British heritage label Sunspel is accelerating its international retail footprint with a slate of strategic openings in Paris, which opened Thursday, and an upcoming flagship in Tokyo, which is slated for February.

France has a pivotal role in Sunspel’s retail history, Sunspel owner and executive chair Nicholas Brooke said. His first foray into retail for the brand was a pop-up in London in 2008, and many British customers were reticent about the price point, even though the product was wholly made in England. However, French customers were impressed with the quality and went back to the Continent with several items.

“That was one of the first times that I thought this will work in places like Paris,” said Brooke. “It definitely will work internationally for people that are seeking out the quality and know what they’re looking for.”

The brand will also soon double down on its Paris footprint with a dedicated corner in the landmark Samaritaine Paris department store, as well as expand bespoke services to the U.S. market through Nordstrom.

The moves come amid explosive global growth, with the brand on track to post a 20 percent revenue increase this year, building on a comparable gain in 2024, said chief executive officer Raul Verdicchi in an interview.

Founded in 1860 and known for pioneering some of the earliest luxury cotton underwear and T-shirts, Sunspel has quietly evolved into a premium, omnichannel menswear brand with a loyal customer base spanning Europe, North America and Asia. Core categories such as the classic Supima cotton T-shirt, the Riviera polo shirt made famous by Daniel Craig’s James Bond, and the boxer short — famously worn in a 1985 Levi’s ad — now anchor a broader offering that includes shirting, outerwear and knitwear.

Verdicchi, who joined the company in early 2023, said that Sunspel’s focus on international growth.

“For us, it’s always very important to understand what are the priorities for the brand, because the growth opportunities that we see are really spread across different parts of the globe,” he said.

The Paris flagship, anchored in the main shopping streets of the Marais at 38 Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, is a major milestone for the brand, Verdicchi said, underscoring the city’s positioning as a fashion and luxury capital and luxury fashion hub. Visibility in Paris will raise the brand’s profile and appeal to tourists, he believes.

Following on its heels, Tokyo will see the debut of Sunspel’s first directly operated store in Japan in February. Until now, the brand had operated in the country through a distributor, with limited presence in key department stores such as Isetan Shinjuku and Hanshin Osaka.

The stand-alone boutique, located in Omotesando, will give Japanese consumers access to the full collection for the first time — a move the company expects to significantly boost both retail and online sales in the region.

In the U.S., Sunspel is rolling out its bespoke T-shirt service — previously exclusive to its London Jermyn Street store — at select Nordstrom locations. An upcoming activation in partnership with the department store chain will test appetite for the premium personalization offering, with the brand currently present in 13 of Nordstrom’s top-tier doors through a wholesale model.

The U.S. remains Sunspel’s second-largest market after the U.K., where it has 10 stand-alone stores, and is experiencing its fastest growth on track to be roughly 30 percent this year alone, said Verdicchi.

“The U.S. is extremely relevant in terms of scale and potential,” he said. “But we’re also seeing strong double-digit growth in France, Germany and Japan. Each region plays a different strategic role in our mix.”

Global revenues are up 20 percent year-on-year, he said, marking the brand’s second consecutive year of double-digit growth. Germany and France are currently outpacing Japan in speed of growth, but the opening of the Tokyo store is expected to boost that balance.

The omnichannel model remains central to Sunspel’s strategy. Online and retail together account for 80 percent of revenue, with e-commerce alone comprising around half of total sales. Retail is growing at a slightly faster rate this year due to new store openings, though Verdicchi emphasized a “positive correlation” between online and physical presence.

“When we open a store in a city where customers have only known us online, they often start exploring a wider range of categories,” he said. Online sales have been growing at roughly 27 percent in 2025. “But like-for-like retail sales are very closely aligned. We really believe in a full omnichannel experience.”

Wholesale, while smaller in total contribution, remains an important channel, particularly for brand discovery and international reach. In key locations such as Tokyo and Paris, Sunspel is working with partners to build more branded shops-in-shop that allow for better expression of the brand.

While Sunspel’s styling is deliberately quiet and its pricing premium, its customer base spans age groups and geographies, Verdicchi said. The average customer age is around 40, but ranges from twentysomething creative professionals to older, design-conscious shoppers that return to the brand year after year for timeless staples.

“What unites our customers is a sense of discernment,” said Verdicchi. “They’re not chasing logos. They’re looking for quality, craftsmanship, and understated British style.”

Menswear currently makes up 90 percent of the business, with womenswear still in its early stages. However, the company is committed to growing both sides of the portfolio.

“We’re not looking to massively expand the size of the collection,” Verdicchi said. “Rather, we’re focused on constant refinement — making sure the quality is impeccable, the fabrics innovative, and the design language consistent.”

In response to new tariffs affecting EU and U.K. exports to the U.S., Sunspel sped up plans to open a dedicated logistics center in Ohio. Originally slated for September, the facility opened in July, allowing the company to improve fulfilment speed and have better leverage against tariff volatility. However, the company is not considering opening a factory in the U.S. anytime soon.

With origins tracing back over a century, Sunspel’s identity remains firmly tied to its small-scale, family-connected factory in Oxfordshire, employing 25 skilled artisans who handcraft each T-shirt.

“We will always have a factory,” said Brooke. By focusing on one product there — the T-shirt — Sunspel has maintained the factory’s viability. It’s one of the few left in the U.K. and helped anchor its heritage and brand reputation for quality.

“If you ask the buyer at Isetan, they’d probably say Sunspel makes the best T-shirt in the world,” said Brooke.

The factory works with a complex double-twisted, gassed cotton fabric that large manufacturers refuse to handle due to its difficulty. This exclusivity protects the brand’s quality and underpins its global exclusivity.

With global growth on the horizon, Brooke added that the current location has an additional building next door which could accommodate expansion. It also works exclusively with trusted family-run factories in Portugal.

Verdicchi noted that the cotton supply continues to face pressure. California-grown Supima cotton makes up 80 percent of Sunspel’s cotton usage, and is susceptible to water shortages. So far, the company has managed to maintain stable pricing, in part thanks to long-standing relationships with suppliers and a tightly managed product mix, he said.

Despite a slowdown in the luxury sector, Verdicchi remains positive about Sunspel’s prospects for growth, based upon its heritage.

“We are in a lucky position, and we are extremely confident for future,” added Verdicchi. “We always want to be relevant, even if we’ve been around since 1860. The most important things for us is to keep developing a brand awareness, carefully thought out international expansion and marketing investment to tell our brand story.”