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.

Closed four factories and two logistics bases, and offered voluntary retirement to 4,339 employees; 82 took it, costing the company while it shrank.

Apparel sales fell 3.4% and operating profit fell 13.3%, with net losses accelerating each quarter—the plant network built for the old business had to shut.

82 employees took voluntary retirement; the exit offer cost Gunze while four factories closed simultaneously, marking structural contraction.

A shrinking category pays for exits twice: Gunze closed four domestic factories and still spent on voluntary retirement — the plant network was built for a business that no longer exists.

Gunze closed Yanase and Yabu Apparel by March 2026, Tohoku Gunze and Yajima Trading by December 2026, leaving Miyazu as sole domestic production. The Miyazu facility now handles production for a downsized domestic market, with overseas affiliates absorbing the former volume.