Isetan Mitsukoshi To Produce Own Product Lines

Above, the Mitsukoshi department store at Ginza Crossing. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A major Japanese department store will be producing its own product lines. This reminds me of Sears Roebuck of the U.S. with their Kenmore appliances and their other product lines sold only at their stores.

According to The Japan News (Yomiuri Shimbun):

Major department store operator Isetan Mi-tsukoshi Holdings Ltd. plans to produce clothing, shoes and sundries under the so-called SPA model, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. 

SPAs, or specialty store retailers of private label apparel, oversee all stages of the business from design and production to final sales. 

Amid a shrinking domestic market, Isetan Mitsukoshi aims to use the SPA model to shift from the current selection of goods — for which it relies on outside makers — to its own items, according to sources.

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