# Tokyo-based business launches in London
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2016-08-26
Category: BUSINESS
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/business
Meta Title: Why London? International brand expansion insights | kay me
Meta Description: Discover how kay me successfully navigated the challenges of setting up in London post-Brexit, and why it remains a key market for growth and investment.
URL: https://financedigest.com/tokyo-based-business-launches-in-londonhtml

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**Why London?**

Since launching kay me in 2011, I’ve always known that I wanted kay me to be an international brand. However, when I decided to make this a reality one of the first things I considered was the talent pool and global reach of various different locations. My team and I discussed many international financial hubs including Frankfurt and Singapore, but settled on London because it has many of the resources we were looking for: a wide range of creative talent, other established luxury brands and is a vibrant, multi-cultural city.

For all of us here in Japan, it was incredibly exciting to establish our first overseas subsidiary, but at the same time, it was unknown territory. We are lucky in that we have a UK national, Nick Faulkner as a shareholder and Director, which certainly helps in [terms of navigating](https://www.financedigest.com/automotive-navigation-solutions-market-size-and-key-trends-in-terms-of-volume-and-value.html "Automotive Navigation Solutions Market Size and Key Trends in Terms of Volume and Value") the finer details and representing kay me in important meetings.

This navigation was crucial when we arrived in the UK as one of the biggest issues we faced was setting up a [bank account](https://www.financedigest.com/community-fintech-11onze-to-launch-el-canut-a-super-app-offering-universal-banking-accounts-and-digital-debit-cards.html "Community fintech 11Onze to launch – EL CANUT – a super APP offering universal banking accounts and digital debit cards"). We felt that the main UK banks were only really interested in accepting existing [big business](https://www.financedigest.com/how-china-became-big-business-for-twitter-from-blocking-to-blue-checks.html "How China became big business for Twitter, from blocking to blue checks"), and whilst we are pretty big in Japan (£3.5 million annual turnover), this didn’t seem to make a difference in the UK. We eventually managed to get a bank account set up through [Metro](https://www.financedigest.com/britains-metro-bank-returned-to-profit-in-september-sees-no-customer-stress.html "Britain’s Metro Bank returned to profit in September, sees no customer stress") Bank, who was recommended to us by our retained accounting and legal advisors, Accounts and Legal, who are London based and specalise in helping small international businesses to establish in the UK. We were impressed by their specialisation, transparent fee structure and thorough approach.

[**Post Brexit**](https://www.financedigest.com/navigating-the-new-rules-post-brexit.html "Navigating the new rules post Brexit")

With the Brexit issue now decided, we don’t feel at all put-off from the UK as an investment and [growth opportunity](https://www.financedigest.com/cycling-power-meter-market-to-offer-lucrative-growth-opportunities-for-players-during-the-forecast-period-2018-2026.html "Cycling Power Meter Market to Offer Lucrative Growth Opportunities for Players During the Forecast Period 2018 – 2026") for our brand. This is because we feel that all of the underlying strengths, such as its [global reach](https://www.financedigest.com/global-nail-care-market-to-reach-us-20940-2-mn-by-2027.html "Global Nail Care Market to Reach US$ 20,940.2 Mn By 2027") and vibrancy, are still there. Like everyone, we are waiting to see how the [next 6-12 months](https://www.financedigest.com/prince-harry-and-meghan-to-visit-britain-next-month.html "Prince Harry and Meghan to visit Britain next month") plays out, especially around EU legislation, but we’re confident that we will continue to grow with London as part of our international portfolio.

Many of the [online regulations that we had to deal with for the online retail](https://www.financedigest.com/why-online-retail-trading-needs-an-overhaul.html "Why online retail trading needs an overhaul") part of our business come from Brussels, such as Cookies and returns regulations, which meant that we had to get our heads around both UK and European rules. Like everyone else, we are not certain how these will evolve [post Brexit](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-and-eu-reach-post-brexit-customs-deal-for-n-ireland-the-times.html "UK and EU reach post-Brexit customs deal for N.Ireland-The Times"), but we are prepared to take advice and remain adaptable.

**Launching in London**

In Japan we have four bricks and mortar outlets; our flagship kay me store in Ginza (Tokyo’s Mayfair) and one in downtown Osaka, plus concessions in two Tokyo department stores, Odakyu and Mistsukoshi, so we thought we were well versed in securing space, but the UK is a whole different story.

In the UK we’ve looked at retail space in shopping centres as well as on the High Street, and found that opportunities are somewhat limited for newer brands, especially in the shopping centres. Our experience with department stores has been mixed, as while many are interested in our product, they asked for UK exclusivity. As a new entrant into the [market with established sales](https://www.financedigest.com/increasing-awareness-of-infant-health-is-paving-way-for-baby-sleeping-bags-market-sales.html "Increasing Awareness Of Infant Health Is Paving Way For Baby Sleeping Bags Market Sales") in Japan, this isn’t appealing.

We have [researched amongst focus groups and experimented with pop-ups to test the market](https://www.financedigest.com/cellulite-treatment-market-size-is-set-to-experience-revolutionary-growth-by-2026-transparency-market-research.html "Cellulite Treatment Market Size is Set to Experience Revolutionary Growth by 2026 | Transparency Market Research"), including holding a successful event in Piccadilly. We are also really pushing ahead with our international e-commerce site www.kayme.co.uk which offers free global shipping.

**The future of kay me**

We are delighted with the success of kay me so far but, we are always looking to the future and how the [business can grow and develop](https://www.financedigest.com/impact-com-appoints-a-raft-of-new-business-development-representatives-as-the-technology-companys-client-roster-grows-by-more-than-50.html "impact.com appoints a raft of new Business Development Representatives as the technology company’s client roster grows by more than 50%"). In the short-term we are looking to [grow kay me in London particularly establishing it in the City and Canary Wharf areas as they have a high concentration of potential kay me customers](https://www.financedigest.com/the-advanced-wound-management-technologies-market-to-grow-based-on-customized-digitization.html "The Advanced Wound Management Technologies Market to grow based on customized digitization"). In the long-term, we would like to expand kay me to five countries over the [next 10 years](https://www.financedigest.com/next-years-geneva-auto-show-cancelled-organisers.html "Next year’s Geneva auto show cancelled -organisers"). These would be [cities](https://www.financedigest.com/citi-halted-financing-for-trafiguras-nickel-deals-in-october-bloomberg.html "Citi halted financing for Trafigura’s nickel deals in October – Bloomberg") known primarily as strong financial capitals such as New York and Singapore.

Our journey is still very much in the early stages, but our UK [experience to date shows many similarities between Europeans and our Japanese customer](https://www.financedigest.com/how-real-time-data-innovation-is-driving-up-customer-experience-in-fintech.html "How real-time data innovation is driving up customer experience in fintech") base in terms of their needs and tastes, and we feel confident that we will continue to grow with London as part of our international portfolio.


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