Axel Arigato Signals China Ambition With New Campaign
Swedish sneaker brand Axel Arigato has drum-rolled its China expansion ambition with the new campaign “From Shanghai With Love.”
Shot by the Shanghai-based photographer Rusty Nero, the campaign features members of the brand’s local community living their lives while sporting new season items.
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The campaign features Nick, Pierhei and their pet dog. The young couple, who are starting their family in downtown Shanghai, posed in front of a local grocery on Wulumuqi Road.
It also features Weilai and his mother Qin. They share a mutual love of life and fashion. Qin wore a black and white varsity jacket, while Weilai wore a pair of the brand’s Area Lo sneakers for the shoot.
Yebi is the third member of the campaign, a voguing dancer with eye-popping fuchsia hair. He used the backdrop of Shanghai as his stage for the visuals as he stood on the Yan’an crossing downtown.
As the third installment of Axel Arigato’s city-focused campaign after London and Paris, “From Shanghai With Love” is “an opportunity for us to celebrate the people in this amazing city, and our commitment to expand our global community even further,” according to Albin Johansson, chief executive officer at Axel Arigato.
He added that “as China becomes a key focus for Axel Arigato’s continued expansion in 2023-24, our community continues to be our main point of focus — as it has been in Paris, London and beyond.”
The brand entered the Chinese market last summer with the opening of its online flagship store on Tmall. It’s also stocked at wholesale partners such as Net-a-porter China, Assemble by Reel, Full Moon, Luxemporium and Harvey Nichols Hong Kong. DFS in Hainan and Macau will begin to carry the brand from the fall 2023 season as well.
It’s understood that Axel Arigato is exploring options to further expand in the Chinese market, such as entering direct physical retail or onboarding with more wholesale partners.
The brand operates physical retail locations in London and Bicester, England; Paris; Stockholm; Copenhagen; Gothenburg, Sweden; Berlin; Munich, Hamburg, and Dubai.
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