The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 1953–2026
Maruni Hifuku (丸二被服), 71-year-old men's pants maker, bankrupt in 2026
Maruni made men's pants in Kagawa since 1953, moving production to China in 1998 — COVID and the weak yen ended the importer it became, in 2026.
Maruni Hifuku (丸二被服株式会社) · 2026-03-14
What happened
Maruni Hifuku made men's slacks — dress pants and golf pants — in Sakaide, Kagawa Prefecture, from 1953, incorporated in 1955. For decades it sewed and wholesaled them from Japan.
In 1998 the company moved manufacturing to a subsidiary in China, and importing became the main business. Then COVID cut sales and the yen's slide raised import costs — cash flow tightened until continuation became impossible.
The Takamatsu District Court, Marugame branch, issued a bankruptcy commencement order with liabilities of about ¥300 million, ending a 71-year run.
Why it happened
- The 1998 offshoring made the yen a liability: once manufacturing sat in China, every yen of weakness raised costs with no domestic factory left to offset it.
- A mature product, a shrinking market: dress pants and golf pants serve an ageing Japanese customer base, and COVID took the rest of the demand.
- Two shocks with no buffer: pandemic-then-currency hit a wholesaler whose margin had been thin since the manufacturing moved away.
The lesson
Offshoring trades wages for currency risk: Maruni's move to China in 1998 built an importer that the weak yen could kill — 71 years after its founding, it fell in 2026.
Aftermath
The Takamatsu District Court, Marugame branch, issued a bankruptcy commencement order for Maruni Hifuku, with liabilities of about ¥300 million. The company, founded in 1953 and incorporated in 1955 in Sakaide, Kagawa Prefecture, sewed and wholesaled men's slacks — dress pants and golf pants. In 1998 it moved manufacturing to a subsidiary in China, after which importing and wholesaling became its main business. COVID reduced sales and the yen's depreciation raised import costs, squeezing cash flow until the company gave up. Reported 14 March 2026.
Sources
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