Osaka's major stationery maker "Kokuyo" known for "Campus Note" announced that it has formed a capital and business alliance with "Showa Note" known for "Japonica Study Book".
As the domestic market shrinks, we aim to expand our business by collaborating in product development.
According to the announcement, stationery giant KOKUYO acquired approximately 15% of the shares of Showa Note, which is headquartered in Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture, and entered into a capital and business alliance.
Known for its "campus notebooks," KOKUYO has a wide range of customers from junior high and high school students to working adults, and is the top in the domestic notebook market, but it was not enough for children.
On the other hand, "Showa Note" is known for the "Japonica Study Book", which is popular among elementary school students, and has a good reputation for how to use characters.
KOKUYO aims to expand its business by cooperating in new product development and production in partnership with Showa Note, which has strengths that its own company does not have, as the domestic market shrinks due to population decline and digitalization.
The two companies have been jointly developing some notebooks since 2017, and in October, they released a collaboration product with the popular anime "Kimetsu no Yaiba" and sold 1 million copies.
Last year, KOKUYO bought more shares of Pentel, which is headquartered in Tokyo, and tried to make a hostile takeover, but due to a backlash, it abandoned making it a subsidiary.