A team of four Rikkyo University College of Business 3rd-year students won the 2010 Retail Futures Challenge in Berlin on 25 October. The competition is part of the World Retail Congress in Berlin, a major international business conference aimed at the retail industry globally.

The team consisted of Ryo Hishiyama, Takashi Sato, Eriko Sugimoto and Eunkyung Lim, four 3rd-year students who are all members of the Roy Larke Seminar. The competition was open to students from six countries, with each team creating a business plan for a new retail concept based on the cultural and business aspects of their local cities. The six teams included Tokyo (Japan), Mumbai (India), Milan (Italy), Hong Kong (Hong Kong), New York (USA), London (UK).

The Japan team was chosen from an internal competition at Rikkyo University. Their presentation proposed a new high tech store based on the three pillars of animation, technology and fashion to reflect key characteristics of the Tokyo consumer market. The proposal was presented in front of around 1,000 representatives from numerous international retail and consulting companies from all around the world, with the team receiving high acclaim from the audience.　The team would like to thank everyone who has supported them at Rikkyo in preparing for the contest.
(by Ryo Hishiyama and Takashi Sato)