Maruko

What Maruko does

MARUKO CO., LTD. (マルコ株式会社) is a Japanese women's body design shapewear and beauty company. Originally founded in 1978 in Nara Prefecture and re-incorporated in October 2018 under the MRK Holdings structure, the company designs, manufactures, and distributes proprietary body shaping undergarments, cosmetics, and related beauty products. Its core methodology, the Body Design Method™ (脂肪デザインメソッド™), combines specialized shaping apparel (Body Design Wear) with personalized in-store consultation delivered by trained Body Concierge advisors at company-owned retail salons.

The product portfolio centers on six core shapewear brand lines — Curvaceous, Decorte Lumies, Liberdigne, Mon Marier Cheril, Preande, and seasonal/limited-edition collections (Pléven, Colle Shange Voile) — spanning 108 product types across 72 bra sizes and 13 bottom sizes. Adjacent categories include AXAGE body care cosmetics, me more MARUKO skincare, functional health supplements (Silk Create Slim, Body Make Style, Keep Maruko Style, Pearl Beauty Style), maternity products (Belle Mer), custom orthotic insoles (ASSE OSSO) developed with a US digital foot-measurement system, and leg care products (LEGMAKING).

Distribution runs through 205 direct-run retail locations across 40 of Japan's prefectures, supplemented by an online store (shop.maruko.com) and a smartphone application. Products are sold individually with unit pricing typically ranging ¥10,000–¥34,100, and ongoing after-service consultation is restricted to authorized stores. MARUKO has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of publicly-listed RIZAP Group Inc. since July 2016. For the fiscal year ending March 2026, combined women's underwear/related and maternity/baby segment sales totaled ¥19.681 billion, supported by approximately 1,624 employees as of March 31, 2026.

Name

Maruko

Legal name

MARUKO CO.,LTD.

Website

https://maruko.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

MARUKO CO., LTD. is a Japanese women's body design shapewear company that designs, manufactures, and sells proprietary shaping lingerie and related beauty products through 205 company-owned salons across 40 Japanese prefectures, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIZAP Group under MRK Holdings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Shapewear and Body Design Undergarments

NAICS

Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (3159), Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (4581)

SIC

Women's, Misses', Children's & Infants' Undergarments (2340), Retail-Women's Clothing Stores (5621), Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300)

akta.pro primary industry

Shapewear & Body Contouring (CRAAAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Intimates, Lingerie, Swimwear & Sleepwear Brands (CRAAAAAF)

Keywords

• Shapewear undergarments
• Body design lingerie
• Women's lingerie retail
• Body shaping consultation
• Maternity undergarments

Headquarters

HQ city

Kita

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Body Shaping Lingerie Sales (婦人下着及びその関連事業): Sale of body shaping undergarments, foundation wear, and related accessories through direct-run stores and online. Revenue from 188 MARUKO salons and 2 Angelicbe stores as of March 2026.
2. Maternity and Baby Related Products (マタニティ及びベビー関連事業): Sale of maternity wear and baby-related products, including nursing bras and maternity items.
3. Cosmetics and Health Products: Sales of AXAGE body care cosmetics, Silk Create Slim functional food, and other health supplements. Products include Silk Create Slim (functional labeled food with medium-chain fatty acids) and Body Make Style (HMB supplement).
4. Consultation Services: Body shaping consultation services provided at physical stores as part of product sales, including body measurements, fitting, and ongoing after-service support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Maruko designs, manufactures, and sells body shaping lingerie and related beauty/wellness products (cosmetics, functional foods, custom orthotic insoles, maternity wear) through 205 direct-run retail salons across 40 Japanese prefectures and an official online store. Sales are paired with personalized in-store body concierge consultation services built around the company's proprietary Body Design Method™ (脂肪デザインメソッド™), combining specialized body design wear with trained consultant support to help customers achieve desired body lines.

