Guess Jeans is upping the ante in Japan as it prepares for a Tokyo flagship opening.
The Los Angeles denim maker is leveraging an earlier announced partnership with Girls Don’t Cry creator Verdy as it moves an exhibition focused on the brand’s heritage and future in sustainable production to Japan. The traveling exhibit, called “The Next 40 Years of Denim,” will follow the opening of the Tokyo store.
Guess Jeans launched last year under the direction of Chief New Business Development Officer Nicolai Marciano. It’s shaping up to be an edgier, next-generation brand. It quite literally is the latter with Marciano the son of Guess Inc. co-founder Paul Marciano.
The Tokyo store in Shibuya-ku opens its doors July 3. The following day kicks off the launch of the exhibition, which runs through July 12.
Japan is a big part of the growth strategy for Guess Jeans, which has mostly focused on overseas marketing efforts. Its first door opened in Amsterdam.
What About Guess Jeans in the U.S.?
Still on tap is a Melrose Avenue store, which executives have been plugging since the label’s launch.
Parent Guess Inc. has big aspirations for Guess Jeans, but most of its growth so far has been driven by the European wholesale channel.
“We wish that the North America business was bigger by now,” CEO Carlos Alberini told analysts earlier this month of Guess Jeans, “but we think that at the end of the day, it’s like in every one of our businesses, product will win.”
It also needs key sales people to get the product in the right doors. That’s also something executives said they’re working on.
Alberini said earlier this year he thinks Guess Jeans can grow up to be an over $100 million business “very soon.”
After some re-tooling of the assortment, management thinks Guess Jeans has the right mix of essentials and more fashion-forward items to woo retailers and consumers.
Nicolai has his hands full helping the broader Guess Inc. business bounce back. Plans call for more work with influencers and collaborations as the company looks for ways to offset softening traffic in its stores and online.
In the company’s most recent quarter ended May 3 revenue rose 12 percent in constant currency to $648 million. Meanwhile, Guess Inc. recorded a net loss of $32.9 million, compared to net income of $13 million a year ago.
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