Mitsukoshi

Mitsukoshi, Ltd. (株式会社三越, Kabushiki-gaisha Mitsukoshi) is an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, which also owns the Isetan department store chain.

History

It was founded in 1673 with the yagō (shop name) Echigoya (越後屋), selling kimonos. Ten years later in 1683, Echigoya took a new approach to marketing. Instead of selling by going door-to-door, they set up a store where buyers could purchase goods on the spot with cash. Mitsukoshimae Station on the Tokyo Metro is named after the adjacent Mitsukoshi department store.

Mitsukoshi is the root of Mitsui group. In the 1970s, Mitsukoshi bought the Oriental Nakamura department store in Nagoya and re-branded them as Mitsukoshi Nagoya.

Genichiro Inokuma designed the wrapping paper in white and red.

In August 2007, it was announced that Mitsukoshi would merge into Isetan, a major department store in Japan. Mitsukoshi TYO: 2779 was unlisted on March 26, 2008, and on April 1, it merged with Isetan under a joint holding company called Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. (TYO: 3099).