Famous shoe designer Christian Louboutin was in Tokyo earlier this month for the launch of Christian Louboutin Japan which is a joint project with Japanese company, Aoi. Christian Louboutin Japan will handle all Japanese retail operations including the opening of about 10 store within the next four years, with two freestanding shops amongst the ten.
“We felt it was very important to show a strong commitment to Japan by opening our own company here,” said Alexis Mourot, COO and GM of Christian Louboutin.
The company's Paris headquarters has been directly handlinga wholesale business in Japan for the past decade, and this operation will still run the same as before. In the past, Christian Louboutin's products were available at about 30 various points of sale around the country, but about two years ago, the company decided to trim their operations hence dropping the number till about 20.
The first store that will open under this joint partnership will be a shop-in-shop at a Matsuya department store in Ginza, Tokyo. The store will open in February, followed by the first free-standing Christian Louboutin store in Japan, also in Ginza district, due to open in summer. Current overall sales in Japan make up about 4 percent of total sales, but this number is expected to increase steadily in the next few years.
“Ginza is a very important area, and we have a good customer base here,” Mourot said. “Matsuya Ginza offered us a really prime location that we could not refuse.”
In celebration of this joint venture, the company held a private party and exhibition in Tokyo, they also displayed the products from the upcoming spring collection, shoes stored in the brand's archives and a portion of the designer's collaboration with film director, David Lynch titled "Fetish", which made its first trip to Japan.
Information from http://www.wwd.com/footwear-news/shop-talk-nike-hits-tokyolouboutin-in-japan-2378501?gnewsid=4a59ff905b3074059780345a0428a352
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