Toshio SAKAI
Presidente, Conduttore Co.
Sakai can be considered a sort of ambassador of made in Italy in Japan. He has a longtime experience in the fashion system that started in 1972 when, after graduating at the Hitotsubashi university of Osaka, he entered in C. Itoh (Itochu group), where he developed and introduced Italian fabrics to Japanese apparel companies. Through this business, he took the exclusive sales agency agreements with high-end manufacturers like Cerruti, Ormezzano, Fila, Luigi Botto and Guabello. In 1983 he was appointed to be responsible for Dunhill and contracted the general distributorship agreement with Alfred Dunhill ltd London. Under this agreement, Sakai developed the license business with Renown, Descente and Kawabe. In 1985 he worked at C. Itoh italiana spa in Milan where he developed the business of brands like Armani, Coveri, Burani and Missoni. In 1987 he made a joint venture agreement with Giorgio Armani spa for the Japanese market. He was hired by the Italian brand in '91 as executive vicepresident of Giorgio Armani Japan co ltd and in '95 he became general manager, sales and marketing of the Japanese subsidiary of Armani and in '99 he was appointed director of the sales and marketing. In January 2002 he resigned from Giorgio Armani Japan while in February he established his own company, named Conduttore co ltd, with the following activities: consulting (management, sales, marketing, retail management), development of retail store, representative of foreign companies, advertising and any other activities.