With an end in sight to the pandemic and home markets still quiet, more brands are coming to Japan again, particularly in the outdoor and sports categories.
A host of new deals have been signed between Japanese distributors and overseas brands in recent months as optimism rises that consumers will start spending on fashion again.
Yagi Tsusho has agreed an exclusive distribution deal with the French outdoor brand, K-Way. Distribution will start later this year through Yagi’s Supremes subsidiary. Owned by Basic Net since 2004, K-Way has 28 of its own stores in France and 29 in Italy and the first stand-alone store in Japan will open on Meiji-Dori in Shibuya this summer. Yagi expects sales of JPY 3bn a year in five years. Yagi has a strong track record in developing brands with a long heritage such as Mackintosh, Moncler, Barbour and Alexandre de Paris, particularly through investment in well-located stores and via online malls, and is likely to do the same with K-Way.
Look, a competitor to Yagi Tsusho in imported brand distribution, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with another outdoor brand; Holubar Mountaineering of the US Sales will also start from this Autumn. Holubar was founded in 1947 in Colorado and became famous for supplying the jacket worn by Robert de Niro in the film, The Deer Hunter. The US brand is already sold in select shops and other outlets in Japan but Look will invest in stores and expansion of wholesaling to take advantage of the current boom in outdoor fashions.
