Start Today
System development, WEB design, CRM, technology development, R & D, etc.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor | €0.0 | round |
| N/A | N/A | IPO | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
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Start Today Co., Ltd., the enterprise that would later evolve into ZOZO, Inc., was established in 1998 by Yusaku Maezawa. Initially conceived as a mail-order business for imported CDs and records, the company pivoted to an online platform in 2000, concurrently venturing into apparel sales. This strategic shift culminated in the 2004 launch of ZOZOTOWN, an online fashion retail website that has since grown to become Japan's largest. The company achieved public status by listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers index in 2007 and advanced to the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2012.
The founder, Yusaku Maezawa, began his entrepreneurial journey after a period in the United States, where he developed a passion for the music he would later import and sell. His early success with the mail-order business formed the foundation for Start Today. Alongside his business pursuits, Maezawa was active in the music scene with his band, Switch Style, which signed with BMG Japan in 1998 before he paused his music career in 2001 to focus on his growing company. An avid art collector, he founded the Contemporary Art Foundation in Tokyo in 2012 to support emerging artists.
The company's primary business is its e-commerce platform, ZOZOTOWN, which operates on a consignment sales model. It provides a marketplace for over 9,000 brands to sell their products directly to a large consumer base, stocking items in its own logistics centers, known as ZOZOBASE. Revenue is generated through these consignment sales on its multi-brand platform. A significant corporate milestone was the change of the company name from Start Today Co., Ltd. to ZOZO, Inc. on October 1, 2018, to unify the corporate identity with its globally recognized brand. In September 2019, Maezawa resigned as CEO and sold a majority stake in the company to Yahoo Japan (now LY Corporation) in a multi-billion dollar deal.
Keywords: Yusaku Maezawa, ZOZO, ZOZOTOWN, Start Today, Japanese e-commerce, online fashion retail, apparel e-commerce, consignment sales, ZOZOBASE, Tokyo Stock Exchange, LY Corporation, online marketplace, fashion platform, Japanese retail, ZOZOSUIT, e-commerce fashion, Japan online shopping, clothing retail
