The Decline of Department Stores, Once Fashion Trendsetters

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A massive redevelopment reshaping Tokyo's Shibuya district, often described as a "once-in-a-century transformation," is well underway, and department stores in the area are disappearing one by one.

After the closures of Tokyu Department Store's Toyoko store, located directly at Shibuya Station, and its main store a short walk away, Seibu Shibuya will also shut its doors at the end of September this year, ending a 58-year run. Once a hub of youth culture, Seibu Shibuya ultimately could not keep pace with changing consumer habits.

A Fashion Landmark of Its Era

Seibu Shibuya opened in 1968, just steps from the famous scramble crossing, as the flagship of the former Seibu/Saison Group under the late Seiji Tsutsumi, the son of Seibu Railway's founder.

Its signature approach—hand-picking products from little-known young designers based on buyers' instincts—helped launch global names like Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake, and Yohji Yamamoto. The store became a landmark that defined an era in Japanese fashion through the 1970s and 1980s.

*Issey Miyake on June 22, 2005. (©Sankei/Shiro Onishi)*

The closures affect Building A, home to women's clothing and cosmetics, and Building B, which carries men's fashion. The Loft building and the Muji-occupied Movida building are expected to remain open, though the "Seibu Shibuya" name will be retired.

Redevelopment around Shibuya Station entered its final phase last May, when construction began on Phase II of Shibuya Scramble Square—the central and west buildings—with full completion targeted for fiscal year 2034.

Tokyu Department Store had also met a similar fate. Once as much a part of Shibuya's identity as Seibu, its Toyoko store closed in March 2020, followed by the main store in January 2023. The former main store site is now set to become a large mixed-use complex with retail, a hotel, and rental housing, in a building with 36 above-ground floors and four underground levels.

*The second floor of Starbucks overlooking Shibuya's famous scramble crossing.*

Changing Consumer Habits

The immediate trigger for Seibu Shibuya's closure was a breakdown in lease negotiations with the land and building owners over redevelopment plans. But the store's troubles ran deeper: profitability had been sliding for years under pressure from competing venues nearby, and it had been operating at a loss since fiscal 2016.

As one insider put it, "A gap had emerged between what customers were looking for and what department stores were offering."

Seibu Shibuya is far from alone in this struggle. According to the Japan Department Stores Association, nationwide department store sales in 2025 totaled ¥5.6754 trillion (around $36.2 billion)—roughly 60% of their 1991 peak. "If a department store is unprofitable, it will be closed immediately," one major department store executive said bluntly, capturing the reality the industry now faces.

At the heart of this decline is a shift in how people shop. Younger consumers are turning away from department stores stocked with luxury brands, gravitating instead toward more affordable options like fast fashion. Meanwhile, online shopping and on-demand sharing services—readily available on smartphones—have become a fixture of everyday life.

Takafumi Fujita, chief researcher at the Meiji Yasuda Research Institute, sees a deeper cultural shift at play. "Department stores once had value as places to gather information or enjoy a touch of luxury, but that sense of exclusivity has faded," he says.

In Shibuya specifically, where redevelopment is increasingly geared toward younger consumers, he warns that "the people who used to come to Shibuya may start to stay away."

Seeking a New Direction

Efforts to reimagine the area extend beyond the big stores. Along Shibuya Koen-Dori—the street running from Shibuya Station toward Yoyogi Park—new urban development plans are taking shape, with design competitions aimed at creating a greener, more walkable cityscape.

"If nothing is done, the city will be left behind and decline," said Megumu Kawahara, chair of the Shibuya Park Street Shopping District Promotion Association, reflecting on the district's future.

Not everyone is retreating from the department store model, however. Starting June 11, Tokyu Department Store will rebrand ShinQs—the roughly 230-shop retail floor inside Shibuya Hikarie—as "ShinQs by TOKYU DEPARTMENT STORE," reviving its department store identity. Store manager Aiko Fujita expressed hope that the change would "enhance trust and presence within the city."

(Read the article in Japanese.)

Author: Suguru Kojima, The Sankei Shimbun

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