Mulberry signs joint venture agreement for Japan

British luxury house Mulberry has signed a 50:50 joint venture agreement with Onward Global Fashion Co, Limited (OGF) to operate its business in Japan.

The new company, Mulberry Japan, in which Mulberry and OGF will each hold 50% of the shares, will operate and develop the brand's retail, digital, omni-channel and wholesale business in the Japanese market.

As part of the agreement Mulberry has invested £2.8m in the Japanese venture's share capital "to provide funds to develop the distribution network and build the brand's presence in Japan". At present it has one new store in Tokyo Ginza G6 as well as two concessions in Tokyo and Osaka, as we all wholesale accounts, in Japan.

It also ships to the Japanese market from its website and moving forward all retail, wholesale and digital fulfilment will be handled by Mulberry Japan when it is fully up and running by the end of this year. A general manager has been appointed for the business and will now build a team to be based at the Tokyo HQ.

CEO Thierry Andretta said: "I am pleased to announce our partnership with OGF in Japan, a market where we see significant growth opportunity for Mulberry. In OGF we have a partner which has extensive luxury goods experience and a robust infrastructure which will enable us to advance our international retail and omni-channel strategy in this key market." OGF is wholly owned by Onward Holdings, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Earlier this year the business set up Mulberry Asia, a new company it established with majority shareholder Challice to run its operations in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. That business began trading in Hong Kong in April. Mulberry owns 60% of the Asia venture while Challice, which is owned by Singapore billionaire Christina Ong, owns the remaining 40%. Challice holds a 56% stake in Mulberry Plc.