Cath Kidston buys back its Japanese stores

Cath Kidston has bought back its biggest business outside the UK. The flora patterned apparel retailer acquired its Japanese stores from conglomerate TSI Holdings, which was running Cath Kidston as a franchise in Japan.

There are 31 Cath Kidston shops in Japan, compared to 65 in the UK, but the retailer believes it could almost double in size, reports the ‘Telegraph’. As advanced by the British retailer, Cath Kidston will take control of its Japanese business in September. Sanei International, a subsidiary of TSI, was expected to run Cath Kidston in Japan until January, although the retailer now wants to retake control of the brand in what is a key international market, highlights the London paper.

To date, the price the company has paid to buy its stores remains undisclosed.

Kenny Wilson, chief executive of Cath Kidston, explained that “We wanted to get greater control of the brand and we just get closer to the consumer. It is challenging, but it is about putting the right people on the ground.”

“I don’t think it is about doing a better job [than TSI]. It is a massive public company in Japan, and they have got a lot of things to focus on. You can do anything, but you can’t do everything. We wouldn’t be arrogant enough to say we are going to do a much better job than Sanei,” added Wilson.

Last year, Baring Private Equity Asia bought a reference stake in Cath Kidston last year to help the brand expand in Asia. Baring controls Cath Kidston alongside private equity firm TA Associates, while Cath Kidston herself continues to own a minority stake in the business she founded in 1993.