Samantha Thavasa is a Japanese

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 fashion company, known primarily for their popular handbag

Handbag

A handbag, or purse in American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag that is often fashionably designed, typically used by women, to hold personal items such as wallet/coins, keys, cosmetics, a hairbrush, pepper spray, cigarettes, mobile phone etc....

s. It was founded in 1994 by Kazumasa Terada, the current CEO and president.

The company's marketing strategy is typified by its extensive utilization of Western celebrities and socialites in its advertising, although Lee Byung-hun

Lee Byung-Hun

Lee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor, singer and model. He has starred in popular television dramas such as Iris , All In and Beautiful Days...

 was used to promote its jewelry brand, Samantha Tiara. Beyoncé

Beyoncé Knowles

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...

 along with her sister Solange Knowles

Solange Knowles

Solange Piaget Knowles , who performs under the mononym Solange, is an American singer-songwriter, actress, model, dancer, and DJ. Knowles was born and raised in Houston, Texas along with her older sister singer Beyoncé, a former member of R&B group Destiny's Child...

 and the Hilton sisters

Hilton sisters

The Hilton sisters may refer to:* Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton heirs to the Hilton Hotels Corporation estate* Hilton twins, conjoined twins born in 1908...

 have been in advertising campaigns for them. Nicky Hilton

Nicky Hilton

Nicholai Olivia "Nicky" Hilton is an American businesswoman, fashion model, socialite, celebutante, heiress and fashion designer. She is a great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton and younger sister of Paris Hilton....

, Victoria Beckham

Victoria Beckham

Victoria Caroline Beckham is an English singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actress, fashion designer and businesswoman. In the late 1990s, Beckham rose to fame with the all-female pop group Spice Girls and was dubbed Posh Spice by the July 1996 issue of the British pop music magazine Top of the Pops...

, and Tinsley Mortimer

Tinsley Mortimer

-Early life:Mortimer was born in Virginia. and grew up in Richmond, VA. Her father is George Riley Mercer Jr., a real-estate investor, and her mother is Dale Mercer , an interior designer. Her paternal grandfather, George Riley Mercer Sr., founded Mercer Rug Cleansing in 1936...

 have handbag lines with the company. Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...

 also endorsed the brand in 2009. Taylor Momsen

Taylor Momsen

Taylor Michel Momsen is an American actress, musician and model who portrays the character of Jenny Humphrey on the CW television series Gossip Girl and portrayed the role of Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and fronts the rock band The Pretty Reckless.-Early life and career:Taylor...

 is the latest celebrity to endorse the brand as of 2011.

The company's target customer base are college and working women in their twenties. Their prices are designed to appeal to this age group.

In Japan, the company has over 130 retail stores. In late 2006, Samantha Thavasa opened its first U.S. store in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.