Hankyu Beauty Academy wins Asia-Pacific's Best Retail Innovation Concept Award

By Chi Bing-hui, compiled and reported

 

Uni-President Hankyu Department Store Taipei Branch, which opened just over a year ago, has generated significant buzz with UNIQLO and its innovative Beauty Department. Its fifth-floor “Beauty Academy,” a members-only space designed exclusively for women with a romantic aesthetic style, was recently honored with the 2011 “Most Innovative Retail Concept Award” from the Federation of Asia-Pacific Retailers Associations (FAPRA), an international accolade. It has also become a popular destination for women seeking the latest trends and enjoying afternoon tea.

Uni-President Hankyu Department Store Taipei Branch stated that with its positioning as a Beauty Department, the store promotes a lifestyle attitude of “tasting fashion.” The nearly 100-ping “Beauty Academy” plays a key role in this concept. Over the past year, it has attracted around 50,000 visitors. In addition to offering an afternoon tea space, it provides professional consulting services through a three-step beauty program. In the future, it will also incorporate the concept of “TAIPEI SISTERS,” helping Taiwan’s department store industry step into a new realm.

This year, the “Beauty Academy” was recognized by the international organization FAPRA (Federation of Asia-Pacific Retailers Associations). The award was granted in recognition of the all-encompassing experience created by the “Beauty Academy” through the six senses — “sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and mind” — and its innovative services that cultivate customers’ appreciation for beauty at various levels of consciousness. This achievement helped Uni-President Hankyu stand out among 17 Asia-Pacific department stores and retailers from across the region in the selection for the Corporate Role Model Awards, four major categories. It is also the only Taiwanese company to receive this honor this year.