1950s, forming Tanshin Co., Ltd which is now Isetan Building Management Service in 1953 and Marukyu Foods Co., Ltd in 1957 (now Isetan Petit Monde).

In January of 1972, the first overseas store was opened in Singapore, soon followed by a wide variety of other stores in various other Asian countries. Throughout the 1970s and 80s representative offices were opened throughout Asia, North America, and Europe and expansion continued.

While Isetan’s growth into Australian and European markets has been stalled for now, the current state of the company is continually growing, with annual revenue through department store sales estimated at 3 Billion Yen.

Store Locations

Current store locations in Japan include:

• Shinjuku, Tokyo – Flagship Store
• Fuchu
• Tachikawa
• Kyoto
• Kichijoji, Musashino
• Miigata
• Sagamihara
• Urawa-ku, Saitama
• Matsudo, Chiba
• Shiuoka City

In addition, Isetan has branches in other Chinese countries including:

• Southeast Asia
• Bangkok
• Kuala Lumpur
• Singapore
• Taiwan
• Kaohsiung
• China
• Jinan
• Tianjin
• Chengdu
• Shanghai

External Links

• Isetan Group Official Home Page