OREANDA-NEWS. ITOCHU Corporation announced that it has acquired the exclusive rights to import and sell the prominent Italian designer brand Mauro Grifoni and its casual line M.Grifoni in the Japanese market. ITOCHU will sell the brands through the CORONET CORPORATION, commencing with the 2014 autumn-winter main collection.

The fashion label Mauro Grifoni was established in 1992 by textile designer Mauro Grifoni, with the brand’s cofounder Ilaria Sesso, under the concept of "creating what we want to wear." They started in a small factory for producing shirts, where they designed and handmade high-quality, finished clothing with artigianato (artisanal handicraft) craftsmanship. They aim to create unique and sophisticated collections that stay distinguished from trends in the mass market.

In 1997 a women’s collection was launched, followed in 2001 by M.Grifoni, a casual denim line, and in 2002 by accessories. In the same year, a flagship store was opened in Verona, and then in the Italian cities of Padua, Brescia, Bergamo and Treviso in sequence. In 2009, a flagship store that also contains a showroom, both accommodated in a 300 m2, three-story building with design supervised by Mauro Grifoni himself, was opened in Milan, Italy’s fashion capital and the brand established its secure position as a fashion house. It has been launching its collections in numerous countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany and France.

In the Japanese market, the brands will target women in their 30s who have their own fashion style, and mature men who prefer sophisticated style that is based on classic style unaffected by fashion trends combined with a hint of current fashion. Combined retail sales of 1.5 billion yen in four years’ time are aimed at for the brands through promotion focusing on select stores and raising brand awareness through the opening of sales sections on import floors in department stores and tie-ups with influential specialty stores.