Onitsuka Tiger loves the Champs-Elysées. One year after bringing the 19th-century mansion at number 25 Avenue to life during the Olympic Games to celebrate its 75th anniversary, the Japanese brand is back in a big way, in yellow and black. This July, the label founded in Kobe by Kihachiro Onitsuka, who later gave birth to Asics in 1977, inaugurates a flagship store in which it deploys its Yellow concept over 500 square meters in the building built for the sultry Marquise de Païva.

After inaugurating a London flagship with its Red concept a few weeks ago, the brand is now offering its most cutting-edge universe in Paris, designed by Milanese architecture studio Dini Cataldi. The space extends over two levels. At the entrance, after descending a few steps, the brand’s latest creative proposals, mixing premium sneakers and leather shoes with contemporary style, are displayed in transparent yellow Plexiglas columns and on two white neon-lit walls, playing off the black glossy floor. A spacious café adds to the brand experience. Another flight of bright yellow steps leads to a second room with a high arcade ceiling.

Here, visitors discover the latest sports-inspired collections, such as the Japan-produced model of the Mexico 66TM NM interpreted in blue-white-red for the occasion, or the brand’s perfume. They then wander through a maze of the brand’s textile collections on display in Milan, leading to a former vault converted into a fitting room.

While Onitsuka Tiger already has a store in the Les Halles district, this flagship store at the foot of the touristy Champs-Elysées avenue marks the brand’s evolution in recent years.

“Our Les Halles store is much smaller. When it first opened, we were much more focused on the brand’s sporting heritage. But today, as a fashion brand, we’re growing to, let’s say, capture the trend and present the contemporary type of footwear,” explained brand boss, Ryoji Shoda, at the flagship’s inauguration.

“And then, if we were to develop this part, we obviously need a larger surface area to accommodate a large number of customers with different tastes.”

The avant-garde design of the premises is a clear departure from the brand’s previous Paris-based universe, a sign of the brand’s turnaround a few years ago, first in Asia, then in Europe in recent months. The brand is on the offensive, offering a cultural and lifestyle immersion that highlights its positioning announced for 2019 in its direct sales outlets, after having considerably reorganized its distribution in recent years to focus on its flagships.

After Barcelona and London, given the European economic climate, the brand is likely to limit openings on the Old Continent in the coming months.

“We think the important markets in Europe have been covered for now,” explained the brand’s general manager.

“Being in these cities allows us to be in contact with European customers who travel. For us, however, it’s not just about opening stores. We’ve done a lot of work on our e-commerce, and our business is flourishing, enabling us to sell all over Europe.”

Between Milan, where the brand will continue to parade, Barcelona, London and Paris, Onitsuka Tiger has major flags in Europe’s tourist capitals. It could strengthen its market positions through relationships with certain department stores.

In fact, Europe is gaining in importance, as is the United States for the brand, which still relies primarily on its business in Asia, particularly China and Japan. According to Shoda, the brand’s turnover is 120 billion yen (705 million euros), almost double that of six years ago, with sales of its heritage range still accounting for the majority of its sales, and generating substantial profitability.