Nitori Group Accelerating Store Openings in Asia: Opening Its First Store in Thailand in August 2023

Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd. based in Sapporo, northern Japan, has announced the opening of its first Nitori store in Thailand aiming to accelerate more store openings in the Asian market. The first Thai store will open at the end of August 2023 in centralwOrld, a global landmark at the heart of Bangkok.

Image: https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106920/202307267526/_prw_PI1fl_T7eQNwOb.jpg

Nitori is Japan's largest furniture and home-furnishing retail chain and its vision is to open 3,000 stores and achieve sales of 3 trillion yen by 2032, based on the mission statement "To enrich homes of people all over the world." The main business of the Group is opening "Nitori" stores that sell furniture and home-furnishing products. The Nitori Group also operates "Deco Home" stores that sell home-furnishing products with a focus on daily necessities, "Shimachu" home improvement stores that sell hardware, daily goods and furniture, and "N Plus" stores that sell apparel for adult women. Nitori has opened 793 stores in Japan and 137 stores in Mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore, with a total of 930 stores operating around the world.

The Nitori Group has built a business model, encompassing everything from product planning to manufacturing, distribution, and sales, in order to provide a wide variety of products that "offer the unexpected" and are of excellent quality at low prices. In the process, Nitori has built a network in the Asian region consisting of many partner companies and of its own factories and trading companies. Along with numerous business partners, Nitori is striving to propose the creation of enjoyable, prosperous, and totally coordinated living spaces to people all over the world.

The Asian market, where significant growth is expected, is important for the realization of Nitori's mission and vision. Hence, it has positioned the expansion of its store network by accelerating store openings as one of its top priorities. Thailand, in particular, has a deep connection with the Nitori Group. Although it will begin its business for Thai consumers with the opening of the new store, it had established a trading company back in 1999, which has been responsible for the Nitori Group's supply chain management in the Southeast Asia region. Nitori also has a factory (SIAM NITORI) that manufactures environmentally friendly carpets and rugs through a unique business model, using raw materials mainly derived from recycled plastic bottles and then manufacturing the entire process in-house. In addition, the Nitori Group has a strong and extensive network with numerous suppliers that have been in charge of manufacturing Nitori Group products for many years. In order to build its store network in Thailand, Nitori plans to open 25 stores over the next five years.

In 2022, Nitori opened 37 stores in four countries and regions in Asia, including its first stores in Malaysia and Singapore. In addition to Thailand, Nitori plans to open its first stores in Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and South Korea. By the end of March 2024, it plans to open 78 new stores in both existing and new countries and regions, bringing the total number of stores in the Asian region to 206. Furthermore, from 2025 and beyond, Nitori plans to open an average of 300 stores per year overseas in order to fulfill its mission and vision.

First Nitori store in Thailand
– Opening date: End of August 2023
– Facility name: centralwOrld
– Location: Unit B539, 4, 4/1-4/2, 4/4 Rajdamri Rd., Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 (Zone I, 5th Floor, centralwOrld)
*Details TBA at a later date

Comment from Akio Nitori, Representative Director & Chairperson (CEO) of Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd.:
"We have refined our manufacturing-logistics-IT-retail business model in order to provide products and services that 'offer the unexpected' from the point of view of our customers as we make efforts to realize the Group's mission statement 'To enrich homes of people all over the world.' We are currently expanding that challenge with a focus on Asia. We are very pleased to be able to bring Nitori products to more countries, regions and customers by accelerating our store openings in the Asian region."

Comment from Masanori Takeda, Director, General Manager of Global Merchandising Division, General Manager of Global Sales Promotion Office in Charge of Overseas Sales Business, Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd.:
"The opening of our first store in Southeast Asia in 2022 was a major step toward the realization of our mission and vision for the Nitori Group. From 2023 onwards, we will accelerate the opening of stores in the Asian region. There are still only a few home-furnishing stores in the Asian region that offer both furniture and home-furnishing products. We will continue to take on the challenge of providing the same standards of quality refined in Japan to the Asian region, so that we can resolve the 'discontent, dissatisfaction, and inconvenience' and so that more customers can enjoy coordinating various lifestyles and homes around the world."

Comment from Anucha Buala, a member of the Store Openings and Remodeling team, Store Operational Department, Nitori Retail (Thailand) Co., Ltd.:
"I joined the Nitori Group in 2011. I have been engaged in product development and quality control in order to meet the needs of customers so that they could feel happy by using products from Nitori. My dream was to be involved in the opening of the first store in Thailand for more than 10 years, and I am truly happy to be able to fulfill my dream. All of us employees would continue to do our very best in enriching homes of people in Thailand and all over the world."

Comment from a member of the Nitori International Scholarship Foundation (*) in the Department of Japanese Language, Faculty of Humanities, Kasetsart University:
"Congratulations on the opening of the first store in Bangkok. Furthermore, thank you for supporting our university with scholarships. As a result, our students are working hard to focus on their studies in order to strive for their dreams. We would like to express our profound gratitude for your support, and we sincerely hope for the further growth of your company."

(*) Nitori International Scholarship Foundation
Akio Nitori, the founder of the Company, donated his financial resources to establish the Nitori International Scholarship Foundation in March 2005. He wants to give back to the Asian countries for their tremendous help and support in achieving the goals of Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd. Furthermore, he offers non-repayable scholarships to contribute to further friendship and human resource development around the world. In 2014, Nitori began to provide support to local university students overseas. Since 2021, Nitori has been providing support to universities in Thailand. As of March 31, 2023, it has supported 9,254 students in around 46 countries and regions with a total of 4.22 billion yen.

Map showing students' home countries and regions: https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106920/202307267526/_prw_PI3lg_8jr2i58n.jpg

Nitori International Scholarship Foundation website (in Japanese): https://www.nitori-shougakuzaidan.com/

About Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd. (Nitori Group): https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106920/202307267526/_prw_PI2lg_j614NFE3.jpg

Corporate website: https://www.nitorihd.co.jp/en/
Integrated Report: https://www.nitorihd.co.jp/en/ir/library/annual.html
NITORI Thailand: https://www.nitori.co.th

Source: Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd.