What Fiveneeds does

Fiveneeds (株式会社ファイブニーズ / Five Needs Inc.) is a Tokyo-headquartered, privately-held specialty alcohol purchasing and resale company operating across Japan since July 2011. The company buys used and surplus alcoholic beverages — whisky, wine, champagne, brandy, sake, shochu, spirits, and liqueur — from individuals and corporate clients, and resells them through downstream channels including online auctions (Yahoo! Auctions, Rakuten), overseas buyers, restaurants, and collectors. Its core service is expert appraisal and same-day cash purchase, delivered free of charge via three intake channels: 16 physical retail stores nationwide, on-site visit purchasing for high-volume sellers, and a prepaid mail-in service. The company makes money on the spread between purchase price and resale value, charging no fees to sellers; pricing is set per-item based on brand, age, condition, and market conditions rather than via a published rate card.

The technology stack is deliberately minimal: there is no proprietary software, no API, no AI/ML pipeline, and no SaaS product — value is delivered through human expert appraisal by certified sommeliers and SAKÉ DIPLOMA holders. The only meaningful technology integration is a LINE LIFF-based photo submission channel that lets prospective sellers obtain remote estimates via the LINE messaging platform, supplementing phone, in-store, and online-form assessment options. The company holds an Antique Dealer Permit (Tokyo Metropolitan Police) and Liquor Sales Business License (Honjo District, No. 186) required to operate the resale business. Capital is small (JPY 10M paid-in), the company is founder-led by Representative Director Masahiro Okazaki, and there are no funding rounds, no M&A, and no subsidiaries — the entire business has been built organically from cash flow over 14+ years.

The customer base is structurally bifurcated between individual consumers selling personal collections or unwanted gifts (the primary segment, long-tail) and corporate/business clients liquidating surplus inventory at restaurants, hotels, bars, and retailers (with stated capability to handle from one to 10,000+ bottles per event). Marketing is content-led (a multi-store blog, brand- and category-specific educational content on sake, whisky, wine) and conversion is supported by toll-free phone, LINE, and online form intake. Geographic coverage spans Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu through the 16-store network, with two new openings (Hachioji in January 2026, Sakai in April 2026) and ongoing store relocations/upgrades (Hiroshima November 2024, Sapporo April 2025) signaling continued physical footprint investment.

Name

Fiveneeds

Legal name

株式会社ファイブニーズ

Website

https://sakekaitori.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Fiveneeds (ファイブニーズ) is a Japanese specialty alcohol purchasing and resale company that buys used whisky, wine, sake, and spirits from individuals and businesses across Japan via 16 retail stores, on-site visits, and mail-in service, then resells to downstream channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alcohol Purchasing and Resale Services

NAICS

Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (424820), Beer, Wine, and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (4248)

SIC

Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Beer, Wine & Spirits Wholesale Distribution (CRAOAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fine Wine & Luxury Spirits Retail (CRANABAE), Liquor Stores (General Off-Premise) (CRANAAAA)

Keywords

• Alcohol purchasing services
• Liquor buyback
• Whisky and wine resale
• Beverage appraisal
• Japanese alcohol market

Headquarters

HQ city

Sumida

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices17 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Alcohol Beverage Purchase and Resale: The company purchases used/surplus alcoholic beverages from individuals and businesses, then resells through various channels including online auctions, overseas buyers, restaurants, and collectors. They charge no fees for assessment and do not charge for shipping. Revenue is generated from the margin between purchase price and resale value.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fiveneeds purchases used and surplus alcoholic beverages (whisky, wine, champagne, brandy, sake, shochu, spirits, liqueur) from individual consumers and corporate clients through 16 physical stores, on-site visits, and mail-in shipping. The company provides free professional appraisal and same-day payment, then resells purchased inventory through online auctions, restaurants, overseas buyers, and collectors, generating revenue from the purchase-to-resale margin.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• In-Store Alcohol Purchase Service Walk-in purchase service where customers bring alcoholic beverages to one of Fiveneeds' 16 nationwide stores for free professional appraisal and immediate on-site payment. Available daily 9:45 AM to 7:00 PM including weekends and holidays.
• On-Site (Door-to-Door) Alcohol Purchase Service Field purchase service where Fiveneeds staff visit customer locations to appraise and purchase bulk alcohol inventory on-site, primarily targeting businesses with large volumes (from single bottle to 10,000+ bottles).
• Mail-In / Shipping Alcohol Purchase Service Mail-in purchase service using Fiveneeds-prepaid shipping kits; customers pack and ship alcohol items to the company for free assessment, with same-day payment upon receipt.

Quantifiable outcome

• 120万本以上の買取実績 (Over 1.2 million bottles purchased)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Nanboya (なんぼや): One of Japan's largest specialty secondhand buyers, with stores nationwide. Directly comparable to Fiveneeds as it purchases brand goods, watches, jewelry, and notably alcohol including whisky, wine, sake, and brandy from individuals and businesses, with mail-in and on-site services. Operates in the same retail-purchasing, wholesale-resale model.
• Fukuchan (福ちゃん): A major Japanese secondhand buyer specializing in collectibles and premium goods, including alcohol. Uses the same in-store, mail-in, and on-site purchasing channels and competes directly for individual sellers' alcohol collections across Japan.
• Buysell (バイセル): Tech-enabled secondhand purchasing company that buys kimono, jewelry, watches, and alcohol from individuals across Japan. Directly comparable through its multi-channel (in-home visit, mail-in, store) acquisition model targeting the same individual-seller alcohol market.
• Sasugaya (さすがや): Specialty Japanese secondhand buyer of luxury goods and alcohol. Operates a very similar business model to Fiveneeds — buying premium alcohol from individuals and businesses for resale — with mail-in and storefront channels.
• Daikokuya (大黒屋): Long-established Japanese pawnshop and secondhand buyer of luxury goods, watches, jewelry, and alcohol. Comparable as a multiple-channel buyer of high-end alcohol for resale through retail and auction channels, though with a broader luxury-goods portfolio.
• Gold Plaza (ゴールドプラザ): Specialty Japanese buyer of precious metals, watches, jewelry, and wine/whisky/sake. Overlaps directly with Fiveneeds in the alcohol purchasing segment and competes for individual-seller supply in major Japanese metros.

Others

• Rakuten Auction / Yahoo! Auctions Japan: Online auction platforms where Fiveneeds (and its peers) actively resell purchased inventory. While not a direct competitor (these are channels rather than purchasers), they are critical downstream outlets that influence Fiveneeds' realized resale prices and are recognized as platform partners via awards.

Emerging players

• Brand Off (ブランドオフ): Specialty luxury and collectible buyer in Japan with alcohol purchasing among its categories. Smaller alcohol-specific footprint than Fiveneeds but overlaps on the seller-acquisition side with mail-in and storefront channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fiveneeds