The golden shovels are turning sod in Harajuku today as Japan’s No. 2 carrier plans to open a Flagship store (like Vodafone Shibuya) in March 2005. Dubbed a Communication Institution for the purpose of helping visitors “understand our company, services, and products”.” Sounds like a mega-store to us! Designed by a twenty-something with Tokyo youth culture in mind, it looks like KDDI is pushing hard to market share.

The five floors will provide communication, marketing and collaboration offerings:

Communication
The function as a place to understand our company is offered by explaining various services of KDDI, goods, and technology intelligibly for a visitor.

Marketing
The evaluation and the needs from a visitor are grasped and the function as a place I am allowed to utilize for future service and development of goods is offered.

Collaboration
Cooperation with a university besides a private enterprise and a research organization is aimed at, and the cooperation and the function as a place of collaboration which produce new contents and a business model are offered.

Company Press Release in Japanese.

Related posts:

1. New LISMO Music Store App by KDDI
2. Sharp Opens Smartphone E-Book Store
3. SoftBank Mobile – New Flagship Store
4. Chaku-Uta Breaks 10 Mn Downloads
5. KDDI Announces Mobile FeliCa

Some sage advise when entering new turf; Stop, Look and Listen.. it’s also good to secure a local guide. Japan is the cradle of mobile civilization – we have been dedicated to this space since 2001 – trust our archives here offer some useful material.

Domestic activities continue to set the pace, and sharp players are looking at global markets. We have hard-earned industry expertise and trusted network of contacts with access to advanced intell. and potential deal flow. Need a lift.. Ok, buckle-up!