The story of Orange County apparel companies in the lucrative Japanese market is one of big promise, challenges and often disappointment.
Japanese consumers are among the biggest fans of the distinctly California styles of OC surfwear makers. And they make up a sizable market: the Japanese are second only to Americans in their clothes buying. The Japanese apparel market is valued at $35 billion annually, according to the Commerce Department.
But the fashion whims of Japanese consumers are tough to predict. Fads constantly come and go. And competition is fierce, not only among Japanese apparel makers but also from those elsewhere in Asia and Europe.
Quiksilver Japan Co. Ltd., a licensee of Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc., began operations in 1984. The company set up shop in Japan’s surfing hotspot, Chigasaki City, outside Tokyo. It’s located next to an izakaya, or Japanese pub, and not far from a McDonald’s. The company counts 25 employees and sells through some 800 retail stores.
Just as in the U.S., part of Quiksilver’s challenge in Japan is to cultivate an exclusive image.
“If our products are ubiquitous and everybody can afford to purchase them, then the Japanese get tired of them soon,” said Shinji Osada, general manager of Quiksilver Japan.
The surfwear maker hit a snag a couple of years ago when its Roxy line took off in Japan. Ultimately, the line fell victim to its own success as its popularity quickly peaked and then faded, according to Osada.
In the process, the company saw fashion-savvy teens “jump to what’s currently hot, cool down quickly and forget,” he said.
During the height of Roxy’s popularity, the market was flooded with knock-offs and real products imported by non-licensees. It wasn’t just clothes, either. Accessories also were copied. At one point, Osada said, 90% of the products in the market were imitations.
Quiksilver searched for fake pieces across Japan for months in a bid to file criminal lawsuits where it could. Some stores mixed and sold both genuine and pirated products. When the police raided one suspicious warehouse, all the inventory happened to be real Roxy products on that particular day.
The Roxy craze came to an ugly end. When elementary school kids started showing off their Roxy garb, the line wasn’t hip anymore. Teen girls who dictate what’s hot and what’s not dropped the line. Osada gave up his legal efforts.
“We sowed the seeds of Quiksilver products in Japan and carefully grew them in a bid to build the brand,” Osada said. “Finally, at the harvest season, pirate makers and non-licensees raided our farm and stole all the fruits.”
The incident took its toll on Quiksilver’s Japanese sales, though Osada declined to say by how much or what the company does annually in Japan.
Costa Mesa-based Lucy Love debuted in Japan last month, and company officials say they hope to avoid the pitfalls that have tripped up some of their rivals in Japan. Representatives say they are excited but cautious. The company caters to teens and young women with casual and resort-wear products.
“They do not produce winter clothes,” said Shigeru Nagakubo, head of sales and planning for Lucy Love. “That will be the biggest challenge in the Japanese market, where there are four seasons.”
