Marui remakes Shinjuku Marui Annex's ground floor for anime, hobby and "oshi-katsu" retail
Marui reopened Shinjuku Marui Annex's ground floor as an anime, hobby and fan-culture hub on 18 September, with two brand-first stores among the tenants — the latest sign that a flagship Tokyo shopping building is handing more floor space to fan retail than to fashion.
Marui Group reopened the ground floor of Shinjuku Marui Annex on 18 September as a floor built around anime, hobby merchandise and "oshi-katsu" — the fan-support culture of spending on a favourite character, idol or work — the department-store operator said. The renewal includes Kirara&FUZ's first official store and the first store for Otomate, a brand of otome (romance) video games, alongside a renovated Alice on Wednesday shop and an expanded Cinnamoroll Cafe that now takes seat reservations.
Marui said related tenant changes will keep rolling out across the Annex's second through seventh floors into this autumn, with more than 20 shops involved across the building once the renewal is complete. The company frames the project under what it calls its "support what you love" business — 好きを応援するビジネス — positioning fan spending as consumption that benefits the individual and, in its own words, society more broadly.
Marui, historically an apparel-led department-store chain, has increasingly leaned on character, idol and hobby tenants to fill floors once given to fashion — a Presentation and Product bet rather than a clothing one. On one of the busiest corners in front of Shinjuku Station, that mix has to hold two different audiences at once: domestic fans who return for each new merchandise drop, and the inbound tourists increasingly drawn to Tokyo's anime and character-retail circuit. Whether footfall holds up as the rollout moves through the upper floors this autumn, rather than settling for a strong reopening day, is what will decide if the bet pays off.