[JR Nagoya Takashimaya] Jeweler Ayako Sakurai to Hold Pop-up Shop from April 1-5

Jeweler Ayako Sakurai (Location: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) will hold a limited-time pop-up shop for five days from Wednesday, April 1 to Sunday, April 5, 2026, at JR Nagoya Takashimaya (Nakamura-ku, Nagoya), where customers can experience jewelry "consulting sales" at a department store venue.

Jeweler Ayako Sakurai × JR Nagoya Takashimaya Pop-up Shop Overview

■ About Ayako Sakurai: Started her career as a jeweler in 2019. Ayako Sakurai meets with customers individually, listens to their needs, and provides proposals through her "consulting sales" approach. She is a jeweler with a reputation for her "mitate" (selection) focusing on colored stones. In addition to face-to-face sales, she has built a trusted purchasing channel nationwide through a membership-based website. Centered on the experience of "choosing a lifelong jewelry partner without hesitation," she also develops limited-time pop-up shops.

■ She has previously held pop-up shops at Hanshin Umeda Main Store and Isetan Shinjuku Store. This will be her third department store event and the first in a department store in the Chubu area.

■ Exhibition: Approximately 70 pieces of jewelry will be on display, including "spring new arrivals" prepared for the JR Nagoya Takashimaya pop-up shop featuring rubies and padparadscha sapphires, as well as a lineup of affordable items under 400,000 yen.

■ In June 2023, her first-ever pop-up shop at Shibuya Scramble Square recorded sales of 170 million yen in three days. Following that, she received offers from department stores and held pop-up shops at Hanshin Umeda Main Store and Isetan Shinjuku Store, where the "consulting sales" approach—where customers can see and try on the jewelry designed by Ayako Sakurai and receive a personal selection from the staff—was highly evaluated, attracting many visitors. (A total of 2,000 visitors to the department store pop-up shops).

Background of holding the event in the Tokai region — High affinity with "Gaiso town Nagoya"

■ Department stores in Nagoya have a very strong "gaiso" (personal shopper/clienteling) culture. For example, there are multiple reports that about half of the sales at Matsuzakaya Nagoya store are from "gaiso". (Nearly half of the 104.0 billion yen sales in fiscal 2021 were from "gaiso" / "gaiso" ratio remains at about 50%). [Sources: https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOFD26AX30W2A920C2000000/?msockid=164ac0e53e1167f40adbd51d3f146684 (Nikkei) / https://dot.asahi.com/articles/-/269718?page=1 (AERA Digital)]

■ This regional characteristic and Sakurai's proposed "consulting sales" experience, which emphasizes 'who you buy from,' can be said to have a high affinity.

■ Furthermore, we are releasing internal data for the first time showing that the ratio of members from the Tokai area among our e-commerce registrants is approximately 10%. Given the very significant presence of Tokai users in the customer distribution of all registrants (from all prefectures in Japan + Thailand, Singapore, New York, Australia), we decided to hold the department store × "consulting sales" event in Nagoya. (*The ratio in this section is based on our company's data).

JR Nagoya Takashimaya Pop-up Shop Highlights

■ Recreating detailed "consulting sales" at the venue: This pop-up shop is an open event for the general public where you can experience the "consulting sales" proposed by Sakurai, which is different from department store "gaiso". Anyone can visit, and it is an experiential shop where staff will assist with jewelry selection one-on-one.

■ Expanding accessible high jewelry: We will also feature a selection of popular colored stones under 400,000 yen, providing an accessible purchasing channel. Precious stones such as emeralds and rubies will also be on display. The "spring new arrivals" making their debut this time will use rubies and padparadscha sapphires. Photo is an image.

■ About Jeweler Ayako Sakurai: With a supply route and aesthetic sense inherited from her mother, she began sharing information about jewelry on social media in 2019. She was the first to present the new option on Instagram that "there are various ways to purchase jewelry besides high-end brands," creating a trend of people calling themselves "jewelers on Instagram." Her theme is 'Towards an era of greater freedom in choosing jewelry.' She continues to provide a selection experience that emphasizes 'who you buy from' through a trinity of face-to-face sales (Sakurai-style "consulting sales"), Instagram sales (started in 2022), and the membership-based e-commerce site "A JEWELRY BOX." The business is run by a small, elite team including her husband, who is also her business partner, and a close friend from high school. She has over 20,000 Instagram followers. Through daily posts, she shares tips to enhance one's perspective on stone selection and the resolution of one's attire. Serving as her own brand ambassador, she published her first book 'You Don't Need to Pay Brand Prices for Jewelry' in February 2023. She creates a different worldview for each event...