OREANDA-NEWS. February 01, 2016. ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has acquired exclusive import and sales rights in the Japanese market for the shoe brand PHILIPPE MODEL that originated in Italy. The brand will start releasing its products from the 2016 Fall/Winter season through UENO-SHOKAI CO., LTD. (headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Fumihiko Hasegawa, Representative Director; hereinafter “UENO-SHOKAI”).

The innovation brought to Paris by French designer Philippe Model in the Eighties met up, in 2008, with the eclectic and visionary talent of Paolo Gambato, the designer who became the brand’s Creative and Artistic Director. Since then, the classic tradition has been enhanced by Italian craftsmanship in the concept of the iconic and sophisticated Elastique line and in the famous daytime footwear bearing the hand-stitched shield as its hallmark of quality and “sartorial” luxury.
Every Philippe Model shoe embodies the inestimable value of the Italian craft tradition created in production processes located in the Riviera del Brenta, an area not far from Venice that is renowned throughout the world for its know-how and high standards of quality in the footwear industry. From the cutting of the hides to the manual construction of the sole, every single detail plays its part in transforming a Philippe Model shoe into a marriage of comfort and design.

ITOCHU will focus on further expanding brand recognition and enhancing brand value by strongly promoting the worldview of PHILIPPE MODEL as a unique and innovative brand in the Japanese market. The collection will initially be released through the traditional sales channels of department stores and multi-brand stores nationwide, followed by the accelerated expansion of new sales channels.