On Friday 6 September 1991, it was with great pleasure that I had the opportunity to meet with Siro Fukuoka, the Director of External Relations, for the Japan Council of Shopping Centres. He took me on tour of some of the notable department stores and a shopping centre in the Ginza area of Tokyo.
The department stores were the equivalent of a traditional department store as we know it, with each floor concentrating on the complete range of fashion and accessories for menswear, ladieswear, etc.
The shopping centre had been developed in two phases.
The first phase was developed on a corner site and the second phase was developed on the other side of the street and joined by a covered roof-level walkway.
It was a bright modern looking scheme with pleasant rest areas strategically located throughout the centre. Food courts, displayed all the meals in their windows, enticing you to eat in their particular restaurant!
Although each floor had a common walkway, I could not describe it as quite like our traditional shopping malls. It reminded me more of a large department store with tenants on a sub-let basis.
The centres generally in Japan provide community and recreational services, the latter being often located on the rooftops. |
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| The Japan Council of Shopping Centres has classified their centres as fashion and convenience oriented centres. The developers of these centres have been classified as retailer, real estate companies and co-operative developers. I would surmise that these classifications have expanded as Japan has also got numerous centres that revolve around suburban superstores and do-it-yourself home improvement stores, providing a wider range in merchandise and services above and beyond those already offered in the classifications mentioned earlier.
Reflecting back on my business meeting, I feel that success in the Japanese market for Westerners must be based on a solid understanding of Japanese cultural values and on adopting those values when doing business in Japan.
Japanese business depends very much on long-term personal relationships, based on trust and mutual interest. It takes time for the Japanese to get to know you. They like to do business with people they know and indeed are reluctant to do business with strangers.
As a momento of my meeting with the Japan council of Shopping Centre, I presented Siro Fukuoka with a plaque from the Northern Ireland Region of Shopping Centres. I trust it now adorns one of the offices of the Japan Council of Shopping Centres in Tokyo.
THERESA M. MURRAY,
Centre Manager,
Castle Centre, Antrim. |
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