Juicy Couture targets UK, Europe growth with new deal, plans menswear push

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 5, 2017

Hong Kong’s Global Brands Group is to manage Juicy Couture in Europe and will kick off its new remit with a major push in the UK. The European move comes as the Juicy Couture label is also targeting growth via the menswear market with a capsule collection under a new name borrowed from a fragrance it launched several years ago.

Global already handles Juicy in multiple markets but despite the new European deal, Folli Follie will retain the rights for Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria.

The UK push comes as Juicy’s owner Authentic Brands Group is closing its standalone stores there but also working to boost the label’s e-tail. concession and wholesale business in Britain as part of an attempt to return the brand to its glory days of a decade ago when it saw global sales of almost half a billion dollars annually.

Even taking its sales decline in recent years into account, Juicy Couture retains strong brand recognition in the UK and this is helping it as the brand begins its fight back. Despite the plans for UK store closures, it remains available in Britain through Topshop (with which it launched a hoodie and jogger collaboration earlier this year), as well as on Asos and Amazon.

Global Brands, which also has licenses for Calvin Klein, Under Armour, Frye, Joe’s, Spyder, Cole Haan, Kenneth Cole, and Jones New York, will now be a key part of this push.

It will also be a major player as Juicy launches a men’s brand called Dirty English with a small collection of 15 products to be sold through its own and multibrand stores in Europe and the US. The launch is a revival of the Dirty English fragrance brand name that was launched in Europe serval years ago.

As with the main Juicy offer, Folli Follie will handle the debut in the markets for which it is responsible.

Authentic Brands said the Dirty English label resonates well with retailers targeting Millennial consumers and in line with the shopping behaviour of these consumers, the marketing campaign will be largely digital.