Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** This article examines the bankruptcy of Kaza, a planning and wholesale company founded in 2001, which failed to develop a viable restructuring strategy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The case also reveals the company’s receipt of illegal subsidies, highlighting the broader challenges faced by businesses during the crisis.
Bankruptcy of Accessory Planning Wholesaler: Unable to Devise Restructuring Strategy Amid COVID-19 Struggles, Illegal Subsidy Receipt Revealed
Kaza, established in March 2001, was a planning and wholesale company specializing in accessories. Centered around its brand “KAZA,” it owned multiple proprietary brands and dealt in affordable necklaces, earrings, and bracelets targeting teenagers to individuals in their 30s. The company sold to domestic trading companies and retailers, as well as exporting to China, Singapore, and other countries. It strengthened production capacity by establishing local subsidiaries in Shanghai and Thailand, as well as multiple production bases in South Korea and other countries. Additionally, it focused on promotional activities such as holding exhibitions in Thailand, leading to increased overseas sales. In the fiscal year ending February 2018, boosted by a weak yen, overseas sales grew, and the company recorded revenue of approximately 1.083 billion yen.
From 2020 onward, the spread of COVID-19 infections expanded. Around March of that year, lockdowns in Thailand and China caused the company to lose both buying and selling opportunities. Amid this, it closed its low-profitability Thai local subsidiary and relocated its Tokyo and Fukuoka sales offices to reduce fixed costs, initiating business improvement efforts.
Subsequently, the company managed to survive using COVID-19-related loans and employment adjustment subsidies. However, as the pandemic dragged on, sales volumes dropped significantly due to clients scaling back their operations. Overseas sales also struggled similarly. In the fiscal year ending February 2021, revenue fell to approximately 446 million yen—less than half of its peak—and the company recorded an operating loss of about 80 million yen.
On January 31, 2023, as the COVID-19 pandemic was subsiding, it was revealed that the company had illegally received approximately 73 million yen in employment adjustment subsidies. In June of the same year, it requested financial institutions for a moratorium on loan repayments. However, without a clear restructuring plan, obtaining consent from all banks was not easy. The company finally gained approval by proceeding with restructuring measures such as closing sales offices and selling owned real estate. Nevertheless, due to the lack of a clear outlook for improvement in its core business, it abandoned the continuation of operations. On October 23, 2024, the Osaka District Court issued a decision to commence bankruptcy proceedings. (Source: Teikoku Databank, Information Management Division)
Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, May 1, 2025