Sneakers brand Enterprise Japan enters new markets in Asia, America, creates first women’s line

The Fall/Winter 2025-26 collection by Italian premium sneakers brand Enterprise Japan combines Italian footwear expertise with an international outlook that has led the brand to enter new markets. Enterprise Japan, owned by Italian footwear producer Eli Group, is inspired by two apparently distant worlds, as it creatively blends Italian manufacturing expertise with Japanese precision. The brand’s collections reinterpret 1970s and 80s pop culture through an evergreen aesthetic distinctive for the strong connection between materials and quality.

After entering France in November 2024, Enterprise Japan is deploying the strategy it anticipated to FashionNetwork.com last year, with a focus on Asia. “In recent months, Brand Manager Alex Alliot has been travelling to South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong to meet potential partners, both retailers and distributors, and to assess the best strategies to enter these markets,” said Maurizio Croceri, CEO of Eli Group and the brains behind Enterprise Japan, speaking to FashionNetwork.com.

Croceri co-founded the group with Italian fashion businessman Marco Marchi in 2016. Eli Group is based in Civitanova Marche, in central Italy, and is part of Marchi’s Exelite Group. “[Potential partners] responded well to our products, but to enter these markets we need to plan a targeted communication and marketing strategy. [Enterprise Japan] is a niche brand. We aren’t necessarily aiming for big volumes right away, we’d rather talk to the right consumers, specific to our products, people who understand what they buy and why,” said Croceri.

Enterprise Japan is thinking about collaborating with local brands, artists and communities that are compatible with its values, and have an established market reputation. Local distributors will have to support Enterprise Japan in organising the import business and developing the brand on their specific markets. “In exchange, we can reciprocate by giving Asian brands the opportunity to enter Europe, and to gain visibility through our distribution network and our credibility,” said Croceri.

Eli Group performed satisfactorily in 2024, notably driven by the strong growth posted by Pinko Shoes. “Liu Jo, on the other hand, because of strategic brand image changes and the generalised market downturn, recorded a revenue decline, which was compensated by Pinko’s growth, while Enterprise Japan’s organic growth remained on track,” said Croceri, revealing that “[Enterprise Japan] has entered new markets, enabling us to boost visibility and volumes.”
 
In 2024, the brand entered Mexico and Israel, despite the tense geopolitical situation in the latter, “but we are also about to enter Thailand, Vietnam, and India, with local conglomerate Aditya Birla, which will be in charge of opening India’s branches of the Galeries Lafayette department store,” said Croceri. “These countries enabled us to compensate the shortfalls experienced in others where we were already operating, which struggled owing to the geopolitical-financial crisis that gripped the world last year,” he added.
 
Enterprise Japan is currently distributed by approximately 150 retail clients for a total of some 250 doors. “[Direct] retail is always in our sights, but market uncertainty doesn’t allow us to properly plan the necessary investments. The timeline has therefore extended,” said Croceri, adding that “by the end of this year we’ll redesign our site, with a new customer experience interface, more suited to our products’ contemporary feel.” 

Enterprise Japan’s Fall/Winter 2025-26 collection consists of approximately 120 SKUs between men’s and women’s shoes. “This season, we introduced new product categories at the collection’s presentation in Milan, like handbags, socks, hats and perfumes. We’ll test the feasibility of these brand extensions on our e-shop, but for the time being we’re focusing on footwear,” said Croceri, adding that “the real novelty is that, from this season, we’re featuring a sizeable collection targeted specifically at women, for the first time. We’re introducing it due to sustained customer demand, and it won’t be just a series of men’s models adapted to women’s feet.”
 
Style-wise, the driving design principle behind Enterprise Japan’s couture sneakers is the Japanese concept of Shibui. The sneakers’ 80s heritage style is linked to Shibui’s art of imperfection, to the simplicity and beauty of the wear and tear caused by time, becoming a bridge between past and future. The collection’s main models are the Egg Rocket, Run Rocket, and Jupiter Rocket.