Ash Footwear Opens First U.S. Retail Store

News provided by

May 25, 2011, 08:30 ET

NEW YORK, May 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the fastest growing contemporary shoe and accessories brands, Ash, makes its way to America! The first Ash U.S. store location opens today in New York City's SoHo district at 44 Mercer Street.

Ash was founded in 2000 from the passion and the knowledge of two great creative minds: Patrick Ithier and Leonello Calvani. Both with experience in the luxury shoe market, Ithier and Calvani worked for such top names as Charles Jourdan and Stephane Kelian. Their partnership was formed out of their mutual stylistic and commercial taste and a desire for edgy and unique contemporary footwear. Their shoes and accessories reflect their background in French luxury design, merged with Italian leathers and craftsmanship.

The 2,300 square foot retail space in the heart of New York City's fashion forward SoHo neighborhood will reflect the glamour, edginess and originality of the shoes and accessories that are always at the base of the philosophy of the brand. With high ceilings and a mix of wood and metal displays and furniture, the New York flagship store's modern, architectural design allows customers to focus on the product. The New York flagship will carry a wide range of men and women's shoes, handbags and other leather accessories. The store will also carry the Ash Kids fall collection beginning in late summer.

"We are thrilled to bring the Ash store to America," said co-founder, Patrick Ithier. "There is already such an amazing Ash brand identity in the U.S. and we are excited that our customers and fans will now have a flagship store location where they can go to shop."

The New York store location will be the 14th Ash retail store worldwide, with other stores already in London, Paris, Barcelona, Denmark, Italy, Tokyo, Greece, Australia, and Korea. Ash plans to expand its retail stores by opening two stores in Athens and Copenhagen this August with further plans to expand to Taipei, Milan, Seoul, as well as several other locations in the coming months.

About Ash: Ash was founded in 2000 from the passion and the knowledge of two great creative minds: Patrick Ithier and Leonello Calvani. Both with experience in the luxury shoe market, Ithier and Calvani worked for such top names as Charles Jourdan and Stephane Kelian. Their partnership was formed out of their mutual stylistic and commercial taste and a desire for edgy and unique contemporary footwear. Their shoes reflect their background in French luxury design, merged with Italian leathers and craftsmanship. The philosophy of Ash was created on two main ideas: the selection of the distribution and the price competition, while creating cool unique products for fashion forward consumers. Ash shoes target the fashion conscious generation of men and women who travel to the style capitals of the world, always setting trends, never following them. The goal of Ash is to be able to grow the net of a single brand investing on the European market, but also expanding in Asia and the United States, a clear sign of the willingness of the brand to become the leader in contemporary footwear. After the great success of the boutiques in London, Paris and Barcelona, Ash recently opened the first flagship in Rome in Via Frattina 113 at the center of the capital. All retail stores carry a wide range of men, women and children's shoes as well as other leather accessories. Ash plans to expand its retail stores by opening two stores in August in Athens and Copenhagen, as well as additional store locations in Taipei, Milan, Seoul, and several other locations in the coming months. Please visit the Ash website at: www.ashfootwearusa.com.