Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Hyundai Department Store opens 1st overseas flagship store in Tokyo
The Hyundai Global flagship store in Tokyo's Omotesando shopping district. Courtesy of Hyundai Department Store
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Hyundai Department Store is set to make a historic entry into Japan's retail landscape this Friday with the opening of its first overseas flagship store in Tokyo’s prestigious Omotesando shopping district.
Operating under The Hyundai Global — the retail conglomerate’s specialized platform dedicated to exporting Korean fashion, beauty and entertainment brands — the launch marks the first time a Korean department store operator has established a large-scale flagship presence within a core Japanese shopping hub.
Spanning approximately 620 square meters, the new venue, branded simply as The Hyundai, will occupy the third floor of the high-profile Tokyu Plaza Omokado shopping complex. The retail space is strategically organized into nine distinct sections, featuring seven permanent brand showcases and two dedicated pop-up spaces. The curated lineup covers fashion, beauty, food and beverage, and licensed entertainment content. To anchor its cultural appeal to regional consumers, the company has tapped K-pop boy group TWS to serve as the official brand ambassador.
This flagship represents a significant scale-up of Hyundai’s overseas retail model, drawing conceptual inspiration from its wildly successful domestic footprint, The Hyundai Seoul. The Omotesando opening follows a calculated, phased market entry by the retailer, building upon a successful initial pop-up venture in Tokyo’s Parco Shibuya in 2024, a subsequent permanent boutique at the same location in 2025 and an e-commerce section on Japanese online fashion platform Nugu.
Among the prominent anchor attractions is Camel Coffee, making its highly anticipated commercial debut in Japan, alongside Withmuu, a popular platform specializing in K-pop, television dramas and character-based licensed merchandise.
The store's highly anticipated rotating pop-up spaces will launch with a fan-meeting-themed event tied to actor Byeon Woo-seok’s ongoing Asia tour, running through July 22. This will be immediately followed by the Japanese pop-up debut of contemporary streetwear label DUG Club, scheduled to run through Aug. 9.
Looking ahead, Hyundai Department Store views the Tokyo flagship as a springboard for broader regional growth. The company announced plans to establish approximately 10 flagship locations across major East Asian retail hubs, including Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, by 2030 as part of its long-term expansion strategy for The Hyundai Global.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.