Fast-growing Jott aims to expand in Italy, Japan, South Korea, USA

French down jacket brand Jott wants to grow in all aspects of the business. While it is aiming to expand its product range and boost brand reputation, broadening its geographical footprint is surely a mainstay for future growth. The Marseilles-based brand, founded in 2010 and acquired by L Catterton in early 2021, is now stepping up the pace of its store opening plans. In 2022, Jott is expecting to generate a revenue of €150 million - twice what it was two years ago -and it is looking to triple this figure within the next five years.

Since the acquisition, Jott has grown the number of stores it operates from 80 to 200, including some 60 stores in nine countries outside France. “We’re planning to open between 60 and 70 new stores in 2023, including some 30 branches,” said Didier Lalance, Jott's managing director, who is primarily looking to strengthen the brand’s European presence. The first step will be opening a new subsidiary in Italy, where Jott will inaugurate its first two monobrand stores in early 2023. The brand is currently finalising locations in Milan and Turin.

“We are pursuing a classic strategy of expanding in key cities. Our goal is to move from being a Franco-European brand to a global player, with a universal product as its basic asset,” said Lalance.

In Europe, the company has already opened six subsidiaries this year: in Switzerland, Germany, Benelux, Spain, the UK and Portugal. Next year, it intends to strengthen its presence in these countries and also in Eastern Europe, specifically in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Austria. In the UK, Jott has scheduled its first two openings in London for November and December (Marylebone and Battersea), and is also planning to launch in Manchester.

Jott is also considering northern Europe, and negotiations are under way to enter the region with the help of a local partner. “We will not be competing with local performance brands. We are rooted in urban consumers, our goal is to outfit people for going out for dinner or going to school, you can’t set off trekking in Lapland with a Jott jacket,” he said.

On the e-tail side, the brand launched a new European e-shop this summer, which will soon be able to handle payments in pound sterling and Swiss francs.

Asia is another region featuring in Jott's expansion plans. In less than two years, the brand has made a breakthrough in China, opening 23 stores with a local partner. Next year, Japan and South Korea will each host their first three stores, in both cases in their capitals, Tokyo and Seoul.

Finally, Jott has set its eyes on the USA. A major growth market that the brand is carefully preparing to enter in late 2023 or early 2024. “We want to enter the US market with an omni-channel strategy, chiefly targeting department stores and leading multi-brand retailers, as well as having an e-tail presence,” said Lalance. “We are talking with a number of players, there's no hurry. We do not want to make mistakes entering this market, where our products combining practicality and style could really be successful with local consumers,” he added.

In France, where Jott operates 126 stores, the current strategy is focused on upgrading stores by relocating to larger premises and better positions, and on adding new addresses in major cities. For example in Nantes, where Jott will soon open a second store inside the Atlantis shopping mall.

Fast-growing Jott aims to expand in Italy, Japan, South Korea, USA

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