Vicomte A develops export near and far

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
Apr 3, 2015

Vicomte A. is strengthening its international presence. The French brand, founded in 2005 by Arthur de Soultrait, is now offering its polos along with the entirety of its high-end ready-to-wear for men and women in Belgium and Luxembourg.

It is notably being carried in the Brussels concept store Smets Premium Store, located on Leuvensesteenweg. The brand, which directly manages nearby markets, has half-dozen high-end locations in both countries.

With a presence at more than 300 retail locations worldwide, it is also expanding internationally. The Japanese and US markets (where the brand has a showroom) are the main contributors to its export business, but it is also expanding into new countries. 

It has signed a distribution agreement in Australia and announced its deployment in a premium multibrand network for summer 2015. The initiative is being accompanied by a polo event sponsorship deal that was signed in 2014. 

Thanks to the work of a commercial agent, a dozen or so clients are also carrying the brand’s summer 2015 collection in Russia, while the brand is also now present in the concept store Grandezza in Baku, Azerbaijan. Vicomte A. is additionally in talks to open a monobrand location in Moscow.

The brand is already present in China through corner stores, but it has just finished up negotiations for an exclusive distribution agreement and the opening of its first store in Taiwan, in Taichung City, scheduled for September. Two openings should follow in 2016 in Taipei and Kaohsiung. 

At the beginning of 2014, the brand received investment from CM-CIC Capital Finance and strengthened its management team over the course of the year. It then announced an objective of having international sales making up 40% of revenues in 2018 as compared with 15% in 2013.