Renown
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Renown was a century-old Japanese apparel company founded in Osaka in 1902 as a textile wholesaler and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section in 1969. At its peak in the 1990s it was one of the world's biggest apparel makers, famous in Japan for its brands D'Urban and Arnold Palmer (and later Aquascutum and Simple Life), selling primarily through department stores — its major sales channel. In 2010, China's Shandong Ruyi group took a 53% controlling stake to restore its financial health.
02 / Renown FAILURE REASONS
Why it failed
Renown was already weakened before the pandemic: it posted a ¥6.7 billion net loss in March–December 2019, failed to collect ¥5 billion owed by a Hong Kong affiliate of its owner Shandong Ruyi, struggled to attract younger customers, and faced fierce competition from Fast Retailing's Uniqlo plus the industry's shift from department stores to online sales. COVID-19 delivered the final blow — retail-store sales fell 42.5% in March 2020 and plunged 81% in April as department stores suspended operations — leaving it with debts of about ¥13.9 billion it could not service.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Renown was established in Osaka as a textile wholesaler.
- Listed
Renown was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section, at the height of its fame with a popular television commercial song.
- Ruyi takeover
China's Shandong Ruyi group took a 53% controlling stake to restore Renown's financial health.
- Bankruptcy
Renown filed for civil rehabilitation with the Tokyo District Court with debts of about ¥13.9 billion ($130 million), becoming the first Japanese listed company to fail in the COVID-19 crisis; it was delisted on June 16, 2020.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Renown filed for civil rehabilitation (bankruptcy) on May 15, 2020 and was delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange on June 16.
- 02
In August 2020 it agreed to sell its main brands — D'Urban, Aquascutum and Simple Life — to Osaka apparel group Koizumi Co. for an undisclosed amount, and was expected to go into liquidation after the sale.