In future, we will further improve the value of the Syunsoku brand and strengthen marketing initiatives by merging the know-how of Achilles Corporation and ITOCHU Corporation, with the aim of transmitting the powerful message of the “Syunsoku World” to around 10 million children from the ages of 3 to 11 years.
Achilles Corporation and ITOCHU Corporation have concluded an exclusive contract for licensing approval in respect of the Syunsoku brand, for which Achilles Corporation is the brand-holder. ITOCHU Corporation has acquired the master license rights in respect of all items rolled out by Achilles Corporation with the exception of shoes.
In future, sub-license agreements will be gradually concluded with leading clothing manufacturers, general merchandise manufacturers, and so forth, for all items except shoes, for market deployment from the 2009 spring/summer season.
For many years, ITOCHU Corporation has developed character business targeted at boys and girls in the preschool to elementary school age-group, with a focus on TV animation and picture-book characters. By using this character business as a base for the introduction of Syunsoku as a brand that conveys a fashionable sensibility with a sporting mindset, we believe that we can further expand the character business of ITOCHU Corporation and create a stable enterprise in the long term.
At the same time, by merging the know-how it has cultivated over the years, the company is confident of its ability to contribute to improving the value of the Syunsoku brand even further.