Aiming to shake off its image as an expensive members-only store, furniture retailer Otsuka Kagu Ltd. on Friday unveiled its renovated flagship store in Tokyo's upscale Ginza shopping district, offering a more welcoming atmosphere.

"What we cared about (in this renewal) was to make the store more customer-centric," Otsuka Kagu President Kumiko Otsuka told reporters at the store the same day. "We wanted to make it easy (for customers) to come by and learn (about our products), all the while feeling comfortable" when they are shopping.

The Tokyo-based company ran a kind of membership-based business that offered customers competitive prices when compared to its rivals. Before, customers were asked to provide their names in order to be able to browse items on sale inside the stores and become members when they purchased something.

The stores would also have assistants guide them around the expansive floors.

Although the firm shifted away from the membership system several years ago, the impression that Otsuka Kagu stores are not geared for casual shopping still seems to be strong.

A symbolic move in the renewal is that the store drastically reduced the size of the reception desk set up just inside the entrance.

A large desk used to take up much of the space at the entrance, and Otsuka said it now feels such a piece of furniture may have even intimidated customers by making them feel they had to go through some formal procedure before being allowed to step inside the store and browse. Now, the reception desk has been replaced with a regular office-size desk, which is more discreet.

Otsuka Kagu also said before it was redesigned, the first floor used to feature white walls and pillars. However, during the period of refurbishment it added a wood grain-effect appearance to the pillars in a bid to project a more casual atmosphere.

Otsuka Kagu recently found itself in the spotlight as the company's founder and former chairman, Katsuhisa Otsuka, who is Kumiko Otsuka's father, tried to take over the presidency through a proxy fight after the two differed on ways to resuscitate the struggling firm.

The two faced off at the annual shareholders' meeting in March and the daughter ended up winning the most votes.

Katsuhisa Otsuka criticized her for shifting the focus to lower-priced products and asserted the importance of targeting wealthy people and having interior design consultants accompany customers at its stores. She wants to make Otsuka stores more inviting to casual shoppers so they can easily stop by without feeling intimidated by sales staff.