Sojitz General Merchandise Corporation (Sojitz GMC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sojitz Corporation, acquired trademark rights to England’s Admiral casual fashion brand for five regions in East Asia (China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and South Korea). With the acquisition of these trademark rights, Sojitz GMC will solidify the production foundations of its existing business while using the brand know-how that it established in the Japanese market to sell Admiral as an English brand launched from Japan in East Asian markets.
Sojitz GMC began selling Admiral casual footwear in Japan in 2006 performing the full role from planning, design, production, to sales. Annual sales volumes which were approximately 40,000 pairs in 2007 has grown to a level of approximately 200,000 pairs with the support from the generation around 20 years old or younger. Sojitz GMC designed products using materials such as Harris Tweed and Liberty brand textiles from England, and took various measures such as product planning in collaboration with Japan's largest mail-order fashion sites and premier select shops, developing Admiral into a brand known for retaining unique English characteristics.
Sojitz GMC will begin overseas marketing of Admiral branded products in 2014 and will look into sales of products other than casual footwear.
