Sogo Co., the failed department store operator that has applied for rehabilitation measures under court protection, will close its store in the Yurakucho district of Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Sept. 24, the company announced Wednesday.

The Tokyo store opened in May 1957 as Sogo's first store in the Tokyo metropolitan area and is located on a prime plot of land directly in front of JR Yurakucho Station.

Sogo used the phrase "Yurakucho de aimasho" (Let's meet at Yurakucho) as a motto for the outlet's opening campaign. The phrase later became the title of a hit song and a movie.

The store has recently suffered a sharp decline in sales, however, due in part to competition from nearby department stores. The falling sales and the old building made it difficult for Sogo to continue operating the outlet.

Although Sogo had been seeking a way to transform the outlet into a store focusing on clothes and other fashion-related items, the company finally decided to shut it down entirely as part of its restructuring efforts.

In contrast, Shigeaki Wada, former chairman of Seibu Department Stores Ltd. and a special adviser to Sogo, expressed his desire for the Sogo store in Osaka's Chuo Ward to be demolished and completely rebuilt as a symbol of the new Sogo.

Wada said the outlet has special significance to Sogo because the company originated in Osaka. The project would also give hope to Sogo's employees as they go through a difficult period of change, he added.

"People in Kansai are familiar with the Sogo brand name. I hope the Osaka store project will become the one to reconstruct the image of Sogo," Wada said.

Wada was speaking at a press conference to explain the basic policy behind the restructuring of the Sogo group. It filed for court-mandated rehabilitation with the Tokyo District Court last month after accumulating debts of some 1.87 trillion yen.

Wada was acclaimed after pulling Seibu out of a financial crisis in the 1990s and is expected to become president of Sogo in the future.

Wada currently leads a team consisting of about 70 people, including several from Seibu, accountants and lawyers, that is drawing up a business plan to rebuild Sogo.

The company is required to submit the complete business plan to the court in late October.

Wada ruled out the possibility of an immediate collaboration with Seibu, saying that Sogo must become healthy before it considers cooperating with Seibu.

Identifying the primary reason for Sogo's failure, Wada sharply criticized Sogo's former management team, led by former chairman Hiroo Mizushima, saying the company lacked the modern knowhow necessary to run a department store and that employees who called for improvements were ignored because of the firm's stagnant corporate culture.