Hankyu Men's Tokyo lands Universal Works' Japan debut, a rebuilt Levi's flagship and a permanent Cherubim shop
Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores has rebuilt two floors of its Tokyo menswear specialty store around a British workwear label's Japan debut, a redesigned Levi's flagship and a custom bike-maker's move from pop-up to permanent fixture.
Hankyu Men's Tokyo, the Hankyu Hanshin group's dedicated menswear store, opened three new shops across its sixth and seventh floors over the past week, according to operator Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores (H2O Retailing). A redesigned Levi's Premium Store opened on the seventh floor on 21 August; British label Universal Works' first directly run Japan store, on the sixth floor, and custom bicycle maker Cherubim's move from pop-up to a permanent seventh-floor shop both followed on 28 August.
Universal Works, the workwear-and-tailoring label founded in the UK in 2009, is making its full Japan retail debut with the store, its first directly operated location anywhere in the country, and has built in "Universal Works Canteen," the brand's first café, according to the company. Hankyu says the shop will also stock items exclusive to the store.
The rebuilt Levi's Premium Store leans on a warm, wood-heavy interior and keeps the 501 as its centrepiece, pitched under a "tradition and innovation" line; purchases over ¥10,000 come with a floral-scented denim spray as an opening gift, according to the release.
Cherubim, the Tokyo custom-bicycle maker established in 1965, converts from a pop-up run to a permanent seventh-floor shop and adds "Keirin Lab," a fitting and position-analysis space built specifically for keirin racers, according to Hankyu.
Putting a foreign label's Japan debut, a heritage American brand's refresh and a specialist bicycle atelier on the same two floors is a bet on differentiation through product and presentation rather than price — the kind of curated, enthusiast-facing mix a department store can offer that e-commerce and a roadside outlet cannot. A keirin-specific fitting lab in particular only earns its floor space as a permanent tenant if it can convert browsing customers who came in for something else.