Fukuchiyama Family Shopping Center (福知山ファミリー)
The Fukuchiyama family, a shopping center located in Fukuchiyam City, Kyoto Prefecture.
It is large-scale commercial facility adjacent to the shopping street just in front of the north exit of JR Fukuchiyama Station, with SATO's Fukuchiyam shopping center located next to it. The Fukuchiyama family had an ability to attract customers, and it is said that, in the past, many customers visited the facilities, even from the areas of present Tanba City, Asago City, and Toyooka City, with some visitors waiting in line in front of the doors before they were opened. However, its business has recently become sluggish, because many large-scale stores, such as JUSCO and PLANT, have recently located in the suburban areas. Therefore, it has carried out various ideas.
Summary
The Fukuchiyama family opened in a place very close to the north entrance/exit of Fukuchiyama Station in 1972. Many shops in the Shinmachi shopping street in the north-eastern part of Fukuchiyama City placed their branch shops there. Initially, a bowling center was located on the fourth floor. Many persons visited the facilities from the so-called San-Tan (three Tan) areas of the Tajima area, Tango area and Tanba area. At that time, such a large store did not exist in the San-Tan areas, and was considered something like a department store. Then Izumiya placed its branch shop there, attracting increasingly more customers. It competed and developed with SATO located next to it. In the past, the facilities housed a variety of shops, such as a supermarket, dress shops, variety shops, restaurants, local Japanese sweet shops, a sporting goods store, a game center and a shop selling goods with famous brands, being a popular spot in the area.
However, customers have decreased due to the appearance of road-side stores for car users, such as JUSCO, lowering the sales, Izumiya, a key tenant left the place on September 2000 and vacant spaces have increased on the fourth and fifth floors, with the space now used for culture-studying school rooms and a center for invigorating the urban area.
As a result, the Fukuchiyama family was forced to file for bankruptcy on January 24, 2007. Then the bankruptcy administrator announced that it would be closed at the end of February of 2008. Resultantly, many stores were forced to move to other places or to be closed, and the place, which had once been a symbol of the commercial city of Fukuchiyama, was going to be closed. However, a store started making efforts to regenerate the Fukuchiyama family, to avoid having to close it. Hearing news that it might be closed, an NPO corporation started making efforts to purchase and regenerate the place. Now, tenants for the place are being recruited (and the shops are open now). It is possible to recover the Fukuchiyama family by effectively using the advantage that it is located in front of a station, and many senior citizens in fact use the place. In addition, in the northern area of Fukuchiyama Station, Fukuchiyama City is currently recruiting commercial facilities for the north large-scale urban area of Fukuchiyama Station (a competition for business projects in the north urban area of Fukuchiyama Station). With redevelopment around Fukuchiyama advancing in this way, it is certain that the Fukuchiyama family will develop more and more.