Why an art space in a small department store? Between art and entertainment

Since the remodeling done in 1987, Komatsu Store has had an art space on the first floor facing Ginza-dori. You might wonder why a small department store would have an art space or gallery, particularly in a conspicuous place like the entrance on the first floor, which is the part of the store that customers see first.

It was an idea befitting Komatsu Store, which has a high regard for culture. It was also an endeavor that fit the Komatsu approach of attempting what others do not. We believe being yourself means incorporating good things that you have found and experienced on your own. Being yourself is discovering things yourself based on the things you yourself have experienced. We want our customers to find that sense of their own identity. We have striven to help you attain a lifestyle that makes that possible.

In order to be able to suggest that kind of lifestyle to our customers, we ourselves must also ascribe to the same type of lifestyle. Komatsu Store’s style of doing things is to expose ourselves to culture and cultural experiences on an ongoing basis and introduce our customers to ‘fresh’ things that leave a lasting impression by displaying them in our store and show window. That applies to the atmosphere encompassing the entire space within the store, not just the products on sale. We bring culture to customers on an intuitive level, even if it only involves things that cannot be sold. In order to enable each customer to discover his or her own identity, we consciously operate the store so that the time spent in it will be life-enriching for the customer.

Based on this policy, we situated the art space in the most conspicuous location within the store. The first thing that catches the customer’s eye is not a display of products for sale, but rather things that are not on sale. In fact, that is the most straightforward expression of the essence of Komatsu. Another reason we arranged it this way was so that people in the street outside would be able to understand the essence of Komatsu Store at a glance.

Products are not the only things we provide. We provide cultural experiences to the customers who visit Komatsu Store. That’s our job. And our feelings in this respect are not limited to the art space. Another typical example of this is Amuser, the event space that was on the eighth floor. Komatsu Store values four things: firstly, people, our customers; secondly, things, the products our customers buy; and thirdly, money, since it would be pointless to run a small-scale department store without turning a profit. And the fourth thing we value is culture. These four things make Komatsu Store what it is. We owe our existence to them.

The art space on the first floor and the event space on the eighth floor didn’t produce a profit directly. Nevertheless, the spirit and core principles that led Komatsu Store to place such value on these elements are an important part of the company’s makeup. We will continue to emphasize that spirit and core principles in all our business activities. This is the essence of Komatsu Store, and it plays an important role in our relationship with our customers.