Fashion house Versace closes its stores in Japan

Upmarket fashion giant Gianni Versace will close its Japanese stores and review its entire business strategy as chief executive officer Gian Giacomo Ferraris makes his mark on the business.

"The Versace boutiques in Japan no longer represented the brand image and it was felt to be more advantageous for the company to close them and start with a clean slate," Federico Steiner, an outside spokesman for Versace in Milan, said yesterday.

The stores are now in the process of being closed, he said.

Ferraris, former chief executive of fashion house Jil Sander, took over at Versace in July after the departure of Giancarlo di Risio.

Di Risio, who ran the brand for five years, left amid speculation of clashes over strategy with Donatella Versace, the company's chief designer.

Under Giancarlo Di Risio, Gianni Versace sold unprofitable units and took control of distribution in Japan and Taiwan to compete more effectively with Gucci Group and Giorgio Armani.

The company said last November it expected Asia to surpass the US as its biggest market after Europe this year as it expands in China.

Steiner would not comment on a report by Nikkei English News that Versace will liquidate the Japanese unit by the end of the year, other than to say the company is "exploring its options".

- BLOOMBERG