Apple to open retail store in Japan's Aichi region

Apple Computer has plans to open a retail location in Aichi, Japan, inside the industrial city of Nagoya, according to reports.

The Nagoya location, which first appeared in a confidential company hit-list of over two dozen prospective retail store locations in Japan, is likely to become the country's third Apple retail store, ifoAppleStore is reporting.

The future store, scheduled to open sometime in 2005, is reportedly within close proximity to both the 13-story Takashimaya Department Store and a Japan Railway (JR) train station.

According to Apple research documents, the Aichi region retains a prefecture population of approximately 7,043,000 with 1,430,000 active rail station users. By comparison, Apple's current flagship locations in Tokyo and Osaka feature prefecture populations of 12,064,000 and 8,805,000, respectively, but see significantly less traffic from rail station patrons.

Unlike the Tokyo and Osaka locations, which topped the confidential hit-list and carried the highest of priority, the Nagoya location appears as the eleventh listing and was assigned a second tier priority. According to the document, the store will be an estimated 4,000-square-foot location within a shopping center that provides street access.

Earlier today, word began to spread that Apple will also open three retail stores in the Taiwan region, including a massive flagship store in downtown Taipei.

1 Comment

tokyojoe 1 comment · 20 Years

About 20 years ago

This is a good move. The Aichi region, home to the Toyota Group, has an economy larger than the country of France (with only about a tenth of the population). It's also home to a population notoriously famous for its addiction to name brand goods. Louis Vuitton, the French manufacturer of (expensive) bags, has more than half its global sales in Japan, of which a large part comes from the Aichi prefecture.
From the description, it sounds like the store will be located within minutes (or less) from the JR Nagoya station. Stepping on to a first class car on the Shinkansen Nozomi Super-Express (the world-famous Japanese bullet train's latest reincarnation) with your freshly bought PowerBook G4 sounds just like the image Apple would like to promote in Japan.