Japanese department stores lure big-spending executives from new TSMC plant

Fine wines and fancy bags among items popular with tech staff working at site

Tsuruya Department Store in the Japanese city of Kumamoto, left, stocks a range of fancy wines, hoping to appeal to the tastes of executives connected to a cutting-edge chip plant that recently opened in the area. (Photos by Ryo Asayama and Arisa Moriyama)

RYO ASAYAMA, Nikkei staff writer

July 7, 2024 18:07 JST

TOKYO -- As chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. ramps up production at its first Japanese plant, nearby department stores are rushing to lure potentially big-spending executives connected to the project by boosting their stocks of fine wines, designer bags and other luxury items.

Tsuruya Department Store in the city of Kumamoto, on the nation's southernmost main island of Kyushu, is one of the retailers hoping to tap demand related to the new TSMC plant in neighboring Kikuyo, which is expected to reach full-production later this year. The store has started a special section displaying fancy wines such as Chateau Latour and Chateau Lafite Rothschild costing up to 200,000 yen ($1,300) a bottle.