“Apple Inc. plans to open a store in Tokyo’s upscale Omotesando shopping district as early as March, according to a person familiar with the plans,” Kathleen Chu and Takashi Amano report for Bloomberg News. “Construction is scheduled to be completed by February, the person said, asking not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak for Apple. The store would be Apple’s first opening in Tokyo since August 2005, according to the company’s website, which is advertising jobs for a new store in the city.”
“The land costs about 16 billion yen ($164 million) and a completed store with Apple as tenant would value the property at around 25 billion yen, said Seth Sulkin, a representative director at Tokyo-based real estate and asset manager Pacifica Capital KK. Sulkin was Apple’s real estate adviser for all seven of the company’s previous stores in Japan,” Chu and Amano report. “Earlier this year, the iPhone maker moved its Tokyo headquarters to the Roppongi Hills complex from the Shinjuku neighborhood to take advantage of lower rents..”
Chu and Amano report, “The architect responsible for the building identified on a construction sign at the site is Tokyo-based Jun Mitsui & Associates Inc. Architects… The building housing the new Tokyo store would have three levels, including two underground, and a total floor area of 20,109 square feet (1,868 square meters), according to the construction board posted on the site. The sign didn’t say how much space would be occupied by Apple. The site is near other luxury brand shops including Kering SA’s Gucci and Coach Inc.”
Read more in the full article here.