The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Operational decision · 1996–2026
Works (株式会社ワークス), Aomori suit sewing OEM, bankrupt in 2026
Works sewed suits for leading brands in Hirosaki until cheap imports and falling demand turned its ¥843M peak into ¥220M of debt.
Works (株式会社ワークス) · 2026-05-07
What happened
Works was a sewing manufacturer in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, founded in April 1996, stitching men's suits and jackets under contract for leading domestic and overseas apparel brands.
Demand for made-in-Japan tailored clothing slid as low-priced suits and overseas-production apparel took the market. Sales peaked at about ¥843 million in the July 2015 period, fell to about ¥312 million in the July 2021 COVID period, then recovered to the ¥500 million range in the July 2023 period and beyond.
The pace of orders still could not support the workshop. A labour shortage and wage increases widened losses, cash flow worsened, and on 7 May 2026 the company stopped business and filed for self-bankruptcy with the Aomori District Court, Hirosaki branch, with liabilities of about ¥220 million.
Why it happened
- Cheap suits and offshore production won: the made-in-Japan tailored men's wear that Works stitched kept losing ground to low-priced imports and overseas manufacturing.
- COVID cut the demand the recovery never rebuilt: sales halved in the 2021 period, and the later rebound to the ¥500 million range was not enough to cover a shrunken, more expensive workforce.
- The cost of staying small: a labour shortage and pay rises pushed losses up while the workshop had no brand or scale of its own to lean on, so cash flow ran dry.
The lesson
A contract sewing shop lives on orders it cannot control: when cheap imports and offshore production took the market, Works' 30 years of stitching ended in a ¥220M self-bankruptcy.
Aftermath
Works, founded April 1996 in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, sewed men's suits and jackets for leading domestic and overseas apparel brands. Sales peaked at about ¥843 million in 2015, fell to about ¥312 million in the July 2021 COVID period, then recovered to the ¥500 million range from 2023. Low-priced suits and offshore production cut demand, labour shortages and wage rises widened losses, cash flow worsened, and on 7 May 2026 it stopped business and filed for self-bankruptcy with the Aomori District Court, Hirosaki branch, with liabilities of about ¥220 million. Reported 12 May 2026.
Sources
spotted an error? The club wants to know.
More like this
Matsuoka Sewing (松岡縫製), Yamagata knitted-underwear workshop, bankrupt in 2026
Mitsuboshi Socks peaked at ¥8B in 1986 — bankrupt 40 years later
3.1 Phillip Lim put a Verdy-style slogan tee on its runway — and pulled it within a day
Somewhere, someone solved the problem this company failed at. 2nd Opinion →
Comments · 0
Sign in to join the comments.