With a legacy of "wakuwaku," Okadaya remains the go-to destination for those seeking to express themselves through craft.
Right now, Japan’s retail industry is undergoing very interesting changes, largely driven by the weak yen and the expansion of inbound tourism. The number of foreign visitors to Japan this year is expected to reach around 40 million, surpassing last year’s 36.9 million.In terms of spending, visitors to Japan spent 8.1 trillion JPY last year, of which 2.4 trillion JPY was on shopping. Moreover, data from the first quarter of this year shows a 28.4% increase compared to the same period last year. In this way, Japanese retail is becoming increasingly diverse and evolving to respond to individual lifestyles and niche preferences. Against this backdrop, how is your company responding to the growing international demand? And what is your outlook for the industry over the next 12 months?
I think it is truly wonderful that so many people from all over the world are visiting Japan, not only to enjoy sightseeing but also with shopping as one of their main purposes. And this trend is, of course, extremely welcome for the Japanese retail sector. Our flagship store is located right in front of Shinjuku Station, one of Japan’s leading commercial districts. As a result, we are very grateful that a growing number of foreign tourists visit the area and come into our store. That said, we do not implement any special measures aimed specifically at inbound customers. Rather, we have always focused our business on our long-standing Japanese customers: people who enjoy handicrafts, who design their own clothing, or who make cosplay costumes themselves. I feel that staying true to this focus is, in the end, what makes our store appealing to overseas customers as well.
In other words, instead of offering special treatment for foreign visitors, it is our sincere commitment to serving Japanese customers that overseas visitors perceive as “Japan-like” and find interesting. As someone working in retail and distribution, I am truly grateful that we are being supported in this way.
Next, I would like to ask about Japan’s declining population and aging society. For example, by 2040 the working population is expected to be short by roughly 12%, and by the end of this century, the total population is projected to shrink by half. Within this context, what new business opportunities do you see, such as markets targeting the “silver generation” aged 65 and over? And how is your company responding to these demographic changes?
As you point out, Japan’s aging population has been progressing over the long term, and the overall population continues to decline. Although our company is relatively small in scale, we set our management policies very carefully in light of these structural changes in society. First of all, we have a clear policy of not expanding our store network into regional areas. Over the years we have received many invitations to open stores across the country, but we have declined all of them and limited our expansion to the Tokyo metropolitan area, specifically Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Saitama.
The reason is simple: in the long run, we expect the population decline in regional areas to progress even more rapidly. Of course, cities such as Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo will retain a certain market scale. However, if we look 20, 30, or even 50 years ahead, it is unavoidable that these regions too will be on a downward trend. As a business leader, I believe it is important to take long-term responsibility for the staff we employ. Even if expanding into regional areas were to generate profits for the next 20 years, if we were then forced into the red and had no choice but to close stores, people would lose their jobs. That would not be a responsible decision for a company.
Therefore, we have adopted a policy of continuing our operations only in the Tokyo metropolitan area, where long-term stability is more likely. There is another important reason. Around 90% of our employees are women. Among younger female employees in particular, the number of those who do not wish to be transferred is increasing year by year. Out of respect for those lifestyles and values, we concentrate our stores in the metropolitan area so that employees are not forced to relocate physically. This allows us to provide an environment where staff can work with peace of mind over the long term, without having to change their home or family base.
While you are deliberately limiting regional expansion within Japan, your company also has an overseas base. Many Japanese companies are pursuing overseas expansion as a way to address the challenges of population decline, and your company established a base in Shanghai in 2004 and also engages in e-commerce.
Could you tell us about the role and positioning of your Shanghai base?
Yes. As I mentioned, we are refraining from opening new stores in regional areas within Japan, but we take a somewhat different view when it comes to overseas expansion. For our lingerie brand, we outsource the production of our original products to OEM factories in China. In other words, products manufactured in China are imported to Japan and sold in our domestic stores. We set up our Shanghai base in order to coordinate smoothly with these production sites. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we operated around 25 lingerie specialty stores within China. However, due to the impact of the zero-COVID policy, sales fell sharply, and unfortunately we had no choice but to close all of them. That said, we learned a great deal from that experience.
