Shifting from apparel OEM to ODM
In monetary terms, the apparel consumer market in Japan has grown continuously for the past 5 years and has now recovered to the level where it was 10 years ago. On the other hand, supply is declining and the average price of apparel products is rising. When we look at the share of each sales channel, we see that the shares of department stores and volume retailers are declining, while those of specialty shop, internet sales, and other catalog sales are increasing. It has become increasingly important to accurately identify the needs of "smart consumers" who make balanced judgments of price and value, and to apply those needs to ideas for product planning.
The Textiles Division is further reinforcing the materials procurement strength and materials development strength that we have developed in the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) business to achieve advances in functional performance such as wearing feel, comfort including warmth and coolness, water repelling, and washing at home. It is also engaged in ODM (Original Design Manufacturing) that involves making active proposals beginning from the product planning stage. The ODM business is approaching 40% of the overall textiles business.
