Japanese retailer Isetan Mitsukoshi Group is returning to France with plans for a new Mitsukoshi Paris store at the Japanese Culture House in Quai Branly, near the Eiffel Tower.

A feature of the store will be an event area to showcase the work of Japanese designers and craftsmen. Covering 100 sqm, the store will serve as a test for possible larger stores in Europe.

While the Isetan department store traditionally features the group’s fashion range, the Mitsukoshi retail brand draws on Japanese tradition and expertise, one of the group’s main growth vectors over the past few seasons. Its products are designed and made in Japan, allowing the group to qualify for a wide-ranging Japan promotional campaign supported by the Japanese government.

For its fiscal year ended March 2015, the Isetan group had about JPY1.2 trillion (US$10.64 billion) in department store sales. In Japan alone, the stores were visited by more than 200 million customers in a year.

*Photo: Ginza Mitsukoshi