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| The store greeters at the new Fukuoka flagship. (image source) |
A&F Fukuoka is located at 2-5-18 Tenjin, Chuo-ku in the city of Fukuoka. Why Fukuoka? Well, that is what I asked myself when A&F released plans to open there after opening A&F Ginza. You'd have thought that the next A&F in Japan would have opened in Osaka (the second biggest city in the country). But no, it opened in a smaller city of a mere 1.4 million people. After doing much thinking, I have come to figure it all out, however. See, Fukuoka (found on the island of Kyushu) is the major culture center of southern Japan and just so happens to be extremely close to mainland China and South Korea. With that said, the city is continuing to experience a rise in prominence among major Japanese cities. Monacle ranked Fukuoka as the 14th most liveable city in the world. A&F Fukuoka is thus strategically located in the region to meet the demand of southern Japan while also being only a small flight away for Chinese and Korean fans...It's perfect!
The building's look itself follows along the lines of A&F Ginza. I was a little disappointed at first because all other previous A&F flagships have had their own unique exterior architecture. But I guess A&F Ginza will serve as a uniform model for all other A&F brick-and-motar openings in Japan. If you think about it, Apple does the same thing, too, following the uniform style of gray steel (or whatever that facade is made off) and glass while giving every location its own unique little twist. In that train-of-though, A&F Fukuoka is only a four stories high version of A&F Ginza and features a much more elongated facade. Very nice flagship, 'nough said!
Abercrombie as a good album covering the event, and you can check it out here.
