Luxury French jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels continues to view Japan as a key market and is confident sales will pick up once the economy recovers, its president and chief executive officer said in a recent interview.
"I see brands say now we have to go to China . . . as our good time in Japan has passed and the future is in China," Stanislas de Quercize said, referring to moves among some high-end foreign brands to rethink their presence in Japan amid a dwindling appetite for luxury goods.
"We are here when there is a blue sky. We are here when there is a typhoon," de Quercize said. "We are here to stay because we believe (in a) long-term relationship."