Gunze closes four apparel factories, 82 take the exit offer

Gunze, the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime-listed underwear maker, announced on 6 August 2025 that it would restructure its apparel business: four domestic production sites and two logistics bases would close, leaving the Miyazu factory as its sole domestic apparel production base.

The plan, part of the mid-term management plan announced in May 2025, also offered voluntary retirement to employees aged 40 and over in the planning and sales divisions of the apparel company. On 5 November Gunze reported the result: 82 of 4,339 consolidated employees applied, about 2 per cent, with retirement on 20 January 2026.

The apparel business had been shrinking: in the April–June 2025 quarter consolidated sales fell 3.4 per cent to ¥32.24 billion, operating profit fell 13.3 per cent to ¥1.806 billion, and the group posted a net loss of ¥1.47 billion.