Locondo.jp

Locondo, now operating under the name JADE GROUP, Inc. since June 2023, is a publicly traded e-commerce company based in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in footwear and fashion. The firm was established as JADE Inc. on October 22, 2010, by Akisato Heinz and Tomoya Yasuda, with its core service, Locondo.jp, launching in February 2011. The current President and CEO, Yusuke Tanaka, joined the founding team in January 2011. Tanaka's background includes a degree from Hitotsubashi University, a notable career at McKinsey & Company where he became the youngest-ever manager at 26, and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. He took the helm as President in May 2011 amid financial difficulties, securing additional investment from Rocket Internet by committing to lead the company.

The company's business model was inspired by the success of Zappos in the U.S. and Zalando in Europe, aiming to resolve a key friction point in online apparel shopping: the inability to try on items. Locondo pioneered the "try-and-buy" concept in Japan, offering services like free shipping and free returns to allow customers to order items, try them on at home, and return what they don't want. This approach addresses the most significant barrier to purchasing fashion online and fosters a loyal customer base, primarily targeting fashion-conscious women in their 30s and 40s. Revenue is generated through two main streams: a direct-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce business and a B2B platform services business. The e-commerce segment operates on both a consignment model, which constitutes the majority of sales, and a direct purchase model. The company earns a commission of around 35% on consigned goods.

Beyond its primary B2C site, Locondo.jp, the company provides comprehensive platform services for other brands. These services include "BOEM," an end-to-end solution for building and managing a brand's official e-commerce site, covering everything from inventory management to logistics and CRM. It also offers "e-3PL," a logistics-as-a-service utilizing its proprietary warehouse and systems, and "Locochoku," a service that drop-ships products from Locondo's warehouse to customers when an item is out of stock in a partner's physical store. This integrated infrastructure has been a key driver of its growth. The company achieved its first monthly operating profit in October 2015 and was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Mothers market in March 2017. Over the years, Locondo has expanded its product categories from shoes to include apparel, bags, sporting goods, and even home goods.

Keywords: JADE GROUP, Locondo, Yusuke Tanaka, Japanese e-commerce, online footwear retail, fashion e-commerce, try-and-buy, free returns, platform services, B2B e-commerce solutions, e-3PL, BOEM, Locochoku, Tokyo Stock Exchange, apparel online, online shopping Japan, Rocket Internet, Zappos model, Zalando model, D2C brand support