Japanese "Cross" Brand Sets Up 1st Overseas Branch in Taiwan

Taipei, July 8, 2008 (CENS)--Cross Co., Japan's renowned fashions firm, recently established its first overseas branch in Taiwan and will introduce its own brand-"earth music & ecology"-on the island.

Founded in 1995, Cross Co. has fared well since. It currently has 12 fashion brands and one cafe chain brand. Last year the company raked in revenues of 16.6 billion Japanese yen (about NT$4.74 billion or US$152.9 million) with gross profit rate of 16%. This year its revenues are expected to grow to 22 billion Japanese yen (NT$6.3 billion or US$203.23 million.

Among the company's garment brands, "earth music & ecology" is quite popular, which generated revenues of 8.7 billion Japanese yen (NT$2.5 billion or NT$80.65 million) last year and the figure this year may rise to NT$9.7 billion (NT$2.77 billion or US$89.36 million).

The Japanese firm cooperated with a fashions brand "i.t." in Hong Kong in 2004 and only this year did it decide to establish its first overseas branch in Taiwan, where it will set up three or four major sales points in department stores this year. The firm aims for one billion Japanese yen (NT$285.7 million or US$9.22 million) as a sales target in Taiwan within three years for a gross profit rate of 6%.

Cross Co. said now is the right time to set up the branch in Taiwan and plans to go public on the island by 2011. Observers believe that setting up a Taiwan branch is the stepping stone to tap the huge market in China.

Cross now runs its business in Shanghai via a wholesale agent and plans to set up direct sales stores in China by 2013, estimating that revenues from Asian markets would reach 60 billion Japanese yen (NT$17.14 billion or US$552.9 million) by 2017 and Taiwan would be its third largest market in the region.