L Catterton Asia invests in Japanese eyewear chain Owndays

By

Shomara Roosblad

Published
Nov 13, 2018

Private equity firm L Catterton Asia announced on Thursday that it has partnered with Mitsui & Co. to invest in Japanese eyewear company Owndays.

L Catterton said that the investment will be used to further accelerate Owndays’ growth across the Asia Pacific region. The current management team will continue to retain substantial equity interests and manage the company.

Shuji Tanaka, CEO at Owndays, said in a press release: “We are excited to welcome two world-class partners, L Catterton Asia and Mitsui & Co., as we enter the next exciting phase in Owndays’ growth in Japan and across Asia. Our ambition is to become Asia’s leading optical retailer and we plan to open more than 500 stores across the Asia Pacific region over the next five years.”

Ravi Thakran, chairman and managing partner at L Catterton Asia, added: “Our investment in Owndays marks our first foray into Japan and we are thrilled to begin this journey with two outstanding partners, Owndays and Mitsui & Co. The Owndays success story has been one of innovation, quality service and boldly exceeding consumer expectations. The company is poised to take advantage of the robust macro trends that are driving the market for private brand eyewear.”

Owndays, which offers prescription eyewear under a roster of pwn-brands, was founded in 1989. The brand began to expand across Southeast Asia in 2013 and has become Japan’s most international optical eyewear retailer. The brand currently operates 115 stores in Japan and 142 stores across 10 other Asian markets.

L Catterton Asia is part of L Catterton, a partnership between Catterton, LVMH and Groupe Arnault. The group’s investments include: Trendy International, Pepe Jeans, Gentle Monster, YG Entertainment, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality and Sasseur, one of the largest operators and developers of lifestyle-focused outlet malls in China.