Japan Dept. Stores Beefing Up Medical, Beauty Services

Tokyo, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)--Japanese department stores are expanding medical and beauty care services to take advantage of an increase in consumers wishing to avoid disease and stay healthy both inside and outside. The stores aim to attract more shoppers through the face-to-face services, which are not possible online. A clinic providing combined dementia prevention and dental care services opened in April in the annex of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd.'s flagship Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi department store in Tokyo's busy Nihonbashi district. Its course aimed at finding Alzheimer's dementia early, with charges starting from 1.65 million yen, is enjoying particular popularity, according to Ryota Marui, manager of the Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi store. "Our customers are highly interested in health and beauty, as seen in cases in which both husband and wife receive the service together and service users bring in others by word of mouth," Marui said. Czen Clinic, launched in February at Sogo & Seibu Co.'s flagship Seibu Ikebukuro store in Tokyo's Ikebukuro commercial district, offers skin care and other aesthetic medical services. The clinic attracts clients including rich out-of-store sales customers, according to a public relations official. "In order to meet the demand, we aim to add tenants providing aesthetic medical services," the official said. Brand power and the favorable locations of department stores are attractive to medical and beauty service providers. A fertility treatment clinic, an osteopathy therapy salon and a high-end barbershop are located in the annex of Takashimaya Co.'s Nihonbashi store. Many of their customers, mainly women over 40 and male office workers, are regular users of their services, an official said. J. Front Retailing Co.'s Daimaru Shinsaibashi store in downtown Osaka, western Japan, expects synergy effects from the adjacent Parco Shinsaibashi shopping building targeting young women, run by subsidiary Parco Co. As many Daimaru shoppers of various generations also visit Parco sales floors specializing in women's health and beauty, "the value of experiences" at the two outlets will be reinforced, a Daimaru official said. END