The “Rolling Confectionery Section” that appeared in the Showa period and gained popularity in department stores will retire.
The tweets of the major department store “Matsuzakaya Shizuoka” are filled with regrettable voices online. How was the nostalgic device born? J-CAST News asked the developer.
The centerpiece of the store was the “Rotating Confectionery Section”
Since its appearance in the Showa era, the large circular display fixture “Rotating Confectionery Section” that keeps rotating with various types of confectionery has attracted people visiting department stores.
The Matsuzakaya Shizuoka store reported on Twitter on February 11 that the equipment will be shut down on March 23, 2022, as an “important notice.”
The official name of the device is “Gram”. The confectionery maker “Shofuya” (Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture), which was founded in 1900, sells Japanese and Western confectionery by weight.
On Twitter, the post from Matsuzakaya Shizuoka said, “I have a terrible nostalgic chest pain.” “I was happy that I was still spinning! Finally …” “Or, a sweet that is full of dreams that are too sad. …. “and other voices have been received.
In response to the response, the sales planning staff at Matsuzakaya Shizuoka store interviewed J-CAST News on the 15th.
“I’m surprised once more by the generations that feel nostalgic, the generation that feels emo, and the various reactions.”
And said. “I feel that the attention from all over the country is higher than that of my hometown Shizuoka.” Also, regarding the retirement of the “Rolling Confectionery Section”
“I have cherished it, so I think that I have continued to work hard until now, and I will give it up with the utmost gratitude.”
Tell. Although the equipment itself has been replaced due to maintenance, it is said that two units have been installed since the store opened in 1971. The person in charge looked back at that time and said, “It is thought that it was installed as a centerpiece because it was in the center of the sales floor.”
Development secret story revealed by the manufacturer
On the 17th, the person in charge of the development headquarters of Shofuya told J-CAST News that the development was triggered by the event when the former chairman, Takuzo Kondo, went to France.
Mr. Kondo is said to have seen a “small circular ice cream sales stand” at a supermarket. The table was fixed, and customers moved around to purchase it. by this,
“If we rotate the sales table itself to create a sales floor where various sweets can be sold even when customers are stopped, it would be an interesting sales floor that has never been seen before.”
It is said that he came up with the idea that “a confectionery display fixture with a rotating function” was born. The project was adopted by a department store and development began.
The equipment was installed in Nagoya’s “Meitetsu Department Store” as the first store in 1959. According to the person in charge, it had expanded to regarding 200 stores at its peak around 1980, but now it has shrunk to regarding 32 stores.
At Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Store, which operates the Matsuzakaya Shizuoka store, the number of stores where equipment is installed is “gradually decreasing.” The remaining two stores are “Tottori Daimaru store” and “Kochi Daimaru store”. We declined to reply to plans regarding future outages.
While saying “I’m sorry” that the number of the equipment is decreasing,
“I think that Gram’s style, where you can buy as many sweets as you like, matches the current era, and I would like to continue to change and evolve according to your needs.”
The person in charge is enthusiastic. In addition, I told the users as follows.
“We believe that we have been able to continue for a long time thanks to the support and love of many customers. We will continue to have the concept of Gram, the fun of” measuring “your favorite sweets. We will make further efforts to provide the enjoyment of “choosing”. “
