Gucci announces major Japanese expansion

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Gucci Group announced yesterday at a press conference in Japan that it is set to continue its acquisition plans using a war chest of $2.7bn in cash and will open 22 new outlets in Japan this year. Gucci chairman Domenico de Sole said most of the stores will be located in and around Tokyo. However no details were given on the breakdown of the store brands. Gucci owns the Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Sergio Rossi brands and already directly operates 53 stores in Japan.

In the last fiscal year ended January 2001 Gucci's sales in Japan rose 33% to $336m, compared to a 23% increase to $267m in the rest of Asia.