- Business
- ABC-Mart, Inc. (2670.T) operates as a leading footwear retailer, engaging in the sale, planning, development, manufacturing, and retailing of shoes, clothing, apparel, and general merchandise products for men, women, and children through a network of ABC-MART, ABC-MART GRAND STAGE, ABC-MART SPORTS, OSHMAN’S, Charlotte, outlet, and other specialized stores. The company offers core products including sports shoes such as VANS, HAWKINS, Saucony, DANNER, SPERRY, WHITE’S BOOTS, and byA brands; leather casual shoes; kids shoes; ladies shoes; sandals; business shoes; in-house developed footwear like HAWKINS Air Cushion, Air Light, Traveller, and Sport lines; as well as apparel, accessories, and ABC Select private labels, with outsourced production from manufacturers in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia, and a domestic ABC SHOE FACTORY. ABC-Mart plans and develops its own products, licenses various international brands including exclusive rights for VANS and HAWKINS in Japan, and provides omni-channel services via its official app for inventory checks, in-store EC payments, and e-commerce representing about 11.5% of domestic digital sales.
Founded in 1985 as Kokusai Boeki Shoji Inc. in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and headquartered at 19F Shibuya Mark City West, 1-12-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, the company shifted to retail operations in 1990 with the establishment of ABC-MART Ltd., went public on JASDAQ in 2000, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section in 2002 (now Prime Market), and reorganized as ABC-MART, Inc. in 2002 following the absorption of subsidiaries. It maintains a robust store network of 1,095 domestic stores across Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku-Shikoku, Kyushu-Okinawa regions in street-level, fashion buildings, shopping centers, NSC, roadside, and outlet formats; plus 392 overseas stores including 316 in South Korea (ABC-MART Korea, Inc.), 63 in Taiwan (ABC-MART Taiwan, Inc.), 8 in the U.S. (LaCrosse Footwear, Inc. operating DANNER and STUMP TOWN), and 5 in Vietnam (ABC-MART Vietnam Co., Ltd.), with consolidated net sales of ¥344.2 billion for the fiscal year ended February 29, 2024, of which 68.8% domestic and 31.2% overseas.
Recent developments include the acquisition of OSHMAN’S Japan Co., Ltd. in 2022, expanding into sports apparel with 14 OSHMAN’S stores as of February 2024; a 3-for-1 share split in FY2/24 boosting issued shares to 247.6 million; opening of 79 new stores and remodeling of 70 stores in FY2/24, achieving a group total of 1,487 stores; first Southeast Asia store in Vietnam in 2022; renewal of GRAND STAGE stores (Generation 2); launch of ABC-MART SPORTS casual sports format in 2017 with expansion to 107 stores; entry into the Philippines announced in 2025 for its first location outside East Asia at BGC; a ¥1.23 billion five-year plan to convert all stores to LED lighting by 2027 ahead of government targets, reducing electricity costs by 45% per store; and strengthened omni-channel strategy with app enhancements, driving 16.8% existing store sales growth, 7.3% customer growth, and 8.8% per-customer spend increase in FY2/24. The company reports operating profit of ¥55.7 billion (16.2% margin) and profit attributable to owners of ¥40.0 billion for FY2/24, supported by inbound tourism, sporty casual demand, and digital investments, while pursuing sustainability via recycled materials, plant-based inks, and abolition of petroleum-derived bags reducing CO2 by 423 metric tons annually.