RETAILING: Sincerity for Sale

Tokyo’s big Mitsukoshi department store was acting out part of its heritage last week. Founded three centuries ago as a kimono shop, Mitsukoshi was aswirl in its annual kimono sale—unquestionably the largest, silkiest, costliest and most colorful event of its kind anywhere. Thousands of kimonos were spread over an acre of selling space at prices averaging $350* and ranging up to $10,700. With a small army of 300 kimono-clad saleswomen amid the racks, Mitsukoshi officials expect to sell $2.1 million worth of the traditional Japanese garments before the sale ends Sept. 19.

But it has taken more than kimonos to make Mitsukoshi Japan’s largest department store—and certainly one of the busiest single stores in the world. Sales last year reached $492 million (v. about $160 million for Macy’s Herald Square store in Manhattan), equal to a third of the 14-store Mitsukoshi chain’s revenues of $ 1.4 billion. Mitsukoshi outstrips even New York’s Bloomingdale’s (TIME cover, Dec. 1) and Paris’ Printemps for eclecticism—a lure that on a typical weekend will draw a quarter of a million people through the main store’s selling aisles.

“Customers want to mix the pleasures of shopping, dining and admiring culture all at the same time,” says Mitsukoshi President Shigeru Okada—and the store affords ample opportunity for all these. On its seven floors, with their tightly packed 16.5 acres of selling space, Mitsukoshi offers half a million kinds of merchandise. They include Bohemian crystal, Rolls-Royces with $60,000 price tags and homelier items like American jeans and portions of grilled eel.

Shoppers also have at their disposal 32 restaurants, two movie theaters and a rooftop playground where they can deposit their children. On the fourth floor, Mitsukoshi sells life insurance and $600 package funerals that come complete with a graveside service conducted by a Buddhist monk.

Sales frequently are tied to events of world or national importance. The U.S. Bicentennial was no exception. On its main floor not long ago, Mitsukoshi displayed one of Martha Washington’s evening dresses and a gown worn by Mary Lincoln—both borrowed from a private American collection. Another bit of Americana: the upright piano that Teddy Roosevelt played while he was President. Mitsukoshi’s shelves were stocked with $3.3 million in U.S.-made goods. Among the scores of items: McDonald’s hamburgers, Ben Hogan golf clubs, a $566,000 emerald ring from Tiffany.

Imperial Family. “Our customers range from princesses to office ladies,” says Okada. The store is a purveyor to the imperial family, outfitting Emperor Hirohito with suits and shirts. Competitors often snicker at Mitsukoshi’s “imperial connection,” charging that it makes the store snobbish and elitist. But Okada points out that half the store’s business comes from affluent Japanese in their 20s and 30s who are attracted by Mitsukoshi’s talent for combining modernity and tradition.

In no other store, for instance, can a Japanese shopper amble through Cartier and Tiffany salons and, at almost every turn, receive a gracious bow from clerks. Mitsukoshi’s 4,500 employees are specifically taught to show respect for customers “by lowering the position of the bottom,” as one executive puts it, and to exude sincerity. That is a company policy that staffers find hard to forget. A 33-ft. statue towers over the street-level selling floor. Its name: The Goddess of Sincerity.

* Genuine kimonos are expensive and are not to be confused with kimono-like cotton garments called yukata, which sell for as little as $20.