Layer (CEO Chanho Shin) has officially announced the signing of an exclusive licensing agreement in Asia for their fashion brand 'Marithé François Girbaud (MARITHÉ FRANÇOIS GIRBAUD)’.
Marithé François Girbaud is a French brand launched in 1972 by designers Marithé Bachellerie and François Girbaud, known worldwide for its unique collections based on denim.
In Korea, Layer undertook a comprehensive rebranding in 2019, presenting a new Marithé François Girbaud that combines the brand's unique heritage with modern sensibilities, achieving 100 billion won in sales and opening 61 offline stores nationwide in 2023, showing exceptional growth.
The movement of Marithé François Girbaud, one of the most notable brands in the Korean fashion industry, has become a hot topic in the Asian market, which is passionate about K-pop and K-fashion. Amidst the global expansion, Layer has officially announced its exclusive licensing agreement for Asia amidst a flurry of local corporate interests.
CEO Chanho Shin of Layer stated, “Using the ‘One Company’ strategy, which has emerged as a key keyword in global licensing business, Marithé François Girbaud's French headquarters and Layer will become one team to expand into foreign markets. We expect the synergy between the French headquarters' extensive archives and Layer's unique know-how, which succeeded in the demanding Korean market, to be effective and are confident of success globally,” he explained.
Layer plans to first expand into high-demand markets such as China, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam among other countries, currently negotiating exclusive sales agreements with local importers and distributors. Before the full-scale sales, it intends to meet Asian customers starting with pop-up stores by the end of the year.