Elderly Japanese becoming trendy shoppers 日本銀髮族變身時髦消費者

As Japan's population gets older, Tokyo's department stores are finding ways to make these customers happy.

In the past, older people were not so concerned with fashion or were very traditional, buying common clothes.

But that's no longer true, as retired men and women alike buy fashionable clothes to spice up their "second lives."

So Takashimaya, one of Japan's biggest department store chains, has opened a 14-floor branch for the "stylish elderly."

And it picked one of Tokyo's liveliest areas, the Shinjuku district of skyscrapers and round-the-clock nightlife.

The store has lots of seating for tired shoppers. While women are a major target for the stores, they want to sell products to men too.

The men's area has cozy wooden furniture to sit on and a cigar bar, along with some 1950s-style hats and long umbrellas.

Younger customers are still welcome, but goods aimed at them are located on the upper floors.

(Jason Cox, Staff writer with AFP)

隨著日本人口結構高齡化，東京各家百貨公司都想盡辦法來取悅這些顧客。

以前銀髮族不太注重時尚，或是相當保守，只選購普通服飾。

不過現在情況不同了，退休男女會買流行服飾來為「第二人生」增添趣味。

所以，日本最大的連鎖百貨之一高島屋，已經為這些「時髦銀髮族」開了家十四層樓高的分店。

高島屋選定了東京最熱鬧的地區之一，摩天大樓林立、不夜城的「新宿」。

這家百貨公司設置眾多的座椅給疲累的顧客。女性雖然是主要的消費群，但他們也想抓住男性顧客的心。

男裝區備有舒適的木製家具座椅與雪茄吧台，還有風行於一九五○年代的帽飾及長柄雨傘。

年輕的顧客同樣受到歡迎，但主攻他們的商品都位於較高樓層。

（翻譯︰賴美君）