Wacoal Takes Its 3D Body-Measurement and Moulding Tech Into Automotive Parts
- Wacoal is leveraging 3D measurement and resin molding technologies to enter new industries.
- The company is expanding into healthcare and automotive parts to diversify its business.
- Wacoal's strategy reflects a broader trend of Japanese manufacturers seeking new markets.
- The move is driven by a slowdown in Japan's traditional women's undergarment market.
- The company aims to strengthen its technological applications through cross-industry collaboration.
Wacoal, Japan's largest lingerie maker, is pushing its 3D body-measurement service and resin-moulding know-how into healthcare, fitness and even automotive components. Two facts are verifiable from the report: the measurement service is branded SCANBE base at ¥2,000 including tax per session, and the sports-bra moulding technology is being adapted for car parts. The backdrop is a shrinking domestic innerwear market squeezed from below by low-price brands.
The ¥2,000 price tag reveals the model. At that level the service cannot pay for itself; what the company is really acquiring is body-measurement data, layered on top of decades of existing records. The automotive line follows the same logic — the product is not lingerie but the ability to mould soft materials precisely.
The test is whether new-business revenue comes from third-party customers or from inside the group. Japanese consumer-goods firms announcing diversification amid core-business decline often stop at pilot projects. For investors, check the next results release: is new-business revenue disclosed separately, and are there named external customers?