TOKYO — After two years of careful planning and preparation, Banana Republic has landed in Japan. The company this week opened its first store outside North America in Tokyo’s prestigious shopping district of Ginza, and three more stores will open in the area within the next two weeks.
The new store, with approximately 7,000 square feet of retail space, offers a full line of women’s and men’s merchandise on two floors. It is located at Printemps Ginza, a fashion shopping center here. By the middle of this month, two more units are expected to bow in Tokyo and one in Yokohama.
Andrew Rolfe, president of Gap Inc. International, said American and Japanese teams have worked together to develop merchandise for the Japanese market, and customers have swarmed the store since it opened.
Banana Republic, which generates $2.3 billion in sales, initially focused on North American growth and currently operates stores in the U.S. and Canada. Executives began thinking about expanding into Japan two years ago. The company may eventually seek to open stores in China and other Asian markets as well.
The Gap brand, on the other hand, has been in Japan for 10 years with big success. There are 85 Gap stores in Japan.
Banana Republic’s first floor is devoted to women’s merchandise, including apparel, jewelry, leather handbags and other accessories themed “English Garden.” It features leather bags priced at $273, leather wallets for $63.64, wool jackets for $309, polyester lace stoles for $74.55, pants and dresses for $172.73, cotton coats for $381.82 and T-shirts for $65.45. All prices are converted from the yen at current exchange rates.
The basement floor has men’s and women’s sections. In men’s, it offers three groups: Heritage and Honor, Blue and Black and Suiting.
In 2004, Gap Inc. generated $16 billion in revenues, including $1.5 billion from Gap International. Gap has stores in the U.S., Canada, France, Japan and the United Kingdom.
“We will not make any forecast,” said Rolfe, when asked for sales projections for Banana Republic’s first Japanese store.