After the lacklustre nineties, Japan is displaying flourishing economic health. The country is experiencing rising growth rates (2.6% in 2004, 2.7% in 2005): companies are doubling their profits, salaries are rising and purchasing power is taking off again. We have always known that the Japanese are passionate about quality and sophistication. The trend is being confirmed in almost every industry, from electronics to cars through cosmetics. It goes without saying that luxury brands, held in adoration, are no exception to this wave.

According to estimates from the Japanese ministry for external trade, 40% of luxury goods sold throughout the world every year are bought by the Japanese. In 2002, a survey carried out among young 20-year-old women in Tokyo showed that 92% of them owned a product from the Gucci brand. An important statistic for the Gucci Group, which is extremely influential in Japan, with its brands Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent, Sergio Rossi, Boucheron, Gucci Group Watches and YSL Beauté. Last year, the Japanese archipelago represented 18.3% of the Gucci Group’s global sales, the Gucci brand accounting for almost three quarters of these results. It is thus ranked the third best-selling luxury brand. The opening of its new boutique in Ginza, one of the most elegant districts in Tokyo, will reinforce its hold even further. This boutique, which is the brand’s most prestigious, is the only one to be set up in a building belonging to Gucci. An extraordinary glass tower over eight floors, quite specifically designed to celebrate the shopping culture of the Japanese capital. The outer façade in multidimensional glass, bathed in light, creates a breathtaking effect. Inside, tones of gold and silver are softened by traditional rosewood and velvet. The Gucci store in Ginza bears witness to the brand’s traditional link with the luxury world and represents an incomparable international shopping destination.

 

In addition to this exceptional boutique, the Gucci Group sells its products all across the country through a network of almost 530 points of sale, including approximately 150 directly operated stores and “shop-in-shop”: out of all the countries where the Group is present, Japan has the best results with regard to directly operated stores. Which would seem to suggest future expansion in this form of distribution, as confirmed by Shinichi Tanaka, President of the Gucci Group Japan: “This year we have opened a Bottega Veneta flagship store in Omotesando and we are opening another next year in Ginza, which will be one of the brand’s largest stores in the world, with almost 1,000 m² of display surface area over three floors.”

 

In fact, for two years the famous leather goods brand, which has now gained the title of “lifestyle brand”, has been reaching annual growth of over 60%. Its sales in Japan represent almost 34% of global sales, which is a record. Rediscovered relatively recently, Bottega Veneta is now one of the brands that count. “People often think that the Japanese only buy luxury goods with ostentatious logos, but this is just a preconceived idea and Bottega Veneta is the best illustration of this,” explains Patrizio Di Marco, the brand’s Chairman and CEO. “Our success is explained by the creative vision of Tomas Maier, its Creative Director, the know-how of our craftsmen and absolute, timeless quality.”