The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 1991–2026
T-Rex (ティーレックス), Osaka baby goods importer, self-bankrupt in 2026
T-Rex imported and sold baby strollers and carriers since 1991 — COVID cut sales and the weak yen raised import costs, and the ¥1.1B business stopped in 2026.
T-Rex (株式会社ティーレックス) · 2026-05-11
What happened
T-Rex imported, produced and sold baby goods — strollers, baby carriers, baby chairs, toys and its own brand products. Founded in Osaka in 1991, sales exceeded ¥1.4 billion in the fiscal year ending September 2013.
COVID-19 cut sales, and then the yen weakened: import costs rose with the currency's depreciation and profitability deteriorated. The company stopped business on 11 May 2026 and prepared to file for self-bankruptcy.
Liabilities were about ¥1.1 billion as of the end of September 2025. Reported 19 May 2026.
Why it happened
- Imported goods on a weak yen: with most products sourced abroad, the yen's slide raised the cost of every shipment and squeezed margins that had already fallen.
- COVID took the baby market with it: the sales decline started with the pandemic, and the recovery never arrived in time.
- One model, no hedge: a business built on importing finished goods had no domestic production or pricing power to absorb currency swings.
The lesson
An importer's whole margin lives on the exchange rate: T-Rex's baby goods business survived COVID only to be priced out by the weak yen, and the ¥1.1B company stopped in 2026.
Aftermath
T-Rex stopped business on 11 May 2026 and prepared to file for self-bankruptcy, with liabilities of about ¥1.1 billion as of the end of September 2025. The Osaka company, founded in 1991, imported, produced and sold baby goods including strollers, baby carriers, baby chairs, toys and own-brand products, with sales exceeding ¥1.4 billion in the fiscal year ending September 2013. Sales declined under COVID-19, and profitability deteriorated as the weak yen raised import costs, until continuation was judged impossible. Reported 19 May 2026.
Sources
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