Handsome to open System Paris stores in Tokyo, Osaka

Handsome, the fashion arm of Hyundai Department Store Group, is bringing its European-acclaimed brand System Paris to the Japanese fashion market.

Hyundai Department Store Group said Monday that Handsome recently signed an exclusive distribution agreement with a Japanese consortium of Tatsuno (Jinya) and Woollen for System Paris in Japan. Tatsuno is a specialized importer of European textiles and apparel, while Woollen is a fashion company that has operated European premium brands in Japanese department stores.

Handsome launched System Paris as a global brand built on the collections of System and System Homme, which the company has presented at Paris Fashion Week since 2019. The brand targets global consumers with bold materials and sophisticated design.

Under the agreement, the Tatsuno-Woollen consortium plans to open the first store at Hankyu Men's Tokyo in February next year and expand to up to 10 locations by 2030, focusing on department stores in major cities including Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.

"System Paris has proven its quality and design competitiveness on the European stage, and we are confident it will resonate strongly with Japanese consumers, who place great importance on brand credibility," Handsome said.

System Paris is the only Korean casual brand to have appeared at Paris Fashion Week for 16 consecutive seasons since 2019. In January, it opened a permanent store at the Paris Haussmann flagship of Galeries Lafayette, France's largest department store chain. The brand is also running a pop-up store at Harrods, the iconic London department store.

"We are positioning our entry into Japan as a base for expansion across Asia and a springboard for global growth, and we are currently reviewing moves into China and Southeast Asia as well," said Yoon In-su, executive vice president and head of Handsome's management support division. "We will develop our global wholesale business centered on Time Paris and System Paris as a new growth engine and advance Handsome into a global fashion company."