United Arrows (UA)'s new business, ASTRAET, will begin in the Spring/Summer 2014 season. This business is central to the company's long-term strategy, "UA VISION 2022," which runs through the fiscal year ending March 2022. We spoke with UA Executive Officer Kazuyasu Tanaka about his outlook. ASTRAET operates as a select shop. However, the company also shows great commitment to its own original products. "We want to create a business that can compete not only with our own purchasing power but also by highlighting our original products," said Tanaka. He said he has always felt that the quality of the original brand was inferior to purchased products. Overall direction will be handled by Futoshi Azumaya, president of OFFICE TOYA. He founded EDITION at Tomorrowland and served as a director. OFFICE TOYA will also be responsible for original product planning. Prices are relatively high: ¥23,000 for knitwear, ¥54,000 for jackets, ¥72,000 for outerwear, ¥23,000 for bottoms, and ¥120,000 for leather. "These days, new brands tend to be diffusion lines, but I wonder if customers are truly satisfied with them. On the other hand, luxury brands are growing, and our high-priced line, Drawer, is doing well. I believe there's a niche but significant gap in this market. Specifically, in the contemporary mode zone. There are no corresponding brands in Japan," he reveals. Independently planned products will be sold not only at the Astrat shop but also wholesale. "I want our brand to look natural on the third floor of Isetan Shinjuku. I'd like our competitors to buy our products as well. I'm also considering showing our products overseas from 2014 Autumn/Winter, and I intend to approach leading overseas select shops." At a recent exhibition, "we've already received positive feedback from department stores." The purchasing lineup also includes brands positioned in the same zone, such as CEDRIC CHARLIER, EACH×OTHER, and N°21.

In March 2014, the company plans to open a street-front store of over 100 tsubo in Aoyama, Tokyo, which will "create an uplifting atmosphere like a museum, where customers can get a sense of its worldview." "Until AW16, we will conduct a trial period in which we will open stores in high-end fashion buildings, department stores, and street-front stores, as well as wholesale original products. From SS17 onwards, we will reconsider our sales strategy. The ideal is for all strategies to work well."

With a target of sales of 10 billion yen by 2022, the company has drawn up a blueprint for this to become UA's fifth main business, joining its mainstay businesses of UNITED ARROWS, BEAUTY & YOUTH UNITED ARROWS, GREEN LABEL RELAXING, and CHROME HEARTS.

"My role model is luxury. Not just fashion, but also the service of the Imperial Hotel. I want to build a brand business that can be used worldwide," he said emphatically.