Japan’s Tsutaya Books opens first China outlet

Famed Japanese franchise Tsutaya Bookstore said at the ongoing Shanghai Book Fair that its first branch in the city is scheduled to open in December.

The bookstore chain has joined hands with major Chinese property developer Vanke to build an artistic outlet in the Changning District of Shanghai, which will be on a par with its famous branch in the Ginza Six shopping center and its flagship store in Daikanyama in Tokyo.

Takuya Nomura, general manager of Tsutaya Investment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., said Tsutaya’s new store will be located in the Columbia Circle, a redeveloped culture park with preserved, old mansion-compound and industrial buildings, widely known for the Columbia Country Club in the 1920s.

The new two-story bookstore will cover an area of 2,000 square meters and provide a large collection of selected books and limited commodities, as well as rich experiential activities, according to Tsutaya.

The book retailer, an affiliate of the Tokyo-based culture and entertainment service group Culture Convenience Club Co., ran about 1,198 outlets around the world.

The new Shanghai outlet is aimed at providing Chinese readers with more lifestyle choices and enhancing the public’s perception of beauty, said Shohei Matsuo, producer of the new store, who also noted that more clerks will be recruited in China.