Matsuo International ran 400 stores but was kept alive only by borrowing

Matsuo International was a Japanese women's apparel company founded in Osaka that grew into a chain of roughly 400 stores, operating brands including Senso Unico, M'S GRACY, Jevantan, and JK2. Most of those stores were inside department stores — a deliberate strategy that gave the company prime retail space and steady foot traffic through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

That strategy became a trap. Department stores across Japan were themselves shrinking — losing customers to e-commerce, discount chains and shifting consumer habits — and the foot traffic Matsuo depended on evaporated. The company responded the same way for years: it borrowed to cover the gap. In fiscal 2014, already in its peak sales year, it was running a deficit from interest payments alone. By fiscal 2024, it was technically insolvent by ¥2.1 billion.

In December 2025, Matsuo International and its subsidiary Matsuo Sangyo filed for corporate reorganization at the Osaka District Court with combined debts of ¥11.1 billion. The court issued a preservation management order. Balcos, a Nagoya Stock Exchange-listed company, was selected as the sponsor to attempt a turnaround.