Japanese tycoon Yanai buys Uniqlo building in Milan for $339 million, source says
Yanai, Japan's richest man, is buying the building from U.S. property firm Hines, the source added. Hines declined to comment. Yanai could not immediately be reached for comment. A representative for Fast Retailing Co., Uniqlo's owner, could not immediately comment.
The 19th-century building is in Milan's central Piazza Cordusio, where Uniqlo's flagship store has been since 2019. The 161,000-square-foot structure, called Cordusio 2.0, was acquired by Hines in 2016 and renovated. It stands across from the city's Starbucks Reserve Roastery and near Milan's main Duomo Square.
JLL advised Yanai. The real estate and investment management services firm confirmed it worked as an adviser for a family office involved in the transaction, without giving further details.
The sale was first reported by Green Street News, which said that Yanai had recently also bought a Uniqlo-occupied building in Amsterdam and another one in London.
Milan's property sector has seen a renaissance in recent years as revitalization projects have helped transform several run-down neighborhoods into upscale landmark zones. Last year, Gucci owner Kering SA spent 1.3 billion euros for a property on Milan's Via Monte Napoleone, its toniest shopping street.
($1 = 0.8855 euros)
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