Today, the Shanghai office continues to play an important role. Over the past 20 years, the quality of fabrics and accessories in China has improved dramatically, and we now import high-quality materials destined for the Japanese market and introduce them domestically. We are also developing cross-border e-commerce in China and exploring new business possibilities in digital form.
I see. In that context, I would like to ask a question specifically for our readers in China. Do you have any plans to open lingerie stores in China again? Or are you considering expansion into other countries or regions?
To be frank, at this point we have no plans to reopen lingerie stores in China. Over roughly 20 years of doing business there, we learned that even within Asia, Japanese and Chinese body types are clearly different. Bras designed for the Japanese market do not necessarily fit well when brought directly into the Chinese market. For that reason, we have concluded that relaunching the lingerie business in China is not realistic. On the other hand, during my time in China, many companies approached us with requests to open a comprehensive handicraft store like those in Japan.
It is true that in China, there are large fabric markets in cities like Guangzhou, but there is no comprehensive handicraft store like our Shinjuku flagship, where you can find everything from fabrics and threads to buttons and other sewing notions all in one place. For this reason, it is certainly an attractive market, but we are making cautious decisions in light of the existing market structure.
As for e-commerce, I feel there is tremendous potential. However, before focusing on overseas expansion, we first need to strengthen our domestic e-commerce foundation. For example, our Shinjuku flagship alone holds several hundred thousand items, but currently we only have about one-third of that assortment listed online. Our top priority is to properly reflect this overwhelming product lineup in our online store and to better communicate our appeal to customers in Japan.
Next, I would like to ask about your corporate philosophy and vision. In the course of our research, we came across your stated philosophy of “aiming to be a good company where people create value.” In a previous interview, you also mentioned that you “aspire to be more than just a specialty store.” Could you tell us more about this philosophy and your company’s long-term vision?
At the core of our thinking is the idea that we would rather be a good company than a big company. This is something I repeatedly emphasize within the company. Rather than chasing numbers such as sales or store count, we place the greatest importance on being an honest, trustworthy “good company.”
By “good company,” we do not mean a company that is good only for customers. We mean a company that is a positive presence for everyone involved: the employees who work here, and the manufacturers and wholesalers who are our business partners. The company must act with integrity; employees must be able to feel proud of where they work; and customers must be pleased with what we offer. When trust among these three parties is in place, sales and growth will naturally follow. That is the essence of our philosophy of “continuing to be a good company.”
Your company operates in two major business domains: the handicraft and craft supplies business, and the lingerie business. Could you explain what kinds of connections or synergies exist between these two areas?
Looking back at our history, our company actually began not as a “handicraft” store but as a shop dealing in dressmaking supplies. Before the war, when we were founded, we sold linings, buttons, and other materials people needed when having clothes made. At that time, ready-made clothing was scarce, and most people brought fabric to a tailor to have garments sewn. However, after the war, ready-made clothing spread rapidly, and the number of tailors declined. Amid this transition, we wanted to offer something new to our long-time base of female customers and thus launched our lingerie business.
The starting point was to provide products that, in continuity with dressmaking, allowed women to express their own beauty. That said, today the customer bases of our two businesses are completely different. The handicraft and craft division mainly serves customers who enjoy sewing and making things as a hobby. The lingerie division, on the other hand, targets younger women in their teens to thirties and belongs to a more fashion-focused category. So while there was some conceptual connection in the early days, the two businesses now operate independently.
Between these two businesses, where do you feel the greatest potential for growth in the future?
At present, we see tremendous potential in the handicraft and craft field. It is true that the Japanese craft market has been shrinking for the past 30 to 40 years. In an era where ready-made products are faster and cheaper, the culture of “making things yourself” has gradually faded. However, I strongly believe that the process of making has great intrinsic value. The time spent shaping something with your own hands offers a sense of fulfillment and creative joy that digital activities cannot replicate. Precisely because people now spend more time on smartphones and games, there is significant room to reintroduce the appeal of “creating things yourself.”
By contrast, the lingerie business consists of daily consumables, meaning it is structurally difficult to expect major growth. Especially after COVID-19, Japanese women’s attitudes toward lingerie have changed significantly. Previously, bras tended to be chosen to “make one’s figure look beautiful.” But with more time spent at home, comfort has become a priority for many. This shift has changed the direction of the market as a whole. If the focus is on “comfort,” brands like UNIQLO already achieve this at a very high level. For this reason, differentiation in the lingerie market has become increasingly difficult. Therefore, in terms of future growth potential, we believe the greater opportunity lies in the handicraft field, where we can support creativity and making.
In particular, I imagine there is a large overlap between your customer base and communities involved in cosplay and otaku culture. The cosplay market in the Asia-Pacific region reached roughly USD 2.4 billion last year, and with 40 million visitors to Japan this year—projected to reach 60 million by 2030—it represents an important consumer group. How does your company view cosplay enthusiasts?
As you noted, the number of cosplay customers visiting our Shinjuku flagship store has been increasing every year. However, we do not specifically target this group with marketing. Rather, it feels like they naturally gather here as a result of what we offer. The main customers of our Shinjuku flagship are professional stylists for celebrities and stage productions, theater groups, and costume makers for theme-park performances.
Because we carry a wide range of specialized materials and decorative items required by professional costume creators, cosplay enthusiasts also come to us naturally. In recent years, Japan has also seen the rise of “oshi-katsu,” the culture of supporting one's favorite idol or character. Many fans now create original goods for concerts and events. We see our role as supporting this broader desire to “make something oneself.” So rather than deliberately targeting cosplay or otaku culture, it is our core stance—supporting all forms of creative activity—that resonates with these diverse customer groups.
Recently, we also interviewed the long-established stationery retailer Itoya in Ginza. Although their flagship store was not originally designed with inbound tourism in mind, it has now become a global destination for stationery enthusiasts. Your own flagship store reopened this March. Given that it attracts such a wide range of visitors—from cosplayers and stylists to overseas designers—what do you see as the unique appeal of your flagship compared to your other Tokyo locations?
Exactly as you described. Like Itoya, our store was not intentionally designed with inbound visitors in mind. Yet overseas customers now often tell us, “If you come here, you can find everything.” Shinjuku is indeed an area with many tourists, but the area around our headquarters—where our flagship stands—is on a street that even many local Japanese seldom visit. And yet we are seeing more and more foreign tourists there. This shows that foreign visitors actively seek out the everyday places where local people actually shop, and enjoy exploring those streets on foot. Being able to experience this “authentic Japanese everyday life” is, I believe, very attractive to them.
We have spent many years sincerely supporting Japanese creators and consumers. I think that commitment appears to overseas visitors as a form of “genuine Japanese culture.” I have visited many hobby shops overseas myself. In the U.S., there used to be three major craft chains, but one of them went bankrupt this year. While their assortments were broad, they tended to feel “wide but shallow,” lacking the specialization and depth found in Japanese stores.
Europe is similar—shops tend to be specialized individually, such as button shops, thread shops, or accessory shops. Comprehensive stores that carry everything—fabric, thread, ribbons, trims—are rare. In Asia, there are large fabric markets in places such as Guangzhou, but these are market-wide clusters rather than single stores offering everything. Therefore, a store like ours—where fabrics, threads, buttons, and every type of sewing notion are gathered under one roof—appears extremely unique and attractive to overseas creators and craft lovers. What is “ordinary” for Japanese shoppers is “special and inspiring” for many visitors from abroad.
For more information, visit their website at: https://www.okadaya.co.jp/shop/default.aspx
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