2020/1/27

The last lecture of the endowed lecture series “Topics Study I-2” (total of 14 lectures) by Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co., Ltd. was held on Thursday, January 16th. The students divided into two groups and each gave an approximately 20-minute presentation to five guests including Mr. Kimihiko Kitagawa, Daimaru Kyoto’s store manager, and Mr. Tatsuji Yoshikawa, Daimaru Matsuzakaya’s director of the real estate division. The groups presented on the same topic of “Daimaru Kyoto, the store that evolves together with local communities”.

The lecture series began on Thursday, September 26th. Students learned firsthand about Daimaru’s marketing strategies, corporate history, and its real estate business that strives to upgrade the city’s public image. They also visited the Kyoto store twice, and surveyed each floor and store tenant. Their presentations tackled the issues of “developing motives for young people to visit freely” and “creating an atmosphere that highlights the charms of the community” by suggesting the utilization of Instagram, improved features on the Daimaru Matsuzakaya app, and the organization of events outside the store. There was one idea that possibly meets the standards of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to which one guest commented, “We’d like to get on it as soon as possible. Your idea makes good business sense.”

To his students who engaged in this highly productive three-month activity, Professor Shun’ichi Nozaki of the Faculty of Global Engagement’s Department of Global Tourism said, “In order to achieve success in the real world, it’s important to go back and forth between theory and reality. Don’t forget that.”

【Related information】
Endowed lecture series by Daimaru Matsuzakaya: department stores as the center of urban planning

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