Hankyu department store on Wednesday opened all the retail space in its refurbished Umeda flagship in central Osaka, following its partial opening in late October, aiming at ¥213 billion in sales in one year, comparable to Japan's top department store outlet — Isetan's Shinjuku main store in Tokyo.
The Umeda outlet features roughly 80,000 sq. meters of floor space, up from its prerenovation 61,000, and is hoping to draw 50 million shoppers from various parts of western Japan each year.
Osaka's Umeda district around JR Osaka Station is a competitive hub for retailers. In spring 2011, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. opened an outlet there, while J. Front Retailing Co.'s Daimaru department store also reopened a branch after expanding its floor space.
The Umeda outlet, managed by Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores Inc., posted around ¥124.4 billion in turnover in the 2011 business year, already the biggest among department stores based in western Japan.
Its aim of ¥213 billion in sales in one year after reopening also covers sales of the adjacent menswear goods outlet.
Renovation started in 2005. It opened 80 percent of its shops on Oct. 25.