There’s certainly a lot to see and do in Tokyo, and among all of its culture and cuisine are its many flagship stores. These large and stylish shopping facilities that serve as the focal point for a brand in any city or country could be considered landmarks in themselves. Roland has a store in Japan.
And joining their ranks is the legendary guitar maker Fender, which is setting up its first-ever flagship store in Japan this summer. Although from time to time the company has set up stores around the world in the past, none will be quite like this one. For starters, as a flagship store, it looks like it’s going to be huge.
Fender will actually be moving into The Ice Cubes building once occupied by H&M in the ultra-stylish Harajuku area of Tokyo. This store is planned to occupy the basement and first three floors for a total of just over 1,000 square meters of floor space offering an unprecedented array of Fender instruments, equipment, accessories, and other merchandise.
Fender Flagship Tokyo will feature the company’s new apparel brand, F Is For Fender, as well as a full array of its guitars and a soundproof room for musicians to play “loud.”
The 1,068-sq,-meter emporium will open June 30 in the Harajuku-Omotesando district, a trendy Tokyo neighborhood known as a hub of fashion and youth culture.
The store will be a place where “people really get to experience the Fender brand,” Edward Cole, the company’s president for Asia-Pacific, told Nikkei Asia. “Fender, throughout history, has not only shaped musical culture … it’s shaped popular culture.”
Fender, established in southern California in 1946 by engineer Leo Fender, has grown into the world’s top electric guitar maker. Its iconic Stratocaster has been a favorite of rock guitarists ranging from the late Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck to Eric Clapton and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour.