This morning (Friday August 18) sees Bandai Namco Amusement Europe throwing open the doors of its first specially branded retail store outside of Japan.
The outlet, in the heart of London’s Camden, will be selling collectables, toys, figures, cards and more focusing on Japanese culture.
It is, the announcement noted, “made up of a collection of shops where customers can ‘see’, ‘touch’ and ‘experience’ characters, products, events and feel part of an experience to make people smile whilst celebrating community and entertainment.”
“Camden, London, is widely recognised as offering an eclectic mix of cultural products and art,” said John McKenzie MD of Bandai Namco Amusement Europe. “It is the perfect location to launch our Bandai Namco Cross Store concept in the UK which combines our expertise in locations-basedentertainment with a rapidly growing demand for IP and concepts originating from our group’s Japanese culture.”
The store previewed its wares, which include plenty of product from its sister toy company (insiders told TnP it was almost certainly the biggest supplier of product to the new store), as well as some of its thinking at a pair of special events on Wednesday – one for families and one for press. The store is broken down into sections in retail terms, selling trading cards, collectables and more, with a gaming area for trading card fans to play (tutorials will be given and it will cater for both beginners and experts), as well as a café for snacks and drinks and an arcade.
“Camden, London, is widely recognised as offering an eclectic mix of cultural products and art”
John McKenzie MD of Bandai Namco Amusement Europe
In an exclusive interview with TnP at the event, Bandai Namco Amusement Europe’s operations director Rob Cook said: “The offer is driven by our parent in Japan, where they’ve opend six of these stores, this is the first one outside of Japan. It’s a great honour to be delivering this.”
The thinking behind the store is simple, he said, and is down to “the demand for product and the IP”, driven by such brands as One Piece.
Business development manager Aimee-Louise House said the store – some 12 months in the planning – was very much about delivering an experience for customers as well as selling product. And both confirmed that Bandai would be eyeing more stores in the UK in the coming months.
For an exclusive look at the new store and more on its development and aims, see the September issue of TnP.
