Seibu Shibuya, a 'cradle of fashion,' to close after 58 years

[Financial News | Tokyo—Correspondent Hye-jin Seo] Seibu Shibuya department store, which helped make Tokyo's Shibuya a "district of youth," is closing its doors after 58 years. The department store, which discovered Japanese fashion brands such as Comme des Garçons and Issey Miyake and integrated art and culture into shopping, could not withstand poor performance and the burden of rent.
According to The Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun on the 30th, Seibu Shibuya will end its department store operations that day. A Building, which carries cosmetics and women's clothing; B Building, which sells men's clothing and interior goods; and the Parking Building will all close. Some facilities, including the company-owned Loft Building and Movida Building, are expected to remain.
Opened in 1968, Seibu Shibuya challenged Tokyu Group's home turf in Shibuya. Seiji Tsutsumi, founder of the former Sezon Group, pursued a strategy of differentiation that went beyond selling products to provide culture and experiences.
While actively bringing in overseas brands such as Hermès and Yves Saint Laurent, the store also introduced products by Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo, who were not yet widely known. Capsule, a curated store that displayed emerging designers' products in transparent, capsule-shaped showcases, helped drive Japan's designer-brand boom in the 1980s.
Sezon Group opened Shibuya PARCO, which featured a theater, in 1973 and the lifestyle-goods store Loft in 1987. As "Sezon culture," which combined retail with performances and art, spread, Shibuya became a gathering place for young people seeking new trends. Tokyu Group responded by launching SHIBUYA109 and the performance venue Bunkamura, among others. The rivalry between the two sides' store openings became known as the "Shibuya War."
However, Seibu Shibuya also struggled after Sezon Group broke up amid worsening finances following the collapse of Japan's bubble economy. Sales in 2022 stood at just 80% of their level a decade earlier, while losses continued from 2016 amid the burden of rent.
Seiichi Mizuno, former president of Seibu Department Store who had served as manager of the Shibuya store since 1984, told The Asahi Shimbun, "Tsutsumi believed that anything selling well at a neighboring store should not be stocked in our own store." He added, "It is regrettable that the spirit of differentiation and challenge disappeared, turning it into an ordinary department store."
The culture Seibu left behind is being carried on by PARCO. Shibuya PARCO, now under J. Front Retailing, showcases luxury goods alongside anime and games and operates more than 200 pop-up stores each year to attract customers.
Kanta Oikawa, manager of Shibuya PARCO, said, "Seibu had already been finding undiscovered value and bringing it to the world since the 1970s." He added, "The approach of offering new value, including the meaning and background of products, continues today through Sezon culture."

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