TOKYO, Japan - Once upon a time, for big luxury brands, Japan was the largest and most important market in the world. Japanese customers, young and old, rich and middle-class, would faithfully spend their money on standard Louis Vuitton bags, Hermès scarves and Gucci shoes. These loyal customers could deliver up to 35% of a luxury brand's global revenue, a reliable cash cow, even while the Japanese economy was sputtering in the 1990's and early 2000's. And so, a formula for luxury brands slowly gelled over the years: build gigantic retail temples of luxury, influence the editorial of powerful magazines that have a grip on the Japanese psyche, and appeal to the innate Japanese desire to fit in and show status. But, what…

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