ABG to expand Juicy Couture in Asia

Authentic Brands Group (ABG), which owns Juicy Couture, has announced a long-term partnership with ImagineX Group, Asia’s leading retail, brand management and distribution company to “accelerate growth” of the Juicy Couture brand in the region. The franchise partnership will allow ABG to expand

Juicy Couture’s footprint in the market, as well as aid the expansion of the brand with new product lines, in the hope that the deal will forge Juicy Couture into a leading contemporary lifestyle fashion brand in China.

Juicy Couture already works with ImagineX, a company within The Lane Crawford Joyce Group, as it acquired the management and distribution rights for the brand in 2006 for Greater China and South East Asia, and operates more than 80 points of sales in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Through this partnership, the brand reports that it has “consistently delivered high double-digit growth year-on-year” in the Chinese market, and has continued to report “robust growth” over the past year despite the market slowdown.

Juicy Couture announces expansion plans in Asia

The franchise partnership covers a minimum term of 10 years, with options to extend to a further two terms of 10 years. The new phase of the partnership will focus on its recently announced brand extensions, like the Juicy Couture Black Label and its new show collection produced by Steve Madden that will launch in 2015. As well as the opening of another 40 points of sale in “key locations” and a major push in e-commerce, with both omni-channel and wholesale online accounts, to significantly extend the brand's reach across the region.

Jamie Salter, Chief Executive Officer and chairman of Authentic Brands Group, said: "In Asia, Juicy Couture and ImagineX have a long-established, successful relationship and we are thrilled to extend it.

“ImagineX has done a fantastic job of building the Juicy brand in Greater China, not only in terms of their focus on retail development but also their contribution to the design, creative and business development teams which has taken Juicy to where it is today in the Asia market. We are confident that our partnership will capture new opportunities and reach even more Juicy customers in Asia, where Juicy Couture continues to flourish.”

Thomson Cheng, managing director of ImagineX added: "Juicy Couture's business is thriving in Greater China and we're excited to be working with ABG to implement its lifestyle vision. We see great potential for the brand expanding into the highly prized footwear category, and creating new opportunities in contemporary fashion intimates and girls collections that are to date untapped in this market.

“We believe our track record of success and knowledge of the brand can add value to the future development of Juicy Couture not only for our market, but globally."

“Image: Juicy Couture