As Stock Prices Rise, Japanese Department Stores Court Big Spenders—VIP Membership Open to 22-Year-Olds

[Financial News, Tokyo—Reporter Seo Hye-jin] Japanese department stores are strengthening gaisho, a private-client sales operation that directly manages wealthy customers. The move aims to attract customers whose assets have grown alongside rising stock prices and reduce reliance on spending by tourists visiting Japan. New approaches include lowering the membership age to the early 20s and having several employees jointly handle a single customer.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 29th, Takashimaya lowered the minimum age for gaisho membership from 27 to 22 this spring. The department store sought to broaden its customer base as the number of young people with substantial assets continues to grow.
Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings is strengthening cooperation between metropolitan-area and regional stores so that luxury-brand jewelry and other goods that are difficult to obtain at regional stores can be offered to regional gaisho customers.
Matsuya Ginza in Tokyo's Ginza district has changed how it manages customers. Previously, one dedicated employee was assigned to each gaisho customer. Since this spring, however, teams of three or four employees with different areas of expertise have been handling each customer. The aim is to find the products customers want more quickly and avoid missing sales opportunities.
At a special event held by Matsuya Ginza on the 11th and 12th for invited gaisho customers, limited-edition brand products, jewelry, and luxury cosmetics were sold. A Matsuya official said, "By overhauling the system, we have become able to respond to customer demand that we previously missed."
The rise in the number of wealthy people is driving department stores to focus more on gaisho sales. According to Nomura Research Institute (NRI), the number of Japanese households with net financial assets of at least ¥100 million (approximately 860 million won) reached 1.65 million in 2023, 1.6 times the figure from 10 years earlier. Because each customer makes substantial purchases, the gaisho division accounts for 20%–30% of total department-store revenue.
Performance is also improving. For the fiscal year ended March 2026, covering April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026, gaisho sales at Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings rose by approximately 10% from the previous fiscal year. Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores posted an increase of about 15%, reaching a record high.
Department stores believe gaisho sales will also help stabilize earnings. Spending by tourists visiting Japan, which has supported sales in recent years, can fluctuate depending on diplomatic issues and exchange rates.
Miyako Kanamori, a senior analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities, predicted, "Gaisho, which enables department stores to sell high-quality, high-priced goods, is a stable source of revenue. The trend of prioritizing wealthy customers will continue."
Gaisho is a sales model in which department stores select customers based on factors such as their annual purchase volume or asset size, assign them dedicated representatives, and recommend and sell products tailored to their needs. The practice is believed to have originated during the Edo period, when textile merchants visited the residences of key customers to sell their goods.


[email protected] Seo Hye-jin Reporter