Sales decline due to the shift away from apparel

「In the domestic dyeing and processing business, the impact of conditions in the Middle East is limited, but manufacturing costs, including raw material and energy prices, continue to rise. The company will proceed with processing fee increases and a review of transaction terms, but the operating environment is expected to remain challenging.」

「In Japan, demand existed for gauze processing for masks and antibacterial and antiviral processing and materials. However, revenue declined significantly due to a sharp drop in standard products for apparel and uniforms caused by store closures and voluntary business suspensions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.」

「In Japan, increasing the weighting of non-apparel applications in woven-fabric processing proved effective, enabling the company to secure stable orders throughout the year and post higher revenue.」

「In addition, to address declining selling prices accompanying the expansion of orders in non-apparel fields, the company is promoting cost-reduction activities and energy-saving measures at each production site,」

「In addition, to address lower processing-fee unit prices resulting from the shift away from apparel products, the company strengthened cost-reduction activities at each production site.」

「In Japan, the company is strengthening orders in non-apparel fields, including uniforms and industrial materials, which can provide stable revenue」

「In Japan, sales of solid-color dyeing grew steadily as the company worked to expand orders in the non-apparel field, but lower revenue from printing because of sluggish sales of casual apparel and lower unit prices associated with the shift toward non-apparel applications resulted in lower revenue for the domestic processing-fee segment as a whole.」

「Revenue in the processing fee segment declined to ¥4,503 million, down 4.4% year on year, a decrease of ¥208 million. In Japan, the company is actively working to increase orders in non-apparel fields, such as uniforms and industrial materials, because demand for apparel is not expected to recover amid structural changes in the market, and sales of solid-dye processing grew steadily. However, revenue from knit printing declined due in part to higher distribution inventories resulting from sluggish sales of casual women's apparel, and the decline in unit prices accompanying the shift away from apparel caused revenue in the domestic processing fee segment as a whole to fall.」

「To address the decline in sales associated with the shift away from apparel, the Group further strengthened cost-reduction activities at its domestic and overseas production sites and worked to improve earnings power across the Group.」