Workman to open store in Tokyo’s Ginza

Bloomberg

Workman Co, a Japanese retailer specialising in blue-collar work wear, will open a store in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district in April as part of its expansion into women’s fashion, Nikkei reported Tuesday.
Workman, founded in 1979, operates a chain of stores selling protective gear for factory and construction site workers.
Its simple waterproof jackets and thermals gained a following among regular consumers in recent years, particularly at the start of the global pandemic, prompting the company to expand into outdoor fashion as well as women’s wear.
Its growth, however, appears to have slowed in the past year. Its same-store sales grew just 1.1% in the October-December quarter from a year earlier, compared with growth of 12.4% in the same period of 2020 and 25.7% in 2019. The company’s shares have also fallen by more than half from its peak in December 2019.
The company aims to double the number of stores in central Tokyo over the next decade, hoping to attract foreign tourists once the global pandemic is over, the Nikkei reported, citing the company’s executives.