Product overview

MARUKO is a body design shapewear and beauty wellness company offering a portfolio of specialized products and services centered on its proprietary Body Design Method™ (脂肪デザインメソッド™). The core offering consists of six main body design shapewear brand lines — Curvaceous Eternal (カーヴィシャス), Decorte Lumiès (デコルテ), Liberdigne (リベルディーニュ), Mon Marier Cheril (モンマリエ), Preande (プレアンデ), and a range of seasonal/limited-edition items (Pléven, Colle Shange Voile) — sold alongside personalized body concierge consulting services at MARUKO salons. Complementing the shapewear core, the portfolio spans innerwear accessories (slimming tops, arm sleeves, sanitary shorts), maternity products (Belle Mer), leg care (LEGMAKING stockings and leggings), silk-specific care products (Peau de L'ange detergent), body care cosmetics (AXAGE and me more MARUKO skincare lines), health functional foods (Silk Create Slim, Body Make Style, Keep Maruko Style, Pearl Beauty Style), and custom orthotic insoles (ASSE OSSO). Customers can purchase through 188 direct MARUKO salons, a dedicated e-commerce platform, and a smartphone app.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Curvaceous (カーヴィシャス): Body shaping underwear brand launched in November 2017 featuring 'Eternally' line.
• Decorte Lumiès (デコルテ リュミエス)
• Liberdigne (リベルディーニュ)
• mon marier (モンマリエ シェリル)
• Preande (プレアンデ)
• Pléven (プレヴァン)
• Corps Changer (コールシャンジェ)
• Angelique (エンジェリーベ)
• BELLEAGES (ベルアージュ)
• ASSE OSSO (アッセオasso)
• Silk Create Slim
• me more MARUKO (ミモア マルコ)

Products and services

• Curvaceous Eternal (カーヴィシャス エターヴェリー) A body design shapewear line combining body design wear and a body concierge service to help customers achieve their ideal body lines through MARUKO's proprietary body design method.
• Decorte Lumiès Idela (デコルテ リュミエス イデラ) A premium body design shapewear collection launched in 2005 targeting women seeking refined body contouring solutions.
• Liberdigne (リベルディーニュ) A body design shapewear line focused on gently fitting changing bodies with flexible, comfortable materials, naturally drawing out a graceful silhouette without harsh compression.
• Mon Marier Cheril (モンマリエシェリル) A comprehensive body design shapewear collection targeting women who want beautiful body lines in everyday life and special occasions, designed to improve posture and silhouette from 360 degrees.
• Preande (プレアンデ) An entry-level body design shapewear line designed as a first step for women beginning to care about their body shape, featuring mesh materials with comfortable elasticity and daily wearability.
• Pléven (プレヴァン) Summer Body Shaping Underwear A seasonal summer body shaping underwear collection offering a light, wind-like wearing experience with semi-long brassieres and light short girdles designed for hot weather comfort and breathability.
• Colle Shange Voile Body Fit Shaper (コールシャンジェヴォワール ボディフィットシェイパー) A body shaping garment featuring breathable power net material with a smooth inner surface, designed to support body lines with firm hold.
• Belle Mer (ベイルメイル) Nursing Bra A maternity nursing bra offering firm hold and beautiful shaping for changing bust lines during breastfeeding, featuring a one-touch adjuster for easy nursing and inner lift fabric for bust support.
• LEGMAKING Fraile (レッグメイキング フレイル) Stockings Summer stockings available in full stocking and open-toe types, using moisture-absorbing quick-dry material and mesh toe for breathability.
• LEGMAKING Chantpied (レッグメイキング シャンピエ) Compression Leggings Compression leggings using high-stretch polyurethane yarn with symmetrical hip design for hip-up and lift-up functionality, available in full argyle black and botanical flower charcoal gray.
• AXAGE (アクセージュ) Body Care Cosmetics A body care cosmetics line targeting women who wish to remain beautiful with age, featuring products such as S10 Body Parts Serum and S10 Body Massage Gel to support body shaping and brassiere adjustment effects.
• me more MARUKO (ミモア マルコ) Skincare Cosmetics A skincare cosmetics line including premium cleansing oil (with 50%+ macadamia oil), control lotion, control gel, premium booster serum (with PQQ and exosome), and body wash with placenta extract.
• Silk Create Slim (シルククリエイトスリム) Functional Food A functional food (food with function claims) meal replacement drink for diet support, containing medium-chain fatty acids claimed to reduce waist circumference, body fat, and visceral fat, with approximately 137kcal per serving.
• Body Make Style (ボディメイクスタイル) Supplement A beauty-focused body make supplement containing HMB (1,600mg per 9-tablet daily dose), an amino acid metabolite associated with protein and healthy body composition for women pursuing wellness beauty.
• ASSE OSSO (アッセオasso) Custom Orthotic Insoles Custom-made orthopedic insoles developed with a US-born digital foot measurement system that measures and analyzes static and walking states in 3D to create bespoke insoles for heels, sneakers, and dress shoes.
• Peau de L'ange (ポー・ド・ランジェ) Silk-Specific Detergent A silk-specific laundry cleanser with rich lathering and rinsing, protecting silk's natural texture, luster, and absorbency while gently washing and preventing color fading.
• MARUKO App MARUKO's official smartphone application offering services related to body design consultation and product information for customers.
• MARUKO Official Online Shop (マルコ公式オンラインショップ) The direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform where customers can purchase MARUKO's body makeup lingerie, cosmetics, and health products online.
• Body Concierge (ボディコンシェルジュ) Body Shaping Consultation Service Trained sales consultants provide personalized body shaping consultation, body measurements, fitting, product recommendations, and after-service support tailored to individual body measurements and goals at MARUKO salons.

