What is the “winning chance” of withdrawing from the lucky bag? Apparel in a difficult situation Now at 18:27 on November 18th

The apparel industry is in dire straits.

This is because the structure of the industry has changed with the rise of fast fashion, and the new coronavirus is catching up.

Apparel makers, who have been focusing on sales at department stores for many years and have secured sales through mass production, are now being forced to break away from this sales method.

Whether the apparel industry can survive the corona wreck, we followed the efforts of each company.

(Satomi Mogi, Reporter, Ministry of Economic Affairs)

Why large inventories are created

The problem with apparel makers that have been leading the Japanese fashion industry is the "mass production / mass inventory" business model based on the relationship between apparel and department stores.

Apparel that opens in department stores is always required to fill the shelves with products.

This is to reduce opportunity loss (the product that consumers want is sold out and miss a sales opportunity) and achieve the sales target.

It was also a "look" issue of making the sales floor invisible to the rattle.



For that reason, it was customary to mass-produce and sell out the remaining inventory at sales and outlets, and still send the remaining products to incineration.



In addition to the recession and low growth since the collapse of the bubble economy, the rise of low-priced fast fashion such as UNIQLO has accelerated brand churn, especially among the younger generation.

Even so, the practice of mass production and mass inventory has continued, but what has added a big boost is the spread of the new corona infection.

After the state of emergency was declared, the sales of apparel companies decreased significantly due to the closure of department stores and shortened business hours.

The financial results of apparel companies announced one after another until November were in the red.



Many companies have been chased by restructuring, such as announcing the closure of hundreds of stores.

Apparel that achieved zero incineration

However, there are some companies that maintain their business performance.



Adastria develops brands such as "Global Work" and "LOWRYS FARM" targeting people in their 20s and 30s.


The operating surplus was secured even in the second quarter financial results from June to August, which was in the corona wreck.

In the deficit apparel industry, you can say that you are an honor student.



One of the factors is a wide range of sales channels.



Founded in 1953, Adastria has expanded its sales channels to shopping centers and EC = online shopping so that the younger age group, which is the target of the brand, can easily buy it, without limiting its sales channels to department stores.



And the strength of this company is thorough inventory management.



Determine the order quantity by analyzing popular products from the reservation status on the company's EC site.

Even after delivering products to the store, we check daily sales, increase orders for products that are selling, and stop ordering for products that are not selling without hesitation.



By reducing excess inventory as much as possible with this flexible response, the damage caused by the new Corona's sales decline was minimized.

Director Yasumi Fukuda


"Inventory management was Adastria's original strength, but it was still very difficult in Corona, and we had a lot of inventory in the first quarter. However, in the second quarter, we purchased while watching the reservation status. By controlling, we were able to secure profits without having a large amount of surplus inventory. "

Furthermore, from last year, the New Year's "lucky bag" has also stopped.



Previously, in order to attract customers, he participated in the lucky bag sales battle as requested by the shopping center.


However, even if you don't know if it will sell, you need to prepare a large amount of products, and that waste is cut off.

Thanks to these efforts, we were able to reduce the inventory for incineration to almost zero last year.

The withdrawal from the lucky bag sales battle was seen as a heretic in the industry, but the decision was not wrong, Fukuda said.

Director Fukuda


"If you sell at a lower price on a sale or lucky bag, consumers will not know what the list price is. Sell at the original price as much as possible to avoid inequality. It is better to sell at the list price. The profits for the company are great, and it is the best for the company's performance. "

And now, EC is the source of new profits.

A staff member who couldn't stand in the sales floor due to the store closure due to the new Corona posted a video explaining the product from home using SNS.

This became popular, and EC sales in the first half of March to August increased by about 25% year-on-year.



Based on this experience, the company will continue to strengthen EC, and will strive to maintain more appropriate inventories through demand analysis utilizing the EC membership base of 10 million people.

Major apparel also uses EC to reduce inventory

On the other hand, there is a movement among major apparel companies to move away from the "mass production / mass inventory" business model.



Sanyo Shokai is one of them.


Sanyo Shokai, which accounts for nearly 60% of its sales at department stores, decided to close 160 stores, including unprofitable stores, and consolidate its brands in order to improve its business performance, which was hit by Corona. What is being done is the establishment of a new sales method.

Sanyo Shokai experimentally opened the Daimaru Tokyo store in October, which is a sales floor dedicated to fitting.



There is no inventory here that would normally be stored in large quantities for sale to customers.

Customers try on the clothes on display, like them and purchase them, and at a later date, the products are delivered directly from the warehouse to their homes.

In some cases, you can try on the clothes you are interested in on the EC site here, and after returning home, you can order again on the EC site.



With this system, not only does it eliminate the need to keep inventory, but it also eliminates the hassle of delivery and inventory management once or twice a week.

Store staff can focus on customer service and reduce labor costs.



Sanyo Shokai is verifying the sales of this store and is considering whether it can be further expanded in the future.

The actual store plays a role of connecting to EC

In addition, Onward Holdings plans to introduce a similar store later this year.



Onward develops popular brands such as "23 Wards" and "Suite", but until now, it has set up stores for each brand.

However, the new store is characterized by handling multiple brands at the same time.



This is also positioned as a "place for people to actually try on clothes" posted on the EC site, and it is a strategy that leads to purchases at EC by having people try clothes of various brands.



The store name will be "Onward Closet", which is the same name as the EC site, and it is a new attempt to eliminate the barrier between EC and the actual store.

At a press conference held in October, President Michinobu Homoto expressed his enthusiasm for the new store.

President Michinobu Homoto


"We will strengthen the opening of new types of stores that allow us to access the EC site through real stores. We would like to open several stores during this term and then dozens of stores nationwide. We would like to establish a store that can be accessed across the board and use this as a catalyst for the reversal offensive of domestic business in the future. "

“Natural reform”

With consumption declining in Corona, the apparel industry is required to develop various sales channels without relying solely on stores.

How do you get out of mass production, which has plagued the industry for many years?



Looking at the growth after Corona, not only restructuring measures such as store closures and personnel reductions, but also reforms that are taken for granted, such as supplying the right amount and delivering it to consumers at the right price, are not required. Is it?


Satomi Mogi, a

reporter of the

Ministry of Economic Affairs Joined


NHK after working as an editor of a free paper. After working at the


Saitama Bureau and Morioka Bureau, the

Ministry of Economic Affairs

began in 2017.