Last year, the Chinese sports brand ANTA surpassed Germany’s Adidas to become the world’s second largest sports brand by market capitalization. It was also an official sponsor of the Beijing Olympics held in February this year (Photo: Afro) Department Stores and Shopping Centers Struggling to Attract Tenants First of all, major general apparel companies in Japan, such as Onward Kashiyama, World, TSI Holdings, and Sanyo Shokai, which have mainly opened stores in department stores and fashion buildings, have been in a slump since before the Corona disaster, and have been massively closing unprofitable stores. And the Corona disaster began at the beginning of 2020. The voluntary restraint of business and shortening of business hours due to the Corona disaster, which began in early 2020, has further prompted the closure of unprofitable stores, and many apparel stores have closed not only in department stores but also in fashion buildings and shopping centers. Since maintaining directly-managed stores requires securing labor and other costs, the number of domestic apparel companies that can open new stores is limited to mid-sized to large companies, and there were few domestic apparel companies that could open new stores after these companies left. Fashion buildings and shopping centers, including department stores, were also struggling to fill the void, making it easier for Chinese brands to open new stores. Not only have the hurdles to opening new stores been lowered, but it is highly likely that the department stores have actively lobbied for the opening of new stores.