Magazine B – Issue 37: Tsutaya

Magazine B is an ad-less monthly publication that introduces one well-balanced brand unearthed from around the globe in each issue. between its covers, Magazine B not only shares untold stories behind the brand but also its sentiment and culture that any readers interested in brand marketing and management can leaf through with ease.

In 1983, the first Tsutaya opened its doors in Osaka. Conceived as a lifestyle store by Muneaki Masuda, Tsutaya began as a shop renting and selling books, videos, and music. Since then, it has become an all-encompassing Japanese pop culture platform. In 2011, the company behind the Tsutaya project, CCC, introduced an evolved form of the Tsutaya bookstore in Daikanyama. Based on information from the brand’s “T Point” membership program, the brand continues to suggest a new lifestyle concept, spanning from appliances to smartphones.

CONTENT

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

COMMENTS
Comments and reviews on social media by Tsutaya customers

SKETCH
Rental

Tsutaya stores, contemporary and classic, coexist in Tokyo

OPINION
Hiroshi Kubo, creative director at Beams

INNER SPACE
T-Site

Tsutaya’s cultural complex, viewed through the four elements of branding

OPINION
Ando Takayuki, editor in chief of Japanese culture magazine Pen

THE PREMIUM AGE
Objects

The tastes of the premium age

Places

Businesses targeting the premium age

Interests

The leisure activities of the premium age

OPINION
Manabu Mizuno, CEO and creative director of Good Design Company

LANDMARKS
Development
Cultural landmarks in the context of local development

B’S CUT
Tsutaya Scene
The lifestyles observed at the Daikanyama T-Site and in the surrounding areas

BRAND STORY
Started as a rental business, Tsutaya has since established a new lifestyle distribution model

CCC
The headquarters of Tsutaya’s mother company

ADVANCEMENT
Tsutaya’s new businesses since Daikanyama T-Site

INTERVIEW
Muneaki Masuda, CEO of CCC
Tsutaya collaborators: Klein Dytham, architect
and Tomoko Ikegai, creative director

PARTNERS
The firms and brands that collaborate with Tsutaya

FIGURES
Figures showing Tsutaya’s scale and the structure of CCC

FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF
The Editor in Chief offers his observations on Tsutaya’s core values

OUTRO