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is a Japanese
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
. 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 Sogo & Seibu Co., Ltd., owned by the U.S. investment fund
Fortress Investment Group Fortress Investment Group, LLC is an American investment management firm based in New York City. It was founded as a private equity firm in 1998 by Wes Edens, Rob Kauffman, Pete Briger, Michael Novogratz, and Randal Nardone. Overview When ...
. It was a member of the
International Association of Department Stores The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) is a retail trade association founded in 1928 by a group of department stores with the goal of introducing modern management methods derived from the scientific management movement to the ...
from 1972 to 1990.


Japan

The Seibu Department Stores flagship store is located in Ikebukuro. In Tokyo, there are stores in
Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...
and
Ikebukuro is a commercial and entertainment district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. Toshima ward offices, Ikebukuro Station, and several shops, restaurants, and department stores are located within city limits. Transportation At the center of Ikebukuro is ...
. As of 2020, there are 8 stores in the whole country. In August 2020, Seibu will close its stores in Okazaki and Otsu while downsizing its stores in Akita and Fukui due to poor sales. In addition to department stores, Seibu operates the specialty store
Loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...
and The Garden/Shell Garden supermarket, both are also part of Seven & I Holdings Co., The Garden/Shell Garden supermarket was sold alongside Sogo & Seibu to the U.S. investment fund
Fortress Investment Group Fortress Investment Group, LLC is an American investment management firm based in New York City. It was founded as a private equity firm in 1998 by Wes Edens, Rob Kauffman, Pete Briger, Michael Novogratz, and Randal Nardone. Overview When ...
in September 2023. Seibu previously operated Parco, now operated by J. Front Retailing,
Muji , or is a Japanese retailer which sells a wide variety of household and consumer goods. Muji's design philosophy is minimalist, and it places an emphasis on recycling, reducing production and packaging waste, and a no-logo or "no-brand" policy. ...
(operating independently), and
Seiyu Group , or , is a Japanese group of supermarkets, shopping centers and department stores, headquartered in Akabane (赤羽), Kita, Tokyo.
, now owned by Walmart. Seibu, Parco, and Seiyu were previously part of the now-defunct Seibu Saison group, while Muji had been Seiyu's private brand.


Automobile imports

From 1960 until 1995, Seibu Department stores sold imported European and American cars. Competing with Yanase, Seibu sold Citroen, Saab, Chevrolet, Fiat, Ferrari, Holden, and Peugeot. It was originally called Western European Cars starting in 1963 until Seibu assumed operations as Seibu Motors in 1971. Successor company Shin Seibu Car Sales took over in 1995 and kept importing Citroëns until the company was dissolved in 2002.


International


Indonesia


First foray

Seibu's first foray in Indonesia as Jakarta Seibu was opened in 1995 in the Mega Pasaraya (now Pasaraya Blok M) complex, located near a busy terminal, Blok M, in
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
. It occupies four levels of the eight-story building, offering upscale shopping experience for the upper-class, with an atrium at the centre. The department store is operated by ALatief Corporation (PT. Pasaraya Nusakarya), a company that manages a major local department store, Pasaraya. The two department stores are adjacent and a pedestrian bridge connects the buildings. The department store, widely regarded as one of the most luxurious to ever open in the nation, had in-store boutiques of brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Aigner,
Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury elite fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as '' haute couture'' under it ...
, , Kenzo,
Escada Escada SE is a luxury women's designer clothing company headquartered in Aschheim, Germany. The company is owned by Regent, L.P., an international private equity firm led by investor Michael Reinstein. The company was founded in 1978 by desi ...
,
Trussardi Trussardi () is an Italian fashion house based in Milan, Italy, and specialized in leather goods, ready-to-wear, perfumes, and accessories. Trussardi was founded in 1911 as a leather glove manufacturer, and expanded its line to additional leath ...
, and more - completed by beauty counters of
Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding ...
,
Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...
, etc. However, due to the 1997/8 recession and location, Jakarta Seibu failed to attract its targeted market along with numerous factors, and closed down in 1999.


Re-entry

Seibu re-entered the country on 9 May 2007, occupying four levels of the west mall area of Grand Indonesia Shopping Town. Similar to its predecessor, Seibu is once again segmented for the Indonesia's upper-mid class market, providing an array of upscale brands such as Calvin Klein Jeans,
Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( ; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger (company), Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's P ...
, Dolce & Gabbana Beauty's flagship store, and many more - along with accommodating services. Now operated by PT. Mitra Adiperkasa Tbk, who also operates the Indonesian
Sogo is a department store chain with a significant presence in Japan. It operates a network of branches in various countries and has a long history dating back to 1830 when it was founded in Osaka by Ihei Sogō. The company is known for its retail ...
(Seibu's sister department store chain) and
Galeries Lafayette Galeries Lafayette () is an upmarket French department store chain, the biggest in Europe. Its flagship store is on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris but it now operates a number of locations in France and other countries ...
department store; the grand opening of store was held together with the mall on 20 May 2009, despite soft-opening the store two years earlier. It is the oldest continuous Seibu operating outside Japan despite the 8-year hiatus since the original Blok M store's closure in 1999. A second branch of Seibu is opened in Pondok Indah Mall 3 on 17 December 2021. The 1-storey high store features an Apple premium reseller confirmed to open inside.


Malaysia

The first Seibu store in Malaysia opened on 29 November 2023 at The Exchange TRX shopping mall in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
. Spanning , it features over 400-500 retail brands (100 of them are new brands entering Malaysia for the first time) across 4 levels and it is the first international luxury department store in Malaysia to house various mix of contemporary fashion brands and Japanese fashion brands that are new to Malaysia, largest collection of children's luxury fashion brands, and Malaysia's first Japanese food hall.


Former


Hong Kong

Seibu opened their first non-Japanese location in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
at its flagship store at the Mall at the Pacific Place on the former Victoria Barracks, but sold their operations to Dickson Concepts in 1996. The store operated until September 2013. Another location was at the Windsor House in East Point.


United States

In 1962, Seibu opened a branch at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax in Los Angeles. It was the first Japanese department store in the mainland United States. Despite much publicity, the store attracted little more than curiosity and closed after only two years. The building was later occupied by Ohrbach's and is currently home to the Petersen Automotive Museum.


See also

*
Sogo is a department store chain with a significant presence in Japan. It operates a network of branches in various countries and has a long history dating back to 1830 when it was founded in Osaka by Ihei Sogō. The company is known for its retail ...
* Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd.


References


External links


Seibu Department Stores

Millennium Retailing
{{Department stores in the United States Retail companies established in 1949 Retail companies based in Tokyo Department stores of Hong Kong Department stores of Japan Sogo & Seibu 2004 mergers and acquisitions