Media, Network, Lifestyle Related Goods & Services - Business Overview
Barneys New York Fukuoka Store opens on a street lined with large department stores buildings and shopping malls at the center of the Tenjin area, the city's established shopping district.
Barneys New York has grabbed the hearts of style-savvy men and women by delivering a unique collection of the latest fashions, providing elegant space with exquisite displays and decorations and offering professional customer service provided by sales clerk, which all combine to create the brand's compellingly special, luxurious taste and unrivaled quality. One key aspect of the specialty store's distinguished quality is its sophisticated customer attendance offered by "selling supervisors," Barneys store staff members who have acquired extensive knowledge of style to provide accurate and inspiring advice to customers in helping them select appropriate items to achieve their desired look in combination with other fashion elements.
Barneys New York, Inc. was founded in New York City in 1923. The brand was imported to Japan in 1989 when Barneys Japan Co., Ltd. was established under a license agreement, and the country's first shop opened in Shinjuku in 1990. Sumitomo Corporation acquired shares of Barneys Japan in 2006 jointly with a Japanese fund. Since then, Sumitomo Corporation has proactively implemented measures to expand the business of the specialty store, primarily through its opening of two flagship stores in Kobe (2010) and Fukuoka (2011) in addition to the three existing stores in and around Tokyo, including Yokohama (1993), Ginza(2004) and Shinjuku. Sumitomo Corporation also helped the brand to increase its sales channels, including outlet stores and e-commerce, thereby rolling out the brand nationwide.
A "selling supervisor" makes a proposal on a selection that suits individual customers.
Barneys New York is a large-scale specialty store chain that offers an assortment of the latest styles of multiple high-end fashion labels. The store is similar to upscale department stores with respect to product quality and volume and sales area (around 3,300 square meters). What differentiates Barneys from other retailers such as department stores and concept shops, however, is its carefully selected items, all of which faithfully represent brand value and concept. Every detail related to the brand is designed to create "Barneys Air," a term used to refer to the brand's unique quality, focusing on "Taste, Luxury, Humor," which has helped the specialty store become established as one of the world's top fashion retailers.
An example of the distinguished shop settings designed to accentuate Barneys' premium taste are the special attendants that are deployed at the entrance of the stores to welcome customers. Around two decades ago when the first store opened in Shinjuku, this form of customer attendance attracted a great deal of attention, as it was the first time in the country that such a greeting was made in retail stores. With this and other ingenious efforts made since then, Barneys New York has won over the hearts and minds of a slew of fashion-conscious people all over Japan and produced legions of eager Barneys fans.
