Tiffany Opens Concept Store in Tokyo’s Center of Youth Culture
Tiffany Gets Catty: Tiffany & Co. opened a new concept store in Tokyo Friday, the first of its kind in Japan. Unlike the upscale locales of many of its other stores, this one is located between the youth centers of Shibuya and Harajuku, on what is known as Cat Street. A pedestrian thoroughfare that is a popular shopping destination, the street is mainly home to outdoor and athletic brand stores, used clothing shops and stores dedicated to lower-priced diffusion lines of luxury brands.
The Tiffany store occupies an entire building with 5,059 square feet of floor space spread across six split levels. Its design and displays show whimsy and creativity, all while relying on only two colors: white and Tiffany blue.
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Just inside the entrance is a vending machine selling perfumes, the lower level has two instant customization corners where customers can get their own drawings or messages engraved onto jewelry and immediately take it home, and there is a permanent Tokyo-themed photo booth. The top level has Japan’s first Tiffany café, a casual eatery based on a retro American diner, complete with vinyl booth seating and hot dogs on the menu. A spokesman for the brand said that while the company is not targeting a specific customer group, it expects the store to attract many younger visitors, not least because of its location and fun, open atmosphere.
“At most jewelry stores the staff are behind a counter, which can feel quite intimidating for customers,” the spokesman said. “But this store is designed so that staff can mingle with the customers and help them in a more open, inviting way.”
To celebrate the opening of the store, which will be in the location for three years, Tiffany has released a series of exclusive pendants. Engraved with the location’s unique logo, which combines a cat head with an at symbol, the pendants will not be available anywhere else in the world.
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