- Business
- Nagaileben Co., Ltd. (7447.T) engages primarily in the planning, manufacture and sale of medical wear and related products for healthcare professionals, including nurses, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, patients and caregivers; core offerings encompass healthcare wear such as nurse uniforms, doctors' wear, patient wear, surgery wear, utility wear including aprons and cardigans, shoes, and infection prevention products like reusable isolation gowns and COMPELPACK surgical apparel; products feature antistatic, antibacterial functions, custom-made options and high-value-added lines such as Safeel material, MACKINTOSH PHILOSOPHY Medicalwear, Bright Days and Beads Berry brands. The company holds over 60% market share in Japan's nurse medical gowns segment, supplying more than 6 million units annually to approximately 3.7 million medical workers through an integrated system from product planning and raw material procurement via partners like Toray Industries to manufacturing at domestic facilities in Akita Prefecture and overseas partner plants in China, Indonesia and Vietnam, and agency sales via nearly 1,000 wholesalers to hospitals, clinics and nursing care facilities nationwide. Founded in 1915 and incorporated in 1950, Nagaileben is headquartered at 2-1-10 Kajicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan, with a subsidiary NAGAI UNIFORM INDUSTRY Co., Ltd. and branches across Japan including Hokkaido, Tohoku, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka, plus a Taipei branch; operations remain concentrated in Japan (over 98% of sales) with minor overseas market contributions.
Recent developments include signing license agreements in 2023 with Yagi Tsusho Limited and Mackintosh Japan Limited to launch the MACKINTOSH PHILOSOPHY Medicalwear brand in January 2024, targeting high-end sales of ¥100 million in the first year and ¥500 million within three years; reopening the Osaka branch showroom in 2024 to enhance regional sales; acquiring 1.357 million treasury shares worth ¥2.99 billion from April 2024 to May 2025, increasing total treasury holdings to 5.256 million shares (¥8.108 billion) by FY8/25 end for improved capital efficiency; and in September 2025 at CISMA 2025, its subsidiary Nagai Uniform Industry integrating Lectra's Vector Lingerie iP6 and Vector Fashion iX2 cutting solutions to advance manufacturing innovation. In FY8/25 (ended August 31, 2025), the company reported net sales of ¥16.983 billion (up 3.5% YoY) driven by core market gains in healthcare wear (up 4.0%) and peripheral patient wear (up 6.9%), though operating profit declined 10.5% to ¥3.583 billion amid forex impacts, rising processing/raw material costs and overseas plant relocation expenses; for FY8/26, it forecasts sales growth to ¥18.000 billion and operating profit recovery to ¥4.025 billion (up 12.3%) via delayed project captures, low-price strategic products, price revisions from February 2026 and peripheral market expansion including surgery wear leasing. Under its mid-term plan targeting FY8/28 net sales of ¥19.5 billion and operating profit of ¥4.7 billion, Nagaileben emphasizes high-value-added product expansion (62.1% of FY8/25 sales), overseas production ratio increases to 55.5% and shareholder returns including a FY8/25 110th anniversary dividend of ¥100 per share (total return ratio 204.3%).