Sogo & Seibu to Close Shibuya Store in Sept.

Tokyo, March 25 (Jiji Press)–Sogo & Seibu Co. will close its Seibu department store in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward at the end of September, company officials said Wednesday. The closure comes as the company failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension with the rights holder for the land and buildings housing the store over the redevelopment of the site. The Shibuya store opened in 1968 in an area long known as a youth-culture hub. It anchored the company’s department store network, but in recent years it has posted persistent losses. The closure will cover the A building, with the food floor and others, as well as the B building, housing clothing and sundry goods tenants, and a parking hall. The Loft building, which the company owns, and the Movida building, housing a Muji household goods shop, will remain in operation. The move leaves Sogo & Seibu with nine stores nationwide, with the Seibu Ikebukuro store as its sole presence in Tokyo. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]