California-based casual fashion retailer True Religion has made its first foray in China with first outlet in Shenyang.
Further stores are planned with a second to follow in Shanghai.
True Religion, renowned for its denim with vintage aesthetic and “timeless appeal”, will be distributed and operated by Shanghai-based Envols International through a distribution agreement that runs until December 2016.
Envols International has co-operated with Giorgio Armani and has franchised Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni and Emporio Armani. Its portfolio also includes Jil Sander, 7 For All Mankind, Melissa, Sex in the City, Nolita and many more.
True Religion plans to open 10 to 25 stores across Europe and Asia in 2012 – its first stores in Spain and Morocco are due to open later this month.
Its new marketing campaign highlights four American personalities – The Wanderer, The Bohemian, The Rebel and The Maverick.
According to chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lubell, the brand evolves on a concept that True Religion is ‘Made in the USA’.
“I’d rather move up the price and stay in America wherever commodities like cotton and oil may go. I’m not buckling to the ‘you have to have a $100 jean’ pressure. I look for a certain margin. That dictates the price of the product,” Lubell said.
True Religion, which bears the motto ‘It’s all about the fit’, has 129 standalone stores worldwide and is distributed in six continents. A pair of True Religion jeans costs about US$240.
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