Tokyo's busy Ginza shopping district will see the grand openings on Thursday of the Muji Ginza store and the Muji Hotel Ginza, both run by Ryohin Keikaku Co.
With the aim of attracting 2.3 million visitors a year, Muji brand, which is also popular outside the nation, is expected to create a new flow of people in the district.
The store, selling an array of items for everyday life, and the hotel are located in a multistory commercial complex built by The Yomiuri Shimbun in Ginza 3-chome, Chuo Ward. The shop and hotel were shown to the press on Tuesday before their openings.
The Muji Ginza store, on the ground to sixth floors of the building, is described as the lifestyle brand's global flagship. The shop will sell 100 kinds of fruits and vegetables, some of them organic, in addition to daily necessities. It will also include a juice stand and a bakery, and there are plans for a service to deliver bento lunches to offices near the shop.
There is a profusion of daily goods stores around the Ginza district, which many foreign tourists visit, and Muji Ginza appears set to heat up the competition. In Ginza, Tokyu Hands Inc. runs its store in a mall called Marronnier Gate Ginza1, while major furniture manufacturer Nitori Co., does the same at nearby Marronnier Gate Ginza2. Also nearby are an ABC-Mart shoe store and a Gap flagship store. Ryohin Keikaku's rival, The Loft Co. is greatly expanding the sales area of its Ginza Loft store, which will open fully on April 26.
Customers will have ever wider shopping options. Loft President Koki Ando said: "The joy of shopping is complete in this area. The number of customers would increase [following the opening of Muji Ginza]."
Muji Hotel, on the sixth to 10th floors of the building, will be Ryohin Keikaku's first hotel in Japan and only its third ever, after its hotels in Shenzhen and Beijing. The hotel in Tokyo has 79 guest rooms of nine types, including rooms with bunk beds. The room charges are from 14,900 yen to 55,900 yen per night. The hotel will use Muji products as room amenities to inspire customers to buy them.
A Muji Diner will open in the first basement. It will operate from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving fresh seafood arriving directly from a fishing port each morning.President promotes Muji world
President promotes Muji world
Ryohin Keikaku Co. President Satoru Matsuzaki, speaking to The Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday ahead of the openings on April 4 of the company's new global flagship store Muji Ginza and Muji Hotel Ginza, is keen to show the world what Muji is all about.
"We'd like to provide customers with a space where they can appreciate a Muji world experience," Matsuzaki said of the hotel-store complex.
The president wants non-Japanese visitors to get to know what is good about the Muji brand and to purchase Muji products after returning home.
"Many people from overseas come to Ginza. I hope that [foreign tourists coming to Japan] will shop at Muji stores in their home countries after leaving Japan," he said.
Matsuzaki also said the company will hold about 300 events annually to attract Muji fans at home so that they will visit Muji shops more often.
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