The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 1966–2026
Kintetsu Passe ends at Nagoya station — and Kintetsu won't come back after the rebuild
A station store since 1966, reborn as youth fashion building Passe in 1998. It closed on 28 February 2026 — Kintetsu says it won't reopen after redevelopment.
Kintetsu Department Store · 2026-02-28
What happened
Kintetsu's store at Nagoya station opened in November 1966 in the newly built Nagoya Kintetsu Building — first as Kintetsu Tokai Store, later Kintetsu Department Store Nagoya. In March 1998 it was reborn as Kintetsu Passe, a youth-oriented fashion building of eleven floors and 8,959 square metres, with fashion, books and Tower Records facing the station.
Sixty years on, the redevelopment Kintetsu's own group participates in is what kills the building. On 21 May 2025 the company announced the store would close at the end of February 2026 with the demolition of the Nagoya Kintetsu Building, booking a special loss of about ¥2 billion for the closure. Annual sales had slipped to ¥1,892 million in FY2024.
The tell was in the disclosure's final line: considering the competitive environment in the area, there are no plans to reopen after redevelopment. A closing sale opened on 10 January 2026, and the last day of business was 28 February — ending 28 years of the Passe name and sixty years of Kintetsu retail on that corner.
Why it happened
- Redevelopment gave Kintetsu a clean exit: ¥1,892 million of annual sales on 8,959 square metres of station-front space could not justify coming back.
- The disclosure said the quiet part — no plans to reopen given the competitive environment; the market, not the bulldozer, made the decision.
- Nagoya station's department-store row was ending wholesale; staying for the new complex would have meant restarting a fight the store was already losing.
The lesson
Redevelopment is an alibi a weak store can use. Kintetsu blamed the demolition for Passe's end, but the disclosure told the truth: given the competition, it will not come back.
Aftermath
The Nagoya Kintetsu Building is to be demolished for the Nagoya Station area redevelopment, in which the Kintetsu group participates. Kintetsu Department Store keeps its other stores, with no planned return to Nagoya station. Next door, the Meitetsu Department Store main building closed the same day.
Sources
- Kintetsu Department Store TDnet disclosure — "Closing of the Nagoya store (Kintetsu Passe) and booking of special losses", 21 May 2025 (opened November 1966, ~60 years; closes end of February 2026 with demolition of Nagoya Kintetsu Building under station redevelopment; 8,959㎡; FY2024 sales ¥1,892M; ~¥2B special loss in Q1; no plans to reopen after redevelopment)
- Kintetsu Department Store official notice — "Notice regarding the closure of Kintetsu Passe" (store ended operations 28 February 2026; opened March 1998 as Passe, 28 years)
- Fashionsnap — "'Kintetsu Passe' to close end of February 2026 — ~60 years of history since 1966 opening", 27 May 2025 (opened November 1966 as Kintetsu Tokai Store Nagoya; 11 floors, 8,959㎡; demolition for Nagoya station redevelopment; no reopening planned given competitive environment; ¥2B special loss)
- Oricon — "Nagoya's Kintetsu Passe ends operations on 2/28 — closing sale 'last 50 days'", January 2026 (final day 28 February 2026; closing sale from 10 January; predecessor Kintetsu Tokai Store)
- Jouhou Nagoya — "Some reopening stores revealed! Meitetsu Department Store main store & Kintetsu Passe closed...", March 2026 (both stores ended operations 28 February 2026; post-closure survey of the station area)
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