The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Operational decision · –2024
Mineta Meriyasu's ¥380M knitwear OEM collapsed as cheap imports killed domestic apparel
A Yamagata women's knitwear maker lost over 90% of its revenue as cheap imports and shrinking domestic apparel manufacturing destroyed Japanese textile mills.
Mineta Meriyasu Co., Ltd. · 2024-09-11
What happened
Mineta Meriyasu Co., Ltd. was a Yamagata-based women's knitwear manufacturer producing women's knitted apparel for major domestic apparel companies through OEM supply and its own brand. The company was part of Japan's once-thriving textile and knitting industry in Yamagata Prefecture.
Revenue declined to less than one-tenth of its peak as cheap imported products from overseas dominated the domestic market and Japan's domestic apparel manufacturing industry steadily contracted. The company was further hit by the declining birthrate, long-term consumption recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic which reduced sales and worsened cash flow.
Attempts to improve finances by selling owned real estate failed. Mineta Meriyasu was ordered into bankruptcy proceedings by the Yamagata District Court on September 11, 2024, with approximately ¥380 million in liabilities.
Why it happened
- Revenue fell over 90% from peak as cheap imported knitwear from overseas dominated the Japanese market — domestic manufacturers could not compete on price against mass-produced imports.
- Japan's declining birthrate and aging population shrank the domestic apparel market year after year, and a women's knitwear OEM had no export channel to offset the domestic decline.
- Selling owned real estate to improve finances was a one-time fix that did nothing to address the revenue collapse — the company was shrinking its asset base without fixing its business model.
- The COVID-19 pandemic delivered the final blow, reducing already-declining sales further and cutting off access to credit as cash flow deteriorated.
The lesson
A domestic OEM manufacturer competing against cheap imports cannot survive by cutting costs alone — when the entire domestic industry is shrinking, the structural decline is terminal, not cyclical.
Aftermath
Mineta Meriyasu Co., Ltd. was ordered into bankruptcy proceedings by the Yamagata District Court on September 11, 2024, with approximately ¥380 million in liabilities. Based in Yamagata Prefecture, the company manufactured women's knitted apparel for major domestic apparel brands through OEM supply and its own brand. Revenue fell over 90% from peak as cheap imports, the declining birthrate, consumption recession, and COVID destroyed the domestic knitwear manufacturing market. Attorney Naoki Endo was named bankruptcy trustee.
Sources
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