The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 1958–2021
Hiroe Shoes' 63-year-old women's footwear business closed after cheap imports won
A Tokyo women's shoes manufacturer founded in 1958 was destroyed by cheap imported footwear and COVID.
Hiroe Shoes Co., Ltd. · 2021-05-28
What happened
Hiroe Shoes Co., Ltd. was a Tokyo-based women's footwear manufacturer and wholesaler founded in 1958 and incorporated in September 1965 with ¥10 million in capital. Based in Taito-ku, Tokyo, the company produced and sold women's shoes under its own brand and supplied OEM products to major shoe retailers.
The company's decline was driven by two forces: a prolonged consumer recession that reduced domestic footwear spending, and the flood of cheap imported shoes that undercut domestic manufacturers on price. Peak revenue of approximately ¥500 million fell to roughly ¥200 million by the fiscal year ending April 2020, a 60% decline.
COVID-19 delivered the final blow, crushing the remaining demand for women's dress shoes as office workers shifted to remote work and social events were cancelled. Unable to sustain further losses, Hiroe Shoes entrusted post-bankruptcy proceedings to a lawyer on May 28, 2021, and entered self-bankruptcy.
Why it happened
- Sixty years of serving the domestic footwear market could not compete with cheap imports — consumers chose price over heritage for a commodity product like women's shoes.
- Revenue fell from ¥500 million to ¥200 million, but manufacturing overhead — lasts, patterns, factory space — cannot shrink at the same pace as revenue.
- COVID killed demand for women's dress shoes and heels — the remote work shift meant women stopped buying the formal footwear that was Hiroe's specialty.
- With just ¥10 million in capital, the company had no equity buffer to ride out a multi-year decline — the owners could not inject capital to modernize or pivot.
The lesson
A domestic manufacturer competing against imported goods on price alone has no long-term future — without a brand, design, or service advantage, the race to the bottom ends in bankruptcy.
Aftermath
Hiroe Shoes Co., Ltd. entrusted post-bankruptcy proceedings to a lawyer on May 28, 2021, and entered self-bankruptcy. The company was founded in 1958 and incorporated in September 1965 with ¥10 million in capital. Based in Taito-ku, Tokyo, it manufactured women's shoes under its own brand and supplied OEM products to major shoe retailers.
Sources
spotted an error? The club wants to know.
More like this
Asics Trading ends four of its own shoe brands — everything becomes ASICS
A 43-year-old Japanese shoe brand gave up its stores and went back to being a contractor
Right-on shrank from 500+ jeans stores to 230 in a decade and was absorbed by World
Somewhere, someone solved the problem this company failed at. 2nd Opinion →
Comments · 0
Sign in to join the comments.