ITO-YOKADO'S ROBO-SHOP; JAPANESE CHAIN ROLLS OUT COMPUTER-AIDED CUSTOM-SUIT PROGRAM.(Ito-Yokado Company Ltd.)

Daily News Record, February, 2005 by Furukawa, Tsukasa

Byline: Tsukasa Furukawa

TOKYO -- A Japanese general-merchandise chain is offering men what amounts to a do-it-yourself suit.

By digitally linking its stores to factories equipped with computer-controlled patterning and cutting systems, Ito-Yokado Co., one of Japan's largest general-merchandise store chains, is offering to tailor, in a matter of five days, a men's suit to the customer's measurements in his choice of style and fabric from a menu of samples.

Publicized under the catchphrase "My Suit Tailored in Five Days," the quick-response service was launched ...