【Shigeo’s Review】
This video depicting the closing of Meitetsu Department Store and the survival strategies of regional department stores realistically conveys the reality and struggles faced by department stores in the Tokai region.
The closure of Meitetsu Hall, which opened in 1957 and has been a center of local culture and entertainment for 70 years, means more than just closing a store. Urban redevelopment, intensifying competition, and the spread of large-scale shopping centers and online shopping have brought into sharp relief the disappearance of department stores that were once symbols of the community.
The decision to close Meitetsu Department Store was a major loss for the region, and the subsequent closure of Gifu Takashima Department Store and other department stores, resulting in the disappearance of five department stores in the Tokai region alone in the past few years, indicates the difficult business environment for regional department stores as a whole.
Behind this is a complex combination of factors, such as business deterioration due to over-investment, a disconnect with customer needs, and problems with the business format. For example, at Tsu Matsubishi Department Store, while increasing the number of business days in fiscal 2004 through reforms, a mismatch with customers occurred as employees’ holidays became more fluid and contact with regular customers decreased.
In response to this problem, the company’s efforts to paradoxically increase the number of days off under the slogan “Japan’s Best Rested Department Store” are noteworthy, as they seek to reduce the mismatch between employees and customers and improve the quality of customer service.
The attitude of employees to communicate with customers through letters informing them of their work schedules is symbolic of the customer-oriented service that can only be provided by regional department stores.
It is also interesting to note that Meitetsu Department Store has been focusing on its external sales business.
The outside sales business, which accounts for about 25% of sales, is a service based on a deep relationship of trust, such as visiting customers’ homes to offer product proposals. The company’s strategy of maintaining ties with customers by opening “M’s Royal Gallery,” a new base specializing in outside sales, and handling traditional crafts and works of art after store closures is a new form of regional department store business that goes one step beyond mere store operations.
This video is not just news of management figures or store closures, but rather conveys the attitude of local department stores on how to respond to the changing times and survive while remaining rooted in the local community.
It is deeply moving to see the efforts of local department stores to survive by building close relationships with customers and offering distinctive services, even under more difficult conditions than in urban areas, such as declining population and intensifying competition. Such flexible and customer-oriented efforts will become increasingly important if regional department stores are to continue contributing to local culture and economies in a sustainable manner.
This video sharply depicts the predicament and challenges faced by regional department stores, and how they are valuing their ties with customers in a new way despite the sad reality of store closures.
It is a thought-provoking look at the significance of department stores in local communities and their future direction, and provides many viewers with hints about the current state and future of local commerce.
