Master Lease of Commercial Facilities in Yanmar Head Office Building (Umeda, Osaka)UNIQLO to Open Japan’s Third Global Flagship Store

Sumitomo Corporation (head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; president: Kuniharu Nakamura) will be master leasing the commercial facility portion (four above-ground floors, two below-ground floors; total floor area: approx. 1,800 tsubo) of the Yanmar Head Office Building (12 above-ground floors, two below-ground floors; total floor area: 6,350 tsubo), currently under construction in Chayamachi, Kita-ku, Osaka, from the building’s owner Seirei Kosan Co., Ltd. (head office: Kita-ku, Osaka; representative: Takehito Yamaoka), and then subleasing to tenants and managing these facilities. UNIQLO CO., LTD. (head office: Yamaguchi-shi, Yamaguchi Prefecture; chairman, president and CEO: Tadashi Yanai; hereinafter, “UNIQLO”) has recently decided to open its stores in these commercial facilities.

“UNIQLO OSAKA”, UNIQLO’s third global flagship store in Japan following those in Ginza and Shinsaibashi, will occupy the first through fourth floors above ground (area: approx. 1,400 tsubo), while “GU”, a UNIQLO Group brand, will open a store on the first and second basement floors (area: approx. 400 tsubo).
“UNIQLO OSAKA” will create a vibrant sales environment featuring a lineup of products from all categories—men’s, women’s, kids’, and babies’ clothing as well as UT (UNIQLO’s T-shirt brand)—and will represent the “latest, most seasonal, and best” UNIQLO as a new landmark for Osaka, and even for Asia.
Construction of the Yanmar Head Office Building is scheduled to be completed at the end of September 2014, and the stores to be opened in autumn 2014.
 
Sumitomo Corporation’s commercial facility business includes 1) large-scaled regional shopping centers such as Terrace Mall Shonan, 2) station-front commercial facilities primarily targeting local residents, and 3) urban commercial facilities such as the property introduced here. Sumitomo Corporation will pursue further projects focusing on these three market segments.
 
Among these, Sumitomo Corporation’s urban commercial facility projects are integrated management projects with business partners such as the Ginza 6-chome District 10 Category 1 Urban Redevelopment Project, and projects like the one described in this press release, in which Sumitomo Corporation obtains master leases to offer long-term rent assurances to owners and provide operational management of commercial spaces. Thus, Sumitomo Corporation will tailor its functions and services according to the property’s characteristics and needs.

Image of completed Yanmar head office building