Wacoal Holdings Corp. and Descente Ltd. recently concluded a comprehensive business alliance to strengthen and develop business foundations and to improve corporate value.
The alliance is to create new businesses beyond the boundaries of current operations, including new brand concepts and create new opportunities in the athleisure market going beyond the barriers of fashion, sports, health and beauty.
It is to develop commercial materials that utilize their “craftsmanship” strengths, including collaboration in compression wear, sports baselayer and swimwear, as well as promoting joint product development and design, manufacturing and marketing, effectively utilizing their distribution channels.
Assets owned by both companies are to be effectively used, including the use of their overseas bases, and will accelerate global growth by exploiting Wacoal’s strong business base in Europe and America and Descente’s significant presence in Asia.
Collaboration in e-commerce sites is to create linkage between the domestic and overseas e-commerce sites for both companies.
Collaboration in the junior market category will introduce new brands to the junior wear market.
Under this new partnership, opportunities in “beauty, health and comfort” will be pursued to take maximum advantage of Wacoal’s dominant position in the innerwear market and Descente’s accumulated sportswear know-how built with elite athlete participation. Using their respective management resources, both companies will cooperate comprehensively to create new values beyond their current fields of fashion and sports, and by doing so, strengthen, develop and expand both their domestic and global businesses.
Wacoal believes this partnership will contribute to an expansion into new markets and further strengthen overseas business.
Meanwhile, Descente will strengthen and expand product development for the women’s market, which is expected to grow significantly and contribute to further global expansion.