Following the recent announcement of Brown Shoe Company Inc.’s Japanese launch, the US-based footwear manufacturer is now to introduce its shoes to the Chinese market. The company has formed a joint venture with Chinese footwear company Hongguo International Holdings Limited. Over the next five years, the two companies expect to open more than 400 stores across China carrying the Naturalizer brand and more than 100 carrying the Via Spiga brand.
Brown Shoe will hold a 51% stake in the joint venture—B & H Footwear Company Limited—and Hongguo will hold the remaining 49%. It will be set up in Dongguan, in the Guangdong province, where Brown Shoe currently runs a sourcing operation with approximately 600 employees.
The Naturalizer women's fashion footwear brand will be launched in China in the autumn, while the Via Spiga brand is expected to make its Chinese debut in 2008. Naturalizer was launched in 1927 as a women’s brand designed to combine style and comfort. It is distributed in 37 countries and generated approximately $500 million in worldwide retail sales in 2006.
Headquartered in Nanjing, Hongguo currently owns two ladies' fashion footwear labels, C.Banner and E.Blan. It also distributes premium fashion labels such as Ermenegildo Zegna, Hugo Boss and MaxMara in eastern China through its subsidiary, Jiangsu Unity Corporation.
