Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens, one of the largest shopping centers in Western Japan (14-2 Takamatsu-cho, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture), underwent its largest renovation since its opening in March. Eighty stores, or approximately 30% of the 256 stores, will be reopening, with 10 of these stores opening for the first time in the Kansai region.
In addition to catering to the facility's core target audience of "sensible women who value their individuality while incorporating trends into fashion and lifestyle," this renovation will also introduce a lifestyle-focused select shop offering men's products and household goods to cater to all ages and genders. Additionally, the sound quality of the event stage will be improved, some of the benches and sofas will be replaced, and the rooftop garden will be decorated with new roses and hydrangeas, creating a more comfortable space.
The concepts for each floor have also been clarified. The first floor, themed "Yamanote lifestyle that values everyday life," will feature the basic fashion store "Dessin UNTITLED" and the soup specialty store "Soup Stock Tokyo." The second floor, "a stylish, urban, and sophisticated fashion floor," will see the biggest renovations this year, with the opening of Point's new brands, SQUOVAL and IENA SLOBE/417 byEDIFICE, offering a wide selection of women's and men's fashion and lifestyle goods. The third floor, "a floor catering to the diverse lifestyle needs of discerning people living in the Hanshin area," will see the opening of casual brands such as AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS/aerie. Openings are scheduled to begin March 7th.
Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens opened in November 2008. It was the first shopping center outside the Tokyo metropolitan area to receive the Japan Shopping Center Gold Award. It has seen four consecutive years of growth in both visitor numbers and sales, achieving 19.4 million visitors and 73.6 billion yen in sales in fiscal 2012. After the renovation, the museum expects to attract approximately 20 million visitors and generate sales of approximately 75 billion yen in fiscal 2014.
