Sogo Chiba has undergone its first renovation in eight years and will hold its grand opening on April 26th.
Under the slogan "Mode Department Store Mode," the entire store will promote "mode" with the intention that "if mode refers to the latest trends, then there is also mode in service, hospitality, sweets and prepared foods." Targeting women in their 30s and 40s, the store will house a collection of high-quality, sophisticated brands, mainly on the fashion floors on the second and third floors. The interior design was done by interior designer Yukio Hashimoto, who also worked on the renovation of the Yokohama store, and the store is finished with wooden louvers that are characteristic of his style.
The store will be the first in Chiba to offer its own independent merchandising and will stock a wide range of brands. On the second floor, the store will feature two new independent merchandising shops: "Limited Edition @ Office," which proposes an office style centered around suits, and "Limited Edition in the Bag +," which sells accessories and miscellaneous goods. The independently curated sales area, "Key To Style," will acquire new brands, including "Muller of Yoshiokubo" and "Helmut Lang." The third floor will feature "Limited Edition Avex Mode," a collection of couples' items targeted at people in their 50s. The independently curated sales area, "Mode Plus," on the third floor, will carry new brands such as "UJOH," "RAW+," and "Bigi Select" (a first in Japan). The accessories zone on the first floor will feature brands such as "Tory Burch" and "PONTE VECCHIO." Additionally, to enhance shopping support, the "Coordination Station," which suggests outfits tailored to specific occasions, will be expanded to two locations. Online try-on reservations will also be available, allowing customers to create personalized, coordinated outfits. The second floor will feature a "Shoe Station" where shoe fitters can provide consultations, while the first floor will offer a "Makeup Station" where cross-brand makeup advice is available. A new tower-shaped digital vision has been installed in the second-floor atrium space "Pal Patio" to display the latest fashion information. As an opening promotion, a talk show will be held on the 26th, the first day of the reopening, featuring WWD Japan editor-in-chief Chika Tsuzuki and the producer of a newly introduced brand, followed by a fashion show by the paper's fashion director Chizuru Mukai on the following day, the 27th, and other events and seminars will be held.
