The Seibu Department Stores, Ltd. · Tokyo Japan

One of the top department store chains in Japan, the once-glamorous The Seibu Department Stores has floundered under crushing debt and Japan's economic woes. In the 1970s and 1980s, the chain was among the most profitable and avant-garde in Japan, filled with French designer clothes, art exhibits, and theaters, and run by the artistic Seiji Tsutsumi, son of a Japanese tycoon. In 2003, in return for nearly $2 billion in debt forgiveness from Japanese banks, Seibu agreed to close or revamp seven of its 20-plus stores. Seibu, which currently operates about 15 stores, is one half of newly-formed Sogo & Seibu Co. (formerly Millennium Retailing), the department store arm of Japanese conglomerate Seven & I Holdings. To read the full description, subscribe now.