Alexa Chung expands in Asia, to open London store by 2020

By

Erin Floyd

Published
Apr 10, 2018

Alexa Chung’s eponymous premium womenswear label is stepping up its presence in Japan, Seoul and Taiwan, marking the beginning of its Asian expansion with a series of Tokyo pop-ups.  

The UK-based label, which has linked up with the Bluebell group for exclusive distribution in Japan, has seen wholesale accounts there increase 40% for its second season, and is hoping to boost its brand recognition further with the pop-ups – the first of which opened at Isetan Shinjuku on April 7.

“The event has been a great moment to demonstrate our potential to accounts we are targeting,” Alexachung CEO Edwin Bodson told FashionNetwork.com. The pop-ups are a step towards building brand awareness and furthering the brand’s business with its “very loyal” Japanese customers, the exec explained. “Our only goal is to build a reliable constant presence and hope to develop retail when [we] will be ready to.” That development will be a London store, the CEO added, which the brand hopes to open by 2020.

Before its retail debut, the label is hoping to ramp up its presence in other Asian markets alongside Japan, notably in Taiwan, where wholesale orders also increased 50% last season, and in South Korea, where it is currently sold via multibrand designer boutique Boon. The concept store was also the venue for the launch party of the latest capsule between Alexa Chung and trainer label Superga, which bolstered local interest in the brand, Bodson said.

The event series is giving the brand the chance to test the waters across the markets, where its see-now-buy-now collections of romantic florals with a boyish edge have found diverse successes: “Interestingly enough, sales across Asia differ largely from the most feminine dresses and blouses in Japan, to the most tomboyish denim and tees in Hong Kong, while Korea has keen interest in more special pieces,” we're told.

The international expansion is an ambitious step for the label, only founded in May 2017. The pop-ups are set to continue in various locations in Tokyo over the next 12 months, and have been complemented by additional events such as the label’s presentation of the Virginia collection at Tokyo Tower on April 5.