Cold Stone Aims To Be Hip in Japan

Wsj:

Cold Stone Creamery, known as the provider of desserts to the masses in shopping malls across the U.S., is trying to convey a different image in Japan: ice creamery to the ultracool.

As the U.S. ice-cream franchiser pushes into Asia, it is cultivating a following of young urbanites who the company hopes will help position its mix-and-match ice cream as fashionable. Shunning traditional advertising, Cold Stone is giving out samples in upscale shopping areas and trying to get trendsetting young women to spread the word about its desserts. It is snatching up posh retail space near Louis Vuitton and Versace stores and sponsoring fashion shows.

That is a much different strategy from the way Cold Stone has grown in the U.S. The Tempe, Ariz., company started out in the suburbs, and it now serves desserts at nearly 1,400 outlets in malls, shopping centers and theme parks across the nation.

In Japan where Cold Stone has eight stores, the company is targeting customers like 17-year-old Mii Aoki, a willowy high-school student with highlighted hair and a Chanel bag. She waited in line for an hour at the Cold Stone in Tokyo’s posh Roppongi Hills shopping center, along with a crowd of 20-somethings weighed down with shopping bags. “It just has this image that made me want to try it,” said Ms. Aoki.