Nine months after opening its first Grandshop retail location in the United States, Cole Haan opened its third in Japan Friday.
Located in Tokyo’s Harajuku district on Cat Street—the “spiritual home of Tokyo’s vibrant street fashion culture,” according to Time Out—the two-story shop will serve as the brand’s flagship in the fashion capital.
“The Cole Haan brand has been growing internationally for the past several years, and is now sold in more than 60 countries,” David Maddocks, brand president of Cole Haan, said in a statement. “Yet Japan holds a special place for the Cole Haan brand as we’ve been there for more than a quarter century. It only made sense to bring our most innovative retail concept to one of the most iconic shopping destinations in the world—Harajuku district’s Cat Street in the heart of Tokyo.”
Starting with the store’s sleek exterior walls and the “Find your future here” quote outside the front door, every aspect of the Grandshop is meant to immerse and inspire, Cole Haan said. Inside, numerous additional quotes in both English and Japanese dot the space, such as “Take courage. Leave directions,” from the footwear brand’s recent #WriteNewRules campaign.
The roughly 1,776-square-foot Grandshop will offer several high-tech flourishes, including QR codes located throughout the store that offer style and purchasing information for various Cole Haan collections. Other features include a selfie station, two screens highlighting Cole Haan innovations and a second-floor window integrated with a transparent LED screen that illuminates Cat Street at night.
In addition to the brand’s Zerogrand, 4.Zerogrand and Zerogrand Performance Running collections, the new store will also carry exclusive, limited-edition Cole Haan x Hasan Minhaj GrandPrø Rally Court Sneakers. The shoes mark the second release from Cole Haan’s collaboration with the popular comedian, following the debut of two new 4.Zerogrand Hikers last month.