Omotesando Caddesi’nde Bulunan Flagship Mağaza Tasarımlarının Kent Çalışmaları Bağlamında İncelenmesi

Abstract

Since people started exchanging goods and services for money, they have been going shopping for a multitude of reasons. Shopping activity first started out with khans and bazaars, which were later replaced by shopping malls and street stores. Today, there are store types that people can choose according to their socio-economic status, lifestyles, and many variables. Luxury brands and their stores are also included in this category. There are some marketing strategies that luxury brands in this category employ in order to be successful brand, strengthen their brand image, and keep customer quality at the highest level. In this sense, flagship stores are among the most significant aspects of these strategies. These stores also contribute greatly to the urban scale with their architectural characteristics. Within the scope of this study, the example of Omotesando Street, one of the pioneers of the luxury retail industry was examined. In this study, visual data analysis, which is a type of qualitative research method was used. Omotesando is a street in Tokyo/Japan known for its luxury brand stores. The contribution of luxury store designs – namely flagship stores – to the urban scale were examined along with developments in the Japanese retail sector in the context of Omotesando Street. The study is unique in that it offers a perspective on the contribution of luxury brands’ flagship store designs to the urban scale.