ITOCHU Corporation has finalized an agreement with Kitson, an A-list company that is expanding its chain of hip fashion shops from Los Angeles in the United States to the rest of the world. This agreement covers licenses for Kitson brand products and exclusive rights for using the Kitson shop name in Japan, and opening and operating Kitson shops. The first store will open in Spring 2009, and will be operated by Branding, Inc. (a company based in Minato Ward, Tokyo, formerly known as Xavel, Inc. and headed by CEO Fumitaro Ohama).

Kitson has grown rapidly since owner Fraser Ross opened the first Kitson store on Robertson Boulevard in Beverly Hills, Log Angeles in March 2000. Kitson's image as a hip fashion shop has attracted celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and Leonardo DiCaprio. This skilful collaboration with celebrities has brought Kitson considerable recognition.

Kitson has now expanded to a total of four stores: the Kitson Women's flagship store, which has 446 square meters of floor space and mainly handles women's fashion, Kitson Men's, Kitson Kids and Kitson Studio, which handles ladies shoes, handbags and other accessories.

A series of new store are scheduled for this Fall, starting with Kitson Kids on the Plaza, opening on Robertson Boulevard in Beverly Hills with 279 square meters of floor space, and rapidly followed by a shop with 725 square meters of floor space in Melrose, Los Angeles, and a huge 1,339-square-meter store at the Americana at Brand shopping center in the suburb of Glendale, California.

Having signed a contract with Kitson, ITOCHU Corporation has made a sub-licensing agreement that gives Branding Inc. exclusive rights to operate Kitson brand stores in Japan.

There are high expectations for the future marketability of these next generation fashion shops, even as the distribution market continues to change dramatically. These agreements represent a market strategy by a partnership among these three companies to break new ground with the trends emerging in this direction.

The plan is to launch hip, trendy fashion from LA from a variety of angles, with the wide range of lifestyle suggestions that Kitson makes possible—from imported selections that anticipate new trends and accessory shops that are highly-topical as a results of collaborations with celebrities, through to Women's and Kid's lines.

Branding Inc. operates the largest websites dedicated to women's fashion in Japan, and is actively engaged in brand production projects and e-commerce projects for apparel and beauty products. Branding Inc. also has a successful track record with cross-media promotions through the TOKYO GIRLS COLLECTION events. After inviting Kitson to the TOKYO GIRLS COLLECTION event in March this year, Branding Inc. sensed the potential of having a real Kitson shop in Japan, and this latest innovation has developed from the expectation that this relationship will act as a bridge to the rest of the world.

As indicated by the new company name, the idea is to use the Kitson shop to project Japanese brands and Japanese culture to the world, based on the corporate philosophy of “branding JAPAN, branding WORLD.”

Branding Inc. has set up “Kitson Japan, Inc.” to operate and manage the Kitson stores, with Hiroyuki Tosa as President, Kitson Japan Inc., is aiming to open twenty stores in the next five years, and is aiming for net sales (retail sales proceeds basis) of 5 billion yen.

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