The American apparel brand GUESS will begin selling in Japan starting with the Spring/Summer 2014 season. The brand was previously licensed by Itochu Corporation.
To mark its re-entry, GUESS, Inc., the U.S. headquarters, has established a wholly owned Japanese subsidiary in Aoyama, Tokyo. In addition to opening a flagship store in the Tokyo metropolitan area next spring, the brand plans to establish various sales channels, including department store in-shops, tenant locations, wholesale, franchises, and factory stores.
Products will be 70% imported and 30% original to Japan. Leather goods, watches, and perfumes will also be available. Prices for denim, the brand's flagship product, start at ¥12,000. The target audience is men and women between the ages of 23 and 33.
GUESS was founded in 1981 by the Marciano brothers. Starting as a denim brand, it has now grown into a full-service fashion brand. Its advertising models include Claudia Schiffer and Carla Bruni. Currently, the company operates in 88 countries around the world, with 598 stores in North and Central/South America, 622 stores in Europe and the Middle East, and 470 stores in Asia, including China, South Korea, and Taiwan, for a total of 1,690 stores.