Review of the Sourcing Structure and Tighter Inventory Management
First written in FY2017-Q1. 12 of 26 entries say "Advanced", first in FY2017-Q2. Latest entry: FY2024.
The whole theme swung hardest in 2025: 2 of 10 companies on the "Worse" side.
4 other companies' latest entry also says "Advanced".
- FY2024AdvancedAnnual report
「The company steadily increased the proportion of higher-margin private-label products by reducing lower-margin products purchased from other companies. ... Their share rose to 85.3%, up 1.9 points from 83.4% in the previous fiscal year.」
The company reduced low-margin purchased products and advanced the shift to private-label products, raising their share to 85.3%. - FY2023-Q2Decline in gross margin due to the OEM mix and yen depreciationAnnual report
「The gross margin fell 3.5 percentage points year on year to 26.7%, mainly because sales of OEM products rose sharply. Although their headline margins are low, these made-to-order products generate profits stably and efficiently because they are not subject to returns, while the impact of yen depreciation increased the cost of sales of own-planned products manufactured overseas.」
The gross margin declined despite existing profitability improvement initiatives, due to the higher mix of OEM products and rising costs of overseas-produced goods resulting from the weaker yen. - FY2023-Q1Decline in gross margin due to the OEM mix and yen depreciationAnnual report
「The gross margin fell 4.0 percentage points year on year to 27.0%, mainly because sales of OEM products rose sharply. Although their headline margins are low, these made-to-order products generate stable profits because they are not subject to returns. Higher cost of sales due to yen depreciation was another major factor.」
Sales growth in made-to-order OEM products, which are not subject to returns, continued, but the gross margin declined 4.0 points year on year due to their relatively low margins and higher costs resulting from the weaker yen. - FY2022Sourcing and profitability improvement initiatives continued despite lower gross marginsAnnual report
「By reducing purchased products and gradually switching to private-label products, sales of private-label products increased to ¥13,620.920 million, up 24.5% from the previous fiscal year. Their share rose 1.3 points from 77.5% in the previous fiscal year to 78.8%. ... The gross margin declined 1.2 points from the previous fiscal year to 27.8%.」
Although the shift from purchased products to private-label products progressed, the gross margin declined by 1.2 points due to the increase in low-margin OEM products and higher costs resulting from the weaker yen. - FY2022-Q3Gross margin decline due to a higher mix of low-margin OEM productsAnnual report
「Gross profit was ¥3,698 million, up 18.9% year on year, but the gross margin fell 0.5 percentage points year on year to 29.5% as the proportion of OEM products increased. OEM products carry no return risk but have relatively low gross margins.」
Although gross profit increased, the gross margin declined by 0.5 points year on year due to the higher proportion of low-margin OEM products. A product-mix factor driving the decline emerged despite previous profitability improvement initiatives. - FY2022-Q2AdvancedAnnual report
「The gross margin improved by 0.3 points year on year to 30.2%, mainly due to stronger product competitiveness and more rigorous profitability management.」
Stronger product competitiveness and more rigorous profitability management improved the gross margin by 0.3 points year on year. Specific effects of profitability improvement initiatives, including sourcing and inventory management, have emerged. - FY2022-Q1AdvancedAnnual report
「The gross margin improved by 0.7 points year on year to 31.0%, mainly due to stronger product competitiveness and more rigorous profitability management.」
Stronger product competitiveness and more rigorous profitability management improved the gross margin by 0.7 points year on year. - FY2021AdvancedAnnual report
「Net gross profit improved to ¥4,187.733 million, up 4.8% from the previous fiscal year, and the net gross margin improved to 29.5%, due to production cost reductions, a review of transaction terms, and the consolidation of Beauty Door Co., Ltd.’s profits, among other factors.」
The company continued to reduce production costs and review transaction terms, improving the net gross margin from 28.7% in the previous fiscal year to 29.5%. - FY2021-Q3AdvancedAnnual report
「Net gross profit was ¥3,172.063 million, down 1.3% year on year, but the effect of the ongoing review of product offerings continued to emerge, with the net gross margin rising 0.8 points year on year to 30.4%.」
