Japan Economic Newswire

 

September 17, 2000, Sunday

 

LENGTH: 166 words

 

HEADLINE: Sogo's Tama store closes, 2.2 bil. yen earned in final sale

 

DATELINE: TOKYO, Sept. 18 Kyodo

 

BODY:

 

Failed department store operator Sogo Co.'s Tama store in western Tokyo closed its doors for the last time Sunday after 11 years in business.

Some 657,000 bargain hunters flocked to the store during its 25-day closing sale, including 20,000 Sunday, spending 2.27 billion yen, Sogo officials said.

The store, which opened in October 1989, temporarily closed July 13 after the Sogo group filed for protection from creditors with the Tokyo District Court with 1.87 trillion yen in debt.

It then reopened for a closing sale held in two sessions -- from Aug. 19 to Sept. 3 and then Sept. 9 to Sunday. The opening day of the sale attracted a store record of 72,000 people, the officials said.

The store, with seven stories above and two below ground level, was saddled with more than 55.8 billion yen in debt.

The giant Osaka-based retailer decided to close the store as well as ones in central Tokyo, Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture and Nagano, as part of its rehabilitation plan. 

 

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

 

LOAD-DATE: September 18, 2000