The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Operational decision · 2008–2024
Bois' ¥100M children's brand collapsed as COVID and weak yen killed imported fashion
A Kobe children's clothing brand 'solbois' fell from ¥150M to ¥110M as COVID closed stores and the weak yen made imported manufacturing unviable.
Bois Co., Ltd. · 2024-07-30
What happened
Bois Co., Ltd. was a Kobe-based children's clothing company founded in March 2008 with ¥3 million in capital. The company planned, manufactured (outsourced to China), and sold children's apparel under its original brand 'solbois', operating stores under the name 'maison de bois'.
Revenue peaked at approximately ¥150 million in the fiscal year ending February 2019. However, COVID-19 restrictions severely impacted both its own stores and wholesale partners. The company closed its Kobe Motoyama store in May 2022 and shifted to online sales, but the online channel failed to compensate. A final store closure in Takenoyama in April 2024 left the company with no physical retail presence.
Compounding the sales decline, the weak yen policy and rising consumer prices made imported Chinese manufacturing increasingly unprofitable. Bois was ordered into bankruptcy proceedings by the Kobe District Court on July 30, 2024, with approximately ¥100 million in liabilities.
Why it happened
- Revenue fell from ¥150M to ¥110M as COVID restrictions destroyed foot traffic for both own stores and wholesale partners — two channels failed simultaneously.
- The shift to online sales after store closures did not compensate for the lost physical retail revenue — a small brand cannot build an ecommerce channel mid-crisis.
- Outsourcing all manufacturing to China made Bois a hostage to the weak yen — rising import costs squeezed margins that were already thin from COVID.
- A ¥3M capital base with ¥100M in debt meant no buffer against any single shock, let alone the compounding crises of COVID, yen depreciation, and store closures.
The lesson
A small brand with thin capital has no defense against logistics disruption and currency depreciation together — either alone would have been survivable, but the pair is fatal.
Aftermath
Bois Co., Ltd. was ordered into bankruptcy proceedings by the Kobe District Court on July 30, 2024, with ¥100 million in liabilities. Founded March 2008 in Kobe, Hyogo with ¥3 million capital, the company planned and sold children's clothing under brand 'solbois' through its 'maison de bois' stores and wholesale. Peak revenue of ¥150 million (FY2019) fell to ¥110 million (FY2021) as COVID, store closures, and the weak yen destroyed the business. Attorney Kensuke Matoba (Kobe H.I.T. Law Office) was named bankruptcy trustee.
Sources
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