Marimekko opens revamped Tokyo flagship

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 4, 2018

Marimekko has opened its revamped flagship in Tokyo in a standalone building in the popular Omotesando district, with the location being one of the most important Marimekko stores globally.

At the end of this month, one new store will also be opened in Japan, after which there will be 14 in Greater Tokyo. There are currently 37 Marimekko stores, including an online shop, in Japan.

The revamped flagship was designed by Marimekko’s shop design team, based on the store concept created for the brand by the international Pentagram design agency. After Stockholm, the Tokyo store is the second flagship store outside Finland that is based on the new concept.

“The revamped flagship store now opening in Tokyo enables us to expand and deepen the strong awareness and loyal fan base we already have in Japan,” said Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko, President and CEO of Marimekko. “Tokyo is one of the leading centres of fashion and design, and therefore the flagship as the embodiment of our brand plays a significant role in our growth strategy for the Asia-Pacific.

“We believe that our home-inspired store concept reflecting genuine, sustainable and cheerful values will offer an even more fascinating holistic customer experience to both existing and new friends of Marimekko. 

“Emotional and experiential stores alongside the availability provided by e-commerce are important factors in building strong brands. Consumers’ loyalty is increasingly based on the values a brand represents. In the fashion and design sector, genuineness, sustainability and timelessness are gaining prominence as consumers’ decision-making criteria in addition to personal self-expression. At Marimekko, we see these trends in consumer behaviour as a natural opportunity to stand out."

The company also said that partner-led retail in Asia is among the key drivers of Marimekko’s growth and as the second-biggest single market for the brand after Finland, Japan is clearly the most significant country in the Asia-Pacific region for it at the moment. 

Its products have been sold in Japan since the early 1970s and, for the past 10-plus years, it has been systematically building a foothold for the brand together with Look Inc, which is in charge of the distribution and retail of the products.