The continued review of product offerings reduced net gross profit, but the net gross margin improved by 0.8 points year on year. - FY2021-Q2AdvancedAnnual report
「Net gross profit was ¥2,161.335 million, down 2.5% year on year. However, the effect of the ongoing review of product offerings began to emerge, with net gross profit in the second quarter turning to a 4.2% increase, and the net gross margin rising 1.1 points year on year to 30.3%.」
The continued review of product offerings reduced cumulative net gross profit, but quarterly profit turned higher, and the net gross margin improved by 1.1 points. - FY2020RestatedAnnual report
「Despite efforts to reduce production costs and review transaction terms, net gross profit was ¥3,997.287 million, down 17.0% year on year, while the net gross margin was 28.7%, remaining broadly unchanged from the previous fiscal year.」
The company continued to reduce production costs and review transaction terms, but the net gross margin remained broadly unchanged from the previous fiscal year, while net gross profit declined 17.0%. - FY2020-Q3AdvancedAnnual report
「Efforts to reduce production costs and review transaction terms improved the net gross margin to 29.6%, up 0.4 percentage points year on year, although net gross profit declined 13.2% year on year to ¥3,213,319 thousand.」
In addition to its existing sourcing and inventory management initiatives, the company reduced production costs and reviewed transaction terms, improving the net gross margin to 29.6%, up 0.4 points year on year. - FY2020-Q2AdvancedAnnual report
「Efforts to reduce production costs and review transaction terms improved the net gross margin to 29.2%, up 0.2 percentage points year on year, although net gross profit declined 12.8% year on year to ¥2,216,671 thousand.」
In addition to its existing sourcing and inventory management initiatives, the company continued to reduce production costs and review transaction terms, improving the net gross margin by 0.2 points year on year. - FY2020-Q1AdvancedAnnual report
「However, efforts to reduce production costs and review transaction terms resulted in net gross profit of ¥1,235.158 million, down 9.7% year on year. Although profit declined, the net gross margin improved from 28.9% in the same period of the previous year to 30.0%.」
In addition to its existing sourcing and inventory management initiatives, the company reduced production costs and reviewed transaction terms, improving the net gross margin by 1.1 points. - FY2019Slight gross margin decline amid a higher mix of low-margin productsAnnual report
「Although the company continued to review its sourcing structure and strengthen inventory management, the mix of relatively low-margin products, including OEM products for 100-yen shops, increased, causing the net gross margin to decline by 0.1 points from the previous consolidated fiscal year.」
The company continued to review its sourcing structure and strengthen inventory management, but the higher mix of low-margin OEM products reduced the net gross margin by 0.1 points. - FY2019-Q3Gross margin declined despite continued sourcing and inventory management initiativesAnnual report
「On the cost side, although we continued reviewing our procurement structure and strengthening inventory management, growth in OEM products, including those for ¥100 shops, increased the mix of relatively lower-margin products. As a result, the overall gross margin declined, and net gross profit was ¥3,700,046 thousand, down 7.1% year on year.」
The company continued to review its sourcing structure and strengthen inventory management, but the higher mix of low-margin OEM products led to continued declines in the gross margin and net gross profit. - FY2019-Q2Gross margin declined despite continued sourcing and inventory management initiativesAnnual report
「On the cost side, although we continued reviewing our procurement structure and strengthening inventory management, the gross margin declined because OEM products, including those for ¥100 shops, grew at a high rate. Net gross profit was ¥2,540,761 thousand, down 2.7% year on year.」
The company continued to review its sourcing structure and strengthen inventory management, but the gross margin declined due in part to the OEM product mix, and net gross profit fell 2.7% year on year. - FY2019-Q1Gross margin declined despite continued sourcing and inventory management initiativesAnnual report
「On the cost side, although we continued reviewing our procurement structure and strengthening inventory management, the gross margin declined because OEM products, including those for ¥100 shops, grew at a high rate. As a result, net gross profit was limited to ¥1,368,071 thousand, up 0.9% year on year.」
The company continued to review its sourcing structure and strengthen inventory management, but the gross margin declined due in part to the OEM product mix. The situation shifted from the previous gross margin improvement trend to continued decline. - FY2018Continued gross margin declineAnnual report
「The gross margin declined 0.9 percentage points from the previous consolidated fiscal year due to the higher growth of OEM products with low margins among in-house-developed products, efforts to improve product quality amid intensifying competition, and higher product costs resulting from soaring manufacturing costs.」
Although the company had implemented improvement measures relating to sourcing and inventory management, the gross margin declined during the fiscal year due to the product mix, including low-margin OEM products, intensifying competition, and rising manufacturing costs. - FY2018-Q3Continued gross margin decline due in part to growth in low-margin OEM productsAnnual report
「The gross margin declined because, in addition to the strong growth of lower-margin OEM products among products planned in-house, we sought to improve product quality amid intensifying competition and costs rose due to higher manufacturing expenses.」
While the company had advanced its sourcing structure review and inventory management, the gross margin continued to decline during the quarter due to the product mix, including low-margin OEM products, intensifying competition, and rising manufacturing costs. - FY2018-Q2Gross margin trend reversed from improvement to declineAnnual report
「On the cost side, the gross margin declined because, in addition to strong growth in lower-margin products among those planned in-house, competition intensified, product quality was improved, and costs rose due to higher manufacturing expenses.」
The company had previously attributed gross margin improvements to reviewing its sourcing structure and tightening inventory management, but the gross margin declined during the quarter due to product mix, intensifying competition, and rising manufacturing costs, among other factors. - FY2018-Q1RestatedAnnual report
「Although the company continued to review its sourcing structure and strengthen inventory management, the gross margin declined due in part to the yen’s depreciation against the previous year’s first nine months.」
The company continued to review its sourcing structure and strengthen inventory management, but the gross margin declined during the quarter due to the weaker yen and other factors. - FY2017AdvancedAnnual report
「The review of the sourcing structure increased resilience to foreign exchange movements, while reducing disposals and downgrades improved margins on private-label products. As a result of these measures and tighter inventory management through purchasing controls, the net gross margin improved by 0.4 points from the previous consolidated fiscal year.」
The company reviewed its sourcing structure, reduced disposals and downgrades, and managed inventory through purchasing controls, improving the net gross margin by 0.4 points. - FY2017-Q3AdvancedAnnual report
「Meanwhile, reviewing the procurement structure and tightening inventory management improved the net gross margin by 1.1 percentage points. Efforts to operate SG&A expenses efficiently resulted in operating profit of ¥399,540 thousand, up 3.4% year on year.」
The company continued to review its sourcing structure and tighten inventory management, resulting in a 1.1-point improvement in the net gross margin. - FY2017-Q2AdvancedAnnual report
「Meanwhile, reviewing the procurement structure and tightening inventory management improved the net gross margin by 2.4 percentage points. Efforts to operate SG&A expenses efficiently resulted in operating profit of ¥283,534 thousand, up 50.0% year on year.」
The review of the sourcing structure and tighter inventory management resulted in a 2.4-point improvement in the net gross margin. - FY2017-Q1First statedAnnual report
「On the cost front, the gross margin improved due in part to the effects of reviewing the procurement structure and tightening inventory management. In addition, SG&A expenses were underspent, resulting in operating profit of ¥246,301 thousand, up 70.8% year on year.」
The company advanced a review of its sourcing structure and tighter inventory management as specific initiatives, explaining that these measures improved the gross margin and increased operating profit.