How Japan is pioneering innovative and immersive shopping experiences

“The focus is on the fashion industry and especially its retail concepts in Japan. Japan is a very special market that the whole world is looking at in terms of trends. We will take the participants on an innovative retail safari of best practice examples in Tokyo,” explains Peter Hartmann, Vice President Retail Solutions, co-initiator of 'RetailXperts by Wanzl' and host of the upcoming webinar. He has extensive Japanese expertise thanks to 25 visits and various partnerships with leading brands such as Muji, Shiseido and Okamura. When it comes to retail design, the East Asian island state stands for a unique symbiosis of aesthetic tradition and state-of-the-art future thinking. This innovative force illuminates the webinar using immersive and exceptional concepts from national and international fashion brands. Exclusive special collections are impressively presented, personalised designs are analysed and their position in the overall strategy of the brands is made clear.

Before the participants embark on a journey into the heart of Japanese retail design, Professor Dr. Hans Bjarne Thomsen, Chair of East Asian Art History at the University of Zurich, will give an introductory keynote speech. Peter Hartmann is already looking forward to this: “As an internationally renowned expert and curator of major exhibitions, Professor Thomsen is a proven connoisseur of Japanese culture. It will bring us closer to Japan's historical roots and show their relevance to today’s culture. Because centuries-old traditions still shape the etiquette, everyday life and thus the retail market.”