Japanese Brand Growze Builds First Store in Los Angeles
The allure of celebrity is powerful enough to support a number of businesses, from magazine publishing to weight-loss schemes, and two Japanese entrepreneurs are betting that it is powerful enough to drive sales to new women’s contemporary brand Growze.
The brand’s first store opened March 20 at 234 N. Larchmont Blvd. in Los Angeles, located in the middle of a quiet retail street where contemporary boutiques LF and Fluxxus do business.
Husband-and-wife team Masaki and Yukiko Kudo chose to start their business in Los Angeles because so many celebrities keep a home in town, and they hope to place the Growze brand on celebrity backs.
“Celebrity has a huge influence in Japan,” Yukiko Kudo said through a translator at the debut party, which was hosted by actress Mischa Barton. Stylist Taylor Jacobson, formerly with docudrama “The Rachel Zoe Project,” also appeared at the event, wearing Growze.
The Kudos design and sell women’s fashion brand Galstar, which is headquartered in Osaka, Japan, and it is sold primarily through Japanese e-commerce markets such as Rakuten. For the present, Growze is only being sold in the United States, Masaki Kudo said. He plans on opening a Growze shop in New York later this year and forecasts the brand will run a fleet of 50 stores in America in the next five years.
Yukiko Kudo described her brand as a diffusion line for a heritage brand such as Chanel or Dolce & Gabbana. It offers stylish, fashion-forward looks at low prices. Retail price points range from $40 to $150 for the line, which ranges from T-shirts to chiffon dresses. Most items will be priced under $100, and like a fast-fashion store, there always will be novel looks. New deliveries of clothes will be sent to Growze stores every two weeks.—A.A.
