“I’ve worked to develop Café Kitsuné as a successful international brand,” says Lellouche. Joining the business in 2018, when Café Kitsuné had just two cafés in Tokyo and Paris, Johanna Lellouche, Director of Business Development and Operations at the café group, has been at the forefront of the brand’s international expansion and forging synergies with Maison Kitsuné’s creative platforms. Since then, the boutique café group has flourished into a truly international business spanning 21 cafés in 14 cities across 11 countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America. The first Café Kitsuné store opened in 2013 in Tokyo’s Aoyama district, with outlets in Paris following shortly after. “We started as a café concept but we’ve since diversified into coffee roasteries, bars and a restaurant business” Enter Café Kitsuné Meanwhile, its music label, Kitsuné Musique and New York-based art gallery, Galerie Kitsuné, which opened in May 2022, bring together a melting pot of international creative talent. Today, the Maison Kitsuné and Café Kitsuné brands are present at 38 boutique locations across 11 countries around the world. The Kitsuné, meaning ʻfoxʼ in Japanese, family of brands comprises four distinct businesses – fashion house Maison Kitsuné, boutique café group Café Kitsuné, music label, Kitsuné Musique, and Galerie Kitsuné, an art gallery and publishing house. With Loaëc, the former creative director and manager of superstar band Daft Punk, and Kuroki studying under renowned French architect Jean Nouvel, it’s hardly surprising that creativity remains the raison d'être behind the Kitsuné vision.
Launched first as a music label by Gildas Loaëc and Masaya Kuroki in 2002, who met at the formerʼs Paris record store, Maison Kitsuné’s penchant for quality and artisanal craft reflects its founders’ respective French and Japanese heritage. The bar at Café Kitsuné, Brooklyn, New York City | Photo credit: Courtesy of Café Kitsuné
Johanna Lellouche, Director of Business Development and Operations at Café Kitsuné, speaks to 5THWAVE about scaling the boutique café business across the world and how coffee is weaving together the brand’s creative elements Whether roasting specialty coffee, designing trend-setting garments, or collaborating with international artists, Kitsuné is a multifaceted creative brand encompassing fashion, hospitality, music and art.
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