TOKYO: Human Made Inc, the Japanese fashion label that counts China as central to its plans, is broadening its growth strategy to reduce reliance on any single market against the backdrop of rising tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
Armed with fresh capital from its market debut last Thursday, the company plans flagship stores in Tokyo and Osaka over the next two years to meet growing demand, while adding partner outlets in Seoul and Bangkok.
Expansion in China and the United States – both critical for scaling revenue – remains underway.
“We aren’t building a plan that highly relies on sales in China,” chief executive officer (CEO) Rei Matsunuma said in an interview, noting that expansion will be across the United States, and East and South-East Asia. Parallely, “we are working on how to hedge the risks associated with the market.”
The strategy comes as Japan navigates a volatile diplomatic environment.
Recent remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan have triggered travel cancellations and begun to weigh on sectors from airlines to retailers.
Human Made shares have climbed 24% over two sessions since listing.
Under Matsunuma – who joined from Fast Retailing Co and became CEO last year – annual sales have nearly tripled to 11.3 billion yen (US$72.3mil) for the year ended January.
Operating profit has nearly quintupled to 3.2 billion yen during the period, with the company forecasting the metric to rise another 20% this fiscal year. — Bloomberg
