Taking its place among other luxury retail landmarks in Tokyo's Ginza district, the renovated facade of the building housing Cartier's flagship boutique was unveiled Wednesday without extravagant fanfare.
The new exterior, covered with gold-colored louvers, glitters in sunlight during the daytime. Built-in light emitting devices illuminate the facade at night.
The renovation, designed by French architect Sylvain Dubuisson, signals Cartier's determination to boost its presence in Japan's cutthroat high-end jewelry market, said Gavin Haig, president of Richemont Japan Ltd. and chief executive officer of Cartier in Japan.
The Cartier store, which opened in summer 2003, occupies the first and second floors and the first basement level of the nine-story building in Ginza 2-chome with a total floor space of 1,000 sq. meters.
The 160-year-old French brand of luxury jewelry, watches and leather products has another outlet in Ginza 5-chome.
Haig said Cartier's sales in Japan logged "high single-digit growth" in the first half of business 2007 following record sales the previous year, but following company policy he did not disclose precise figures.
Bolstered by its record sales in the Japanese market in 2006, Cartier has been stepping up its assault on its key competitors, which include Tiffany of New York and Bulgari of Italy.
Cartier opened in March a directly operated outlet in Nagoya with 500 sq. meters that became the fifth-largest jewelry boutique in Japan in terms of sales.
In September, it renovated the store in Osaka's Shinsaibashi district.
Acknowledging that the Japanese luxury market, while large in size, has reached saturation with dim prospects for further expansion, Haig said the only way for Cartier to keep growing here is to increase its market share by beating the competition.
