From the start, entrepreneur Kazumasa Terada had his eye on the global market. Using celebrities like the Hilton sisters in 2002 to promote his handbag label, Terada has turned Samantha Thavasa into a household name in Japan, and is on the verge of bigger things abroad.

With the opening of the first outlet overseas on Madison Avenue in New York City in November, Terada, 41, has moved a step closer to his long-cherished ambition: to transform Samantha Thavasa into a world-class brand.

Terada's promotional tactics of tapping famous fashion icons as ad models and designers for Samantha Thavasa have proved effective.