Japanese premium denim brand Evisu Group has bought back its the retail and franchising rights for the China market.

The US$40 million buy-back from New Elegant Trading (Shanghai) was funded in partnership with private equity fund Cassia Investments. New Elegant Trading was previously distributing Evisu in a joint venture with IDG Capital.

Evisu chairman and CEO David Pun will remain the majority shareholder.

Pun said the brand had made concerted efforts with its China joint venture partner over the past few years to establish brand awareness and secure a footing in China.

“We think this is an ideal time for the company to integrate its regional China business with headquarters to pursuit the brand’s global objectives in the coming years.”

In the meantime, Evisu is seeking business expansion globally by forging distribution partnerships for the US and Europe markets. The brand will step up product extensions like EvisuKuro, the latest athleisure collection, and maintain product exclusivity through focused management of wholesale distributors.

Evisu operates more than 150 points of sale as well as an online platform Evisu.com to serve customers worldwide. When Evisu was founded in 1991, it gained recognition in the international denim world with its Japanese selvedge denims with hand-painted seagull logos on the back pockets. Today, the brand has become a lifestyle brand that offers a wide range of product includes jeans, tees, shirts, sweats and knits for men and women, underwear and eyewear.

The Evisu product portfolio is divided into different collections: The main line, Evisu Evergreen is a premium Japanese heritage denim collection. EvisuKuro, a trend-oriented line, is a fusion of fashion and athleisure that goes beyond denim. Complementing these are the made-in-Japan premium line Evisu Private Stock and the made-to-order Evisu Bespoke.