In addition to duty-free shops aimed exclusively at international travellers, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the current boom in tourists to Japan have been so-called outlet malls.
J-Cast News (19 July) introduced the Mitsui Outlet Park in Oyabe City, Toyama Prefecture, which opened for business on 16 July. It is located nearly equidistant from Kanazawa and Toyama, two major regional cities serviced by the Hokuriku Shinkansen, which was completed in March.
Billed as the first of its kind in the Hokuriku region, the centre features 173 shops—of which 81 represent the operators’ first launch in the Hokuriku region—and parking for 2,800 vehicles.
While it has adopted an enclosed design to protect visitors from the area’s heavy snowfalls in winter, it nonetheless includes a Ferris wheel and other amusement park rides for children. In efforts to appeal to foreign visitors, amenities include Wi-Fi spots, automatic currency conversion machines and prayer rooms.
In addition to familiar UK brands such as Harrods/Old England and Wedgwood, fashion firms United Arrows Ltd., Nike and Birkenstock, and furnishings firm Francfranc, are represented.
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. upgraded its outlet mall at Makuhari in Chiba City, adding 57 shops and relocating 34 to now offer 137 outlets in total. This makes the Mitsui Outlet Park Makuhari one of the largest malls in Japan situated next to a commuter rail station.
Makuhari also boasts the largest international exhibition facilities in Japan, and efforts have been made to improve access to Narita International Airport and Tokyo Haneda International Airport. Among the new arrivals is Matsumoto Kiyoshi Co., Ltd., a drugstore chain that is highly popular with foreign visitors. The move is the firm’s first shop to be located in an outlet mall.
According to Mitsui Fudosan, foreign customers at its large-scale shopping facilities (defined as those to which customers are transported aboard tour buses) increased 1.5 fold year-on-year during 2014.
Last month, one of Japan’s largest outlet malls, the Gotemba Premium Outlet, located near Mount Fuji, observed the 15th anniversary of its opening. Its operator, Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd., reported an increase in the number of foreign visitors on tours, mostly from other parts of Asia and particularly China. Their number rose from 250,000 in 2013 to 435,000 in 2014.
While the fall in value of the Japanese yen has resulted in an increase in foreign visitors, another factor is the greater efforts by the mall operator over the past 10 years to promote the centre abroad. Reflecting this, the outlet organised an “international marketing team” in the 2014 financial year.