ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has acquired the exclusive rights to sell the Italian handbag brand Gherardini in the markets in Japan, Europe and the United States.

Gherardini is a luxury leather goods manufacturer founded in 1885 in the capital of art, Florence, Italy, by artisan Garibaldo Gherardini. His beautifully designed elegant handbags created using ingenious techniques have fascinated women in Europe ever since. He subsequently developed Softy, a functional yet elegant lightweight material, which became a symbol of the brand. The brand Garibaldo conceived has been loved by consumers not only in Italy and Japan but around the world for the over 130 years since its inception.

The marketing of Gherardini merchandise will be managed by Kuipo Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Satoshi Okada, President; hereinafter "Kuipo") in the Japanese market, and Pelletteria Fiorentina Montecristo S.R.L (headquartered in Italy; Riccardo Braccialini, Director; hereinafter "PELFIM") in the markets in Europe and the United States, which includes Italy. ITOCHU and Kuipo purchased the right to sell the Gherardini brand from MISAKI CO., LTD. (headquartered in Minoo City, Osaka; Katsuhiro Misaki, President) in December 2023.

ITOCHU is actively investing in Gherardini to increase people's awareness of this alluring traditional brand. First, ITOCHU intends to increase sales in the markets in Japan, Europe and the United States by cooperating with Kuipo and PELFIM. Its ultimate aim, however, is to expand the business in Asia and the rest of the world and achieve net sales of 10 billion yen in five years by making the most of ITOCHU's global network.