The couple of entrepreneurs was trained at the French headquarters to know the codes and the identity of the brand. / Photo S.C.

Practical information

IKKS PARIS

479 N Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills

Information here: http://stores.ikks.com/en-uk/store/beverly-hills/ikks-junior/store–ikks-junior1

To the prestigious names of French luxury (Chanel, Louis Vuitton or Cartier) which are all located in the heart of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, we must now add a much less known in the United States: IKKS Paris. The shop of almost 100 m2 offers since the beginning of November the junior collections -destined for children from 3 months to 18 years- of the French brand in rock and sport-chic style.

Behind this opening, the first on the American territory, is a French couple, Joyce Lopuszanski and Matthieu Lecuyer. "After the birth of our daughter, I realized that in the United States, there are only low-end clothes for children or too classic and expensive ", summarizes the Bordeaux 39 years.

They then have the project to open a concept store dedicated to children, "with clothes for sale and a coffee area with a juice bar "recalls the former professional rider who raced as a member of the Oreca, Peugeot Sport or Lamborghini team, before taking a break from his career. He then contacted various brands of French ready-to-wear to convince them to participate in this project. And finally, IKKS – a new investor – returns to them to offer them another idea: to develop the network of the brand founded in 1987 by Gerard Le Goff in the United States. Lovers of challenges and adventure, the couple takes the master franchise (contract conferring exclusive franchise development of a brand) by investing their own funds. "Although the brand is well known internationally, with 3600 stores in 45 countries, there is a lot of work to do in the United States", Assures Matthieu Lecuyer, who has already launched thirty companies, ranging from collector cars to medical. But he is convinced by the product: "it's the only children's brand created for them using adult codes. "

Passed by Miami, New York and Vegas (where they live), the French hesitated about the location of their first installation. The choice of Beverly Hills has become essential, for the expatriate Bordelais in the United States for 15 years, who considers it "The biggest market in the world after Asia". New York seemed too premature for them: "Many brands have failed. It must be installed when the network is already solid."

For a virtuous development, the French couple wants to multiply the marketing operations, be they castings, VIP events, parades with customers, fundraisers … "You have to do the show in the United States. We are particularly targeting celebrities who have children ", sucks Joyce Lopuszanski, who takes for example the success of Christian Audigier, "the king of marketing". Former dancer for the Crazy Horse in Paris and Las Vegas, she has some experience of trading, after a passage through the Rockstar jeans.

Their goal for IKKS is to open two or three stores on their behalf and then deliver turnkey stores. Before that, they plan to spend 6 months in the Rodeo Drive store, just to make sure it works. If the brand seduced, they would eventually open a boutique in the "fashion island" in Newport Beach, rather than one of the priceless "malls" of the city. "We refuse to rush, we prefer that there is first an attachment of customers to the brand", Argues the former driver, who also wants to create an IKKS training for future teams and eventually import the collections for adults. Before that, they plan to set up online sales in the United States, which will be "a matter of days".

Practical information

IKKS PARIS

479 N Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills

Information here: http://stores.ikks.com/en-uk/store/beverly-hills/ikks-junior/store–ikks-junior1

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