Quantifiable outcome

• Women wearing underwear for approximately 468,482 hours over their lifetime - MARUKO transforms this time into body design time

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Angelicbe Co., Ltd. (株式会社エンジェリーベ)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2017MARUKO acquired all shares of Angelicbe in November 2017 and made it a subsidiary. Angelicbe was merged into MARUKO in March 2022, expanding MARUKO's presence to 2 additional retail locations and women's underwear/maternity market coverage.
• MRK Holdings Co., Ltd. (MRKホールディングス株式会社)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2016In October 2018, MARUKO transitioned to a holding company structure. MARUKO became MRK Holdings and the operating business was spun off to a new MARUKO subsidiary. MRK Holdings is the parent holding company with subsidiaries including MARUKO, Angelicbe, and other group companies.
• China Franchise PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2016MARUKO's Chinese subsidiary entered franchise contracts with 2 local partners in China in January 2016 for market expansion.
• Maruko (Shanghai) International Trading Co., Ltd. (瑪露珂爾(上海)国際貿易有限公司)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014MARUKO established a subsidiary in Shanghai, China in January 2014 to expand business operations in China. The subsidiary later entered franchise agreements with 2 local partners in 2016.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Skims: Kim Kardashian-founded shapewear and basics brand rapidly expanding globally including Japan via digital channels. Represents the new wave of digitally native, celebrity-driven shapewear competition that pressures traditional salon-based players like MARUKO.

Direct peers

• Wacoal Holdings: Japan's largest intimate apparel and shapewear manufacturer (Wacoal, Wing brands). Directly comparable as a Japanese maker/retailer of women's foundation garments including body-shaping products, with similar department-store and direct-retail channels.
• Spanx: US-origin global shapewear category leader. Highly comparable product category (body-shaping undergarments) targeting the same end-consumer need, though with a digital-first retail model versus MARUKO's salon model.
• Peach John: Japanese lingerie and intimate apparel retailer selling bras, shapewear, and loungewear direct to consumers online and through retail. Comparable business model and target customer base.
• Triumph International Japan: Japanese arm of global lingerie leader Triumph, with direct overlap in women's intimate apparel, bras, and shaping categories. Competes with MARUKO in physical retail fitting and brand-led foundation wear.
• Maidenform (Hanesbrands): Established US shapewear and intimate apparel brand now part of Hanesbrands. Directly comparable in shaping foundations and bras with mass-market distribution.
• Aimer (Aimerfeel): Japanese intimate apparel maker/retailer with broad lingerie, shapewear, and loungewear lines. Operates both direct retail and wholesale channels; overlaps with MARUKO in body-shaping and foundation wear.

Others

• RIZAP Group: MARUKO's publicly listed parent company. Not a direct competitor but a strategic/corporate peer: both operate in the Japanese body-transformation and wellness category, with RIZAP focused on fitness/training and MARUKO on apparel-based body shaping.

Broad incumbents

• Fast Retailing (UNIQLO): Parent of UNIQLO, whose AIRism and shaping innerwear lines increasingly compete at the lower-mass end of the Japanese shapewear market. Not a specialist but a meaningful indirect competitor for category share.
• Gunze: Japanese apparel manufacturer with an innerwear and shapewear segment (including B.V.D. and Lindex-style foundation lines). Larger and more diversified than MARUKO across apparel, plastics, and engineering, but directly comparable in intimate apparel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/maruko_official
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCw6NQb-QtDeuV9xU1nzlP6A
• Facebookfacebook.com/marukocom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maruko-co-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/maruko_official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 records

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 Maruko