IZUMISANO, Osaka Pref. -- With nearly half of the land yet awaiting a buyer, a 318-hectare plot known as Rinku Town just across the bay from Kansai International Airport can hardly be called a bustling shopping district.
But Chelsea GCA Realty, Inc., a giant American shopping mall developer that runs and owns 21 Premium Outlets shopping malls across the United States, chose Rinku Town for the location of its second outlet mall in Japan, which opened Thursday.
Leslie Chao, chairman of Chelsea Japan Co. Ltd., which operates Rinku Premium Outlets, said its Kansai mall is unique compared with other outlet malls in the region because for about a third of its 72 tenants, it is their first time to operate as an outlet in Japan. Seventy percent are newcomers to the Kansai region.