UNIQLO will open its largest store in Saitama Prefecture, the UNIQLO AEON Laketown Kaze Store (AEON Laketown Kaze 1F, 4-2-2 Laketown, Koshigaya City, Saitama Prefecture), tomorrow, September 13. We had a quick look inside the store at a media preview held prior to the opening.
The new store is a relocation of the UNIQLO AEON Lake Town mori store, which was originally located in AEON Lake Town, to the “kaze” area, and the sales floor space has been increased to approximately 750 tsubo, 100 tsubo larger than before. In addition to a full lineup of women’s, men’s, children’s, and baby products, the store will also sell women’s items from the functional and design-oriented “UNIQLO:C” brand, Fast Retailing group brand “Comptoir des Cotonniers” and “Princess Tam Tam.
AEON Lake Town, said to be the largest shopping mall in Japan, consists of three areas: “kaze” closest to Koshigaya Lake Town Station on the JR Musashino Line, and “mori” and “Lake Town OUTLET” at the back, which are easily accessible by car for families.
With the relocation, UNIQLO can now be reached in about five minutes on foot from the main entrance to Kaze, located just outside the station ticket gates. The new location will make it easier for not only families, but also local students and young adults who use the station to shop,” said the company.
In addition to the excellent location, the store is characterized by its display and layout that make the most of its spacious interior: looking from the front of the store facing the “Plaza of Time” on the first floor of kaze, men’s wear is on the right, women’s wear on the left, and kids’ and babies’ wear in the back. The high ceilings and wide aisles give the impression of being less cramped and oppressive (as is often the case in urban stores).
In the center are the “HEATTECH” thermal innerwear and the “UNIQLO:C” 2024 Autumn/Winter collection, which was just released on September 6. The store also offers a full range of standard items, including functional outerwear “Pfaff Tech” and “HEATTECH Sweaters” in a variety of colors, business, office casual, UT series, loungewear, underwear, and accessories such as “Round Mini Shoulder Bags”.
The contents of the displays and the “recommended coordinates” of the mannequins also change each week to reflect the season.
The fitting area, which tends to be crowded, is spacious enough to accommodate as many as 18 fitting rooms, as well as a fitting room for kids and benches for resting. In the checkout area, there are 14 self-checkout machines and a manned checkout counter that also serves as a window for store pickup service. The number of cash registers and their layout are also unique to the store’s approximately 750 square meters in size.
The first UNIQLO stores in Saitama Prefecture to introduce “UTme!” and “RE.UNIQLO STUDIO,” two services that allow customers to create their own original T-shirts and tote bags, which are popular local goods available only there. UTme! is a service that produces original T-shirts and tote bags.
The new store collaborates with “Ghaya-chan,” the mascot of Koshigaya City; “Kobaton,” the mascot of Saitama Prefecture; the Koshigaya Alphas, a professional basketball team promoted to the B1 League this season; Hanabusa Design, an artist active in Koshigaya; and Iwako, an interesting eraser manufacturer. Customers can use the store’s tablet to place their own favorite logos and stamps, or they can purchase already completed T-shirts and tote bags to take home as souvenirs. Prices are T-shirts S-XL (1990 yen), tote bags S (1990 yen), and tote bags L (2490 yen). The same price applies to those who create their own.
The store’s showcases also include Iwako’s funny and cute erasers and uniforms signed by Koshigaya Alphas players, as the company aimed for a “connection with the community” and “a store rooted in the community” upon the relocation and expansion and opening.
Also noteworthy is the wall art, which was painted for the opening by Shigeru Hanabusa (Hanabusa Design), a designer living in Koshigaya City. The huge 5-meter wide and 4-meter high painting depicts local symbolic spots and scenery, including the Koshigaya Noh Theatre, the Moto-arakawa River Sakura Bank, the old Nikko Kaido Road Koshigaya-juku, and the “Koshigaya Autumn Festival,” an annual festival at Kuizu Shrine that has been held for over 400 years.
UNIQLO STUDIO corner, also the first in the prefecture, offers a customization service to help customers cherish and continue wearing their beloved clothes. In addition to repairing clothes and bags (from 500 yen) and ordering embroidery of letters and marks (from 700 yen), three designs of “Koshigaya Alphase” can be embroidered as a service exclusive to this store. Depending on the arrangement, you can enjoy a “one-of-a-kind spectator fashion” that no one else will have.
From the first day of the opening, a joint sale will be held with nearby UNIQLO-sponsored stores. A four-day limited commemorative campaign will also be held. An outline of the campaign is as follows
© Source travel